Service Manager

VONNE (Voluntary Organisations' Network North East); Tees Valley; On-site; GBP 36,000; Full time

Job summary

A charitable organization in the UK is seeking a Service Manager to oversee and enhance the delivery of criminal justice services. The successful candidate will manage teams, maintain quality standards, and engage with stakeholders to ensure the effective support of individuals within the criminal justice system. Ideal applicants should possess strong team management skills, experience with performance metrics, and a solid understanding of trauma-informed practices. This is a full-time, permanent position based in Tees Valley.

Qualifications

• Experience in managing teams in a social care or charity sector.
• Strong ability to develop strategic partnerships.
• Familiarity with the Criminal Justice System and related legislation.

Responsibilities

• Oversee delivery of the MOJ funded contract and other services.
• Manage team performance and development.
• Work with commissioners to monitor service quality and outcomes.

Skills

Team management

Stakeholder engagement

Performance measurement

Understanding of trauma

Agile working

Job description

Contract Type: Permanent

Role Type: Employment

Hours: Full time

Application deadline: Tuesday, January 20, 2026 - 18:30

Based: Redcar Cleveland

Salary: £35,550 Per Annum

Salary Type: Fixed Salary

Location: Teesside

Role description: Manager

About Us

Changing Lives is a nationwide charity helping people facing the most challenging of circumstances to make positive change - for good. We believe that everyone deserves a safe home, a rewarding job and a life free from addiction or abuse. We know that given the right support, anyone can change their life for the better.

Our services across the country help thousands of people each year who are experiencing a wide range of complicated challenges, including homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, unemployment, involvement with the criminal justice system, sexual exploitation and domestic abuse. By focusing on their strengths, potential and opportunities, we support the people we work with to overcome their problems and live safe, successful, independent lives.

Our charity is powered by over 600 passionate colleagues who bring a diverse and inclusive environment for our colleagues to grow. We are proud to say that many have actual lived experience of the challenges faced by those we support. We are looking for committed and compassionate professionals to join our team, who share our enthusiasm for changing lives.

About The Service - Criminal Justice Services

Changing Lives delivers a range of projects that support women involved in the Criminal Justice System. We believe that individuals become involved in the Criminal Justice System for a complex range of reasons.

Our experience has taught us that to help women stop offending and to rebuild their lives, we must address the underlying causes of crime. Our services are underpinned by an in-depth understanding of trauma and we support women to address challenges such as domestic abuse, homelessness or poor housing, helping women to develop tools to ensure that trauma in their past does not define the rest of their lives. We know that with the right support around them, women so often are able to break the cycle of crisis and crime.

We currently deliver diversion from custody schemes, education, training and employment services, and holistic services to women serving community sentences or following release from custody. We also provide some pre-release services and have a presence across a number of women’s prisons nationally. Our criminal justice services cover Northumbria, Cleveland, South Yorkshire, West Midlands, East Midlands, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Leicestershire.

About The Job

• PLEASE NOTE PREVIOUS APPLICANTS NEED NOT APPLY

In the Northeast Changing Lives have been providing gender specific services to women involved in the Criminal Justice System for 12 years

We are seeking a Service Manager who will oversee the delivery of the MOJ funded contract amongst other commissioned services, maintain and develop strategic and local partnerships, and provide line management support to staff providing frontline delivery.

It will be important as a Service Manager that you ensure that the Service’s key functions are performing to a high standard and meeting all contract performance metrics. In your role you will be supported to take a lead role in promoting, developing and integrating the Services so that they are effectively able to meet the needs of participants involved in the criminal justice system.

A key element of this work will be working with commissioners and stakeholders to monitor and manage performance and quality. It is also important to have a strong and open relationship with other Changing Lives Services and our partners within the wider resettlement strategy and criminal justice partnerships to support delivery and ensure that our work is in line with all local and national legislation and guidance.

As a motivational manager, it will be important to maintain the team ethos and build a dynamic culture of reflective practice and development. You will manage all aspects of team performance and development and utilise business partners, for example, Finance and People Team to enable this.

The post holders will be required to work effectively with staff and Commissioners to co-ordinate the service offer so that this delivers the desired outcomes in the most effective manner. The post-holder will also be required to provide support, advice and guidance to staff and the leadership team to ensure that we remain up to date with legislation and best practice.

Changing Lives are passionate about creating a diverse workforce that appropriately reflects the communities we work in. Therefore, we positively encourage applications from individuals within under-represented communities.

A flexible approach must be always adopted and the ability to cover a range of tasks is essential.

This role requires agile working which will include being office based, having oversight of delivery within community venues and working in some custody settings, therefore you will need to be able to work effectively independently, and as a virtual team, under pressure to meet challenging deadlines.

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