Service Development Manager

Service Development Manager

We are looking for an experienced and resourceful Service Development Manager to work closely with the CEO to establish and deliver a strong presence across Forest of Dean, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury.

This is an opportunity to join a supportive and purpose-driven team where your work will make a direct difference to families across Gloucestershire.

Position: Service Development Manager

Location: Remote/Gloucestershire, with regular travel across Forest of Dean, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury and occasional attendance at the Stroud office

Hours: Part-time, 30 hours per week

Salary: £38,000 pro rata (£30,811 actual salary for 30 hours per week)

Contract: 24-month fixed-term contract

Closing Date: 20th September 2026. This job opportunity may close early if we find an appropriate candidate before the closing date.

The Role

This is a hands-on role combining direct family support, project management, service development and partnership building. You will hold an appropriate caseload, develop new activity, build strong local referral pathways and help turn the countywide plans into practical support for families.

We need someone who is confident working independently, takes ownership, builds relationships quickly and can find practical solutions when there is no obvious route forward. The initial focus will be Forest of Dean, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury, but the role is designed to evolve as our countywide work develops.

Key accountabilities include:

• Service development and delivery
• Direct family support
• Project management
• Partnerships and referral pathways
• Funding, monitoring and sustainability
• Safeguarding and quality

The first year will focus on developing and delivering Home-Start services across Forest of Dean, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury. As the countywide work develops, the focus of the role may evolve to support wider service development across Gloucestershire.

For the first six weeks, the post will be predominantly based at the Stroud office for induction and orientation.

After this, the role will be mainly home and community based, with regular travel across Forest of Dean, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury and occasional attendance at the Stroud office.

About You

We are looking for someone who is practical, resourceful and motivated by making things happen.

You will be comfortable supporting a family one day and developing a new partnership or service the next and have enough frontline experience to understand what works for families and enough project-management discipline to turn ideas into effective delivery. You will not be joining a finished project with every detail already decided. We need someone who can understand the objective, identify what needs to happen next and move the work forward.

You will have experience of:

• Direct service delivery, ideally with families, children or communities
• Holding a caseload or providing ongoing one-to-one support
• Project management
• Developing or implementing new projects or services
• Building effective relationships with external organisations and professionals
• Working independently and taking responsibility for delivery
• Safeguarding and professional boundaries.

Practical requirements

You must:

• be able to drive;
• be willing and able to travel independently across Gloucestershire;
• be able to work predominantly from the Stroud office during the initial six-week induction period;
• subsequently be comfortable working from home and community locations;
• be confident using standard IT and case-recording systems.

If this sounds like you, then apply today!

About the Organisation

Join a voluntary organisation committed to promoting the welfare of families with at least one child under five years of age. Trained home-visiting volunteers offer regular friendship, emotional, and practical support to help families experiencing a challenging time in their lives. The service is unique and also offers free support peer groups, antenatal, postnatal, and perinatal mental health services.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, faith groups, and socioeconomic circumstances, as well as from people who are disabled, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, or from different age groups. We also value applications from those with caring responsibilities or non-traditional career paths.

You may also have experience in areas such as Service Development Manager, Service Development Manager Lead, Service Development Manager Deputy, Service Development Officer, Service Development Manager, Service Delivery Manager, Service Delivery Manager Lead, Service Delivery Manager Deputy, Service Development Officer, Service Delivery Manager, Service Manager.

Please note this role is advertised by the recruitment agency acting for the client, Not For Profit People. #INDNFP