Head of Service (Permanent) in Aylesbury

Reporting to: CEO

Permanent, 3 days a week with option to extend to 4 days a week within 6 months (FTE 37.5 hrs a week)

Buckinghamshire has a fast-growing older population who are the heart and soul of our communities – for example as employers, workers, volunteers, mentors, carers and child-minders. They help make our worlds go round. But when the challenges of older age feel overwhelming, and someone’s own world shrinks, Age UK Bucks is there to support them. Based in Aylesbury and working across the county, our services support older residents to maintain their independence and well-being, especially when times are difficult, helping local older people age better and access support they deserve.

We have grown as an organisation recently, expanding our services and increasing staff numbers and income as we endeavour to meet the needs of older people in the county, who are struggling to cope with the cost-of-living crisis, after the lasting impact of the pandemic.

The Head of Charitable Services is a new role and will play a pivotal part in leading this growth and supporting and developing the teams and culture that deliver them. Alongside this, a key priority is person-centred support and empowerment, and a focus on staff, volunteer and client safety and safeguarding, and skills development. We’ll also be looking to engage service users more dynamically to measure impact and co-produce new services they need and want.

With growing demand for our services and ambition to be an even more effective voice and empowering champion of older Bucks residents across our communities, there has never been a more exciting time to join Age UK Bucks.

• Lead services and teams that support, champion and empower older Bucks residents to meet the many challenges and opportunities of ageing, through charitable services that have high impact and that are sustainably funded, working with all communities in Bucks and through partner collaboration.
• Oversee the development and delivery of high quality, person-centred, compassionate and effective support and services for older people across Bucks that has demonstrable impact and quality - building community connection and championing older people’s needs and opportunities.
• Help shape the charity’s charitable approach, work on developing new services, funded from grant applications and community collaboration, and build cases for support and demonstrable impact case studies.
• Work closely with the Head of Commercial Services and Development, dovetailing referral pathways and aligning practice and processes.
• Meet the needs of older Bucks residents through effective, high quality, safe and compassionate support and services that can demonstrate impact and are sustainable financially, meeting appropriate quality standards where required.
• Develop our people and volunteers, including supporting our safeguarding lead on best practice supervision, risk assessment and mitigation, case work guidance, safeguarding, line management and people development.
• Support our Trustee Board, Board Officers and Sub-Committees to enable them to guide and steward the charity appropriately, including developing reports and information/KPIs.
• Develop and deliver financially sustainable services, planning and managing income and costs in line with strategy and budgets, working with the Finance leadership and SLT.
• Help develop and transform our data collection and story-telling, enabling the organisation to create and share compelling and inspiring impact and outcome reports for stakeholders.
• Support the maintenance and development of our website and social media strategy and assets to support our work and programmes.
• Optimise and raise awareness of our services and impact, through developing effective outreach and presentations to key stakeholders, groups, communities and funders.
• Act as a champion of older people and an Age Friendly Bucks, representing the charity at key forums, Boards and activities in order to achieve our mission and strategic goals, bringing the voice and needs of older people to the fore.

Essential qualities:

• Strong and demonstrable people leadership and management skills
• Empathetic to the needs of older people and their families
• Significant Adult social and/or health care experience and knowledge, including safeguarding
• Budget planning and delivery
• Significant impact and outcomes reporting and data collection experience
• Service creation and mobilisation experience
• UK driving licence

Age UK Buckinghamshire strives to meet the needs of all older people in Bucks but is also aware that some communities could be better served by us. We therefore want to become more representative of the community we serve. We encourage equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and encourage applications from our wonderful rainbow of talent in Bucks and people of all ages.