Centre Manager in Edinburgh

We are currently looking for a Centre Manager to join the team in the Edinburgh Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre. If this sounds like a role you would be interested in, please read on for more information.

Hours: Full time – 37.5 hours per week

Salary: £36,777 - £39,916.50 per annum (depending on experience)

Contract Type: Permanent

About the Scottish SPCA: As Scotland's animal welfare charity, we have been on-hand to protect animals and prevent cruelty since 1839 – that’s over 186 years of creating a better world for all animals. We’ve grown to become a national charity which celebrates the strength of the human-animal bond and enriches the lives of animals and people. We are Scotland's animal champions.

What does a Centre Manager do? The Centre Manager provides strategic and operational leadership to ensure the effective delivery of centre objectives through empowering, coaching and enabling others to perform at their best. The role is accountable for creating a high-performing, inclusive and values-led culture where colleagues feel connected, supported and clear on expectations, enabling strong performance outcomes across service delivery, operational effectiveness and animal care.

The post holder actively role-models and embeds the organisation's Ways of Working by shaping a culture built on trust, respect and accountability. This includes fostering open and honest communication, encouraging collaboration across teams and creating an environment where positive attitudes, constructive behaviours and shared ownership of outcomes are the norm.

Through visible and authentic leadership, the Centre Manager translates organisational strategy into clear local priorities, aligning people, resources and processes to achieve sustainable results. The role holds full accountability for local performance, governance and compliance, ensuring a safe system of work is embedded and that organisational policies, procedures and processes are consistently followed across health and safety, people management, operations and financial activities.

The post holder leads a fast-paced and complex operation, balancing competing priorities while maintaining high standards and a strong focus on quality, wellbeing and risk management. Using insight, data and feedback, they identify opportunities to strengthen performance, build capability and enhance the experience for colleagues, volunteers and service users, while recognising and celebrating positive contributions and teamwork.

While maintaining strong oversight of animal welfare standards, the primary focus is leading through others to achieve sustainable results, positive team dynamics and an excellent overall service. Experience or understanding of animal welfare is desirable; however, success in the role is driven by leadership impact, operational excellence and the ability to deliver outcomes through effective teamwork, clear accountability and consistent demonstration of the Ways of Working.

Overview of main duties and responsibilities:

• Ensure all operational, people and financial documentation is accurate, timely and fully compliant with organisational policies, procedures and governance standards, recognising the critical importance of this for risk management and organisational assurance.
• Lead a fast-paced and complex operation, ensuring priorities are managed effectively and standards remain high even under pressure.
• Monitor performance through data and insight, identifying opportunities for improvement and implementing solutions through the team.
• Ensure animal care and welfare standards are consistently achieved through strong oversight, effective processes and partnership with specialist teams.
• Strengthen cross-functional collaboration with internal stakeholders and external partners to support effective service delivery and positive outcomes.
• Lead change initiatives locally, ensuring colleagues are engaged, informed and supported through transitions.
• Oversee resource and budget management, ensuring financial processes are followed and accountability for expenditure is maintained.
• Hold accountability for local delivery of organisational objectives, ensuring priorities are clear and progress is regularly reviewed.
• Lead, review and manage colleague performance, setting clear objectives and holding individuals accountable for outcomes through regular feedback and structured performance conversations.
• Build and sustain a high-performing team through coaching, development and a strong focus on wellbeing, engagement and inclusion.
• Create an environment where colleagues feel psychologically safe to contribute ideas, challenge constructively and continuously improve ways of working.

What makes a good Centre Manager?

• Strategic Leadership: Ability to set direction, align teams to organisational priorities and deliver results through others.
• People Performance & Accountability: Confidently manages performance, sets clear expectations and addresses issues constructively.
• Operational Excellence: Demonstrates strong organisational capability in running complex, fast-paced services while maintaining high standards.
• Health, Safety & Risk Leadership: Champions a proactive safety culture and ensures compliance with safe systems of work.
• Collaborative Working: Builds strong relationships and encourages teamwork, knowledge sharing and inclusion.
• Communication & Influence: Communicates with clarity and empathy, adapting style to engage and inspire diverse audiences.
• Governance & Attention to Detail: Ensures processes, documentation and controls are consistently followed and improved.
• Change & Improvement Mindset: Leads change confidently, encouraging innovation and continuous improvement.
• Emotional Intelligence: Demonstrates self-awareness, empathy and sound judgement in complex situations.
• Values & Behavioural Role Modelling: Consistently demonstrates positive Ways of Working through actions, decisions and leadership style.

Candidates who are successful during the application process will be invited to attend a selection day. This will provide an opportunity to further assess suitability for the role, as well as give candidates more insight into the position and our organisation.

We are fortunate that some of our roles attract a high level of interest; therefore, we may have to close roles earlier than advertised. Early application submissions are highly recommended. This also means that we cannot provide individual feedback to unsuccessful candidates due to receiving high levels of applications.

The Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We recognise that a diverse and inclusive workforce is essential to achieving our core mission.