Head of Services

Job Description

Quaker Social Action is a charity and a limited company, founded in 1867, to address poverty and social exclusion. We are based in east London and have a reputation for developing and delivering a diverse and innovative range of practical projects, and advocating for the needs of people in poverty on a national stage.About the roleWe are seeking an ambitious head of services to play a central role in shaping the strategic and operational direction of QSA. Joining the leadership team, you will be a dynamic thinker, possessing a strong people-focus and a passion for maintaining organisational wellbeing.The role provides a real apprenticeship into a senior leadership role. You will oversee all service delivery, supporting teams to ensure we are meeting the strategic vision for each area of our work: Innovating for people who are homeless - this is a brand new field of work for QSA, arising from a merger with a small homelessness charity last year. Weve got two projects were launching soon - Turn a Corner, a mobile library and Cook Up, a kitchen space for people who love cooking but dont have a kitchen. Weve also got a mandate to pilot further ideas and set up new partnerships. As head of services, you will be driving this work forward - and directly managing the two new project managers - providing a real opportunity for innovation and collaboration. Overseeing and strengthening our existing services - QSAs model is to build small scale and pioneering projects to fit into niches or address unmet needs. As well as the work above, QSA currently has four other services; Made of Money, Down to Earth, This Way Up and Move on Up, encompassing financial capability, funeral poverty, wellbeing and housing for young adult carers. Covid has drastically affected how we deliver all of these services and were keen to learn from the successes of those adaptations and push hard on further digital innovations. We also want to ensure a high level of quality across all of our services, ensuring we capture impact well and have robust safeguarding and risk assessments in place for all our activities. The head of services will oversee each of these projects, taking a lead role in all aspects of strengthening our work, building a strong and collaborative approach within QSA. Enabling grassroots decision making - the Big Local programme is a national initiative with 150 areas in the UK being given £1 million each to spend within their neighbourhood. Decisions are made by residents but each area is supported by a charity, which acts as the accountable body for the funds and seeks to add value to the local partnership board. QSA fulfil this role for three Big Local areas, in Aberfeldy (Tower Hamlets), Pimlico (Westminster) and Worlds End & Lots Road (Kensington & Chelsea). The head of services will manage relations with all three Big Local areas, supporting and advising them to make their localities an even better place to live. This part of the role offers great insights into supporting grassroots decision making, community engagement and seeing practical differences being made on a very local level.This is an excellent opportunity within an organisation that is small enough to see the direct benefit of your endeavours. We are looking for an exceptional person who is motivated by contributing in a pivotal role at an organisation with a reputation for delivering work of the highest standard.