Service Manager (Youth)
Location: Bristol and surrounding areas
Contract: Permanent
Working Hours: Full time (35 hours a week)
Starting Salary: £32,000 per annum
Closing date: 9am Friday 26th September 2025
Interviews expected to take place on Tuesday 30th September 2025.
Who we are:
We support children and young people living in Bristol, South Glos and the surrounding areas, providing engaging play and youth work embedded in communities. We also provide personalised part-time and full-time alternative education environments for children and young people to overcome barriers to engagement and learning.
What we do:
At LPW, we provide safe, emotionally supportive and enriching spaces where children and young people can: build trusted and trauma-informed relationships; grow in confidence and independence; overcome challenges; and have ownership of their learning and future.
Our values
* Inclusive: We celebrate and embrace diversity and ensure everyone is seen, heard and valued.
* Collaborative: We work in partnerships alongside children, young people, families, communities and other professionals to achieve success.
* Innovative: We are bold and creative in our approach to inspire confidence, independence and free-thinking.
* Compassionate: We are trauma-informed – offering safe, emotionally available spaces for children and young people to learn and thrive.
* Brave: We foster strength and perseverance, even in the face of challenges and diversity.
Job Purpose
* Manage service delivery to children and young people (CYP);
* Manage and be accountable for a team;
* Manage relationships with internal and external partners.
Youth work is all about young people choosing to engage and doing so in places and spaces they feel comfortable.
To us, youth work is about meeting young people where they are at, both physically and emotionally. It's about creating safe spaces where our Engagement Workers can engage with young people, earn trust, provide support and help them to access a whole range of opportunities that empower them to explore the world around them, learn skills and connect with others
Knowledge
* Qualified to, or prepared to work towards, at least Level 4 or above in a discipline related to working with CYP e.g. Play Work/Careers Guidance/Youth Work.
* Management and leadership approaches;
* Trauma informed and relationship-based approach;
* Legislation and government policy relating to CYP and ability to change practices accordingly;
* Diversity within communities;
* The effect of social and economic disadvantage on CYP;
* Issues that affect vulnerable CYP;
* Applying best practice in safeguarding CYP;
* Other support agencies and multi-agency processes of support for CYP;
* Applying best practice in promoting inclusion, diversity and equality of opportunity;
Experience
* Working within a similar role
* Managing and leading teams;
* Managing complex cases;
* Leading, planning, delivering and evaluating outcome focused activities for CYP
* Using a variety of information technology; including monitoring information systems to demonstrate positive impact;
* Engaging and working with a wide range of CYP to secure positive outcomes;
* Working with other professionals, families and communities to secure outcomes for CYP;
* Leading approaches to safeguarding CYP;
* Experience of Health and Safety management, such as risk assessments;
* Promoting equality of opportunity and challenging discrimination;
Skills
* Plan and manage caseloads to achieve team targets and evaluate outcomes;
* Support and supervise other colleagues with their workload, their targets and to achieve outcomes;
* Monitor and evaluate, to identify best practice and share this with others to continuously improve practice;
* Accountable for team budgets;
* Support staff to enable them to effectively de-escalate challenging and confrontational situations;
* Engage and communicate appropriately with CYP, parents, carers, teachers, managers and other professionals;
* Problem-solve, innovate, plan, organise, overcome barriers and implement solutions;
* Be culturally competent and able to challenge inequality in all its forms.
Attitudes
* Pro-actively demonstrating impact for CYP;
* Embracing LPW vision and values;
* Willingness to developing own and others learning, knowledge and skills;
* Willingness to work flexibly at times that CYP need support, including occasional evening and weekend work;
* Lead and demonstrate a positive attitude; supporting teams to adapt to change
* Ability to champion and promote equality of opportunity, and challenge discrimination and stereotypical behaviours.
Responsibilities
* Line manage and be accountable for a team;
* Complete all people management procedures in line with LPW policy and procedures
* Be accountable for service delivery of the team;
* Manage new referrals in line with company procedure;
* Implementation of new business;
* Ensure LPW's approach to action planning, assessments and measuring impact is implemented consistently;
* Ensure quality service delivery e.g. observations, feedback with involvement from CYP;
* Manage a delegated budget and support a team to manage budgets effectively;
* Ensure accurate and secure records are maintained in the LPW case management system and database;
* Maintain a caseload of 1:1 work and/or group sessions;
* Manage positive working relationships with CYP, families and communities to ensure positive outcomes;
* Provide Out-of-Hours support during evenings and weekends when required;
* Work with Senior Management Team to implement tasks from LPW's strategic and operational plans;
* To carry out the responsibilities of the role in a way which reflects commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in accordance with LPW's policies;
* To ensure Health and Safety is managed according to LPW's policies and procedure;
* Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of legislation and opportunities relevant to CYP
* Any other duties that may be required from time to time.
Accountable to:
Head of Service
Accountable for
Service Leads
Engagement Workers
Administration
With LPW you will get an opportunity to work for a community interest company that has a social mission at its core driving everything we do. In addition we have an attractive range of benefits, such as 26 days annual leave (plus a 3 day seasonal shut down at Christmas), 4% employer's contribution to our pension scheme, travel loans, childcare vouchers (where applicable) and a cycle to work scheme. LPW is a Living Wage, and Disability Confident employer.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: From £32,000.00 per year
Benefits:
* Company pension
* Cycle to work scheme
* Discounted or free food
* Enhanced maternity leave
* Free parking
* Health & wellbeing programme
* On-site parking
* Sick pay
Work Location: In person