Programme Lead Circles to Success - Partnerships and Practice

Are you someone with strategic partnerships experience, able to influence external partners, stakeholders and customers to secure positive outcomes? In this partnerships-focused role, you’ll bring agencies, providers and professionals together to deliver the ambitions of the Circle to Success programme. You’ll champion integrated working, strengthen key relationships, and drive collaborative approaches that improve outcomes for children and young people. This role offers you the platform to shape a system—not just a service.

What will you be doing?

• You’ll lead and coordinate the Circle to Success programme, ensuring consistent delivery across all partnership-driven workstreams.
• You’ll build strong, strategic relationships with external partners, care providers, and stakeholders—creating joined-up approaches to meeting need and improving home stability.
• You’ll share insights and ambition across the system, influencing partners to work toward shared goals and adopt new ways of working.
• You’ll collaborate with partner agencies to expand integrated working opportunities, ensuring the right support is in place at the right time.
• You’ll work with Finance colleagues to track impact and ensure the programme meets agreed savings and performance targets.
• You’ll manage risks, maintain momentum, and ensure the programme delivers on time, on budget, and with clear measurable impact.

About you

• You’re a confident and influential relationship-builder, able to bring diverse partners together around a shared purpose.
• You’re strategic, collaborative and skilled at navigating complex, multi-agency environments.
• Your strengths lie in communication, negotiation and creating the conditions for sustainable partnership-led improvement.
• You have significant experience of working at a strategic level with partners and external agencies and can influence senior stakeholders and secure buy-in for shared goals.
• Highly organised you are able to balance multiple priorities and effectively use insights and data to shape decisions and drive innovation.
• Are committed to positive outcomes for children and young people and understand the importance of a whole-system response.

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore subject to an enhanced DBS certificate. It is also a regulated activity and will be subject to a Barred List check.

When applying please ensure your supporting statement covers how you fulfil the essential criteria set out in the person specification as this will be used for shortlisting. You will need to provide a full employment history including any gaps since leaving full time education.

We are committed to continuous improvement, building a skilled, knowledgeable, and flexible workforce alongside promoting innovation and creativity whilst keeping children, young people and families at the heart of all we do.

We really value our workforce and offer you a great benefits package including:

• 28 days annual leave, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time) and an additional 5 days, after 5 years.
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health pension protection.
• Opportunity to purchase up to 25 days annual leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Flexible and family working arrangements including enhanced maternity benefits.
• A permanent, supportive and inclusive management team where you will be empowered to make good professional decisions.
• Extensive Learning & Development and career development opportunities.
• Subsidised town centre car parking scheme.

About us

At Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, children, young people and families are at the heart of all we do – in every decision we make and every action we take. Our mission is driven by the unwavering commitment to achieving the best outcomes for them. The Trust is wholly owned and funded but operationally independent from the Councils.

Our workforce are our most valuable asset and are pivotal to making the services and support we offer to children, young people and families who need us to be the absolute best we can be.

We value our colleagues and empower them to be able to do the best job of their lives every single day, working in a culture of support and kindness where achievements are celebrated and creativity is very much welcomed.

At NCT equality, diversity and inclusion are part of us and in everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and thrive in our organisation. We are a disability confident employer and have a commitment to care leavers who we guarantee an interview if they meet the essential criteria.

Join our dedicated team and be a part of an organisation where your work makes a real difference.