Services Manager

Job title: Services Manager

Hours: Full time 37.5 hours per week

Location: Home-based in London/Southeast, with significant travel within region and nationwide.

Contract: Permanent

Are you an experienced employability service manager who would be able to confidently step into a 9-month maternity cover position and oversee a team of up to eight passionate and person-centred Employment Consultants, helping them deliver personalised, high-quality support to veterans and their families? You will also have the opportunity to contribute to our services development and continual improvement programme.

At the Poppy Factory, we help Armed Forces veterans and adult family members to find meaningful and sustainable employment after service. Our aim is to empower veterans and family members, help them to recognise their unique skills and give them the confidence and motivation to move forwards in their careers. We work alongside them to overcome barriers such as mental health, housing or addiction, on their journey to employment.

What we're looking for

• A collaborative mindset: You will thrive working as part of a team with colleagues based across the UK who support each other in what can sometimes be a challenging role. You enjoy building strong partnerships, and work effectively with colleagues and external organisations to enhance the services we offer to veterans and the Armed Forces community.
• Motivation and commitment: You understand that supporting people facing complex challenges can be demanding - and you're ready to bring the energy, empathy and resilience needed to support your team to succeed.
• Adaptability: This is a hugely varied role and no two days are the same. You will often need to balance competing priorities or quickly shift focus depending on the needs of the people you will be supporting. Balancing operational needs with strategic thinking can present a challenge that you will be confident you can overcome.
• An empowering approach: You believe in people and their potential. Whether supervising your team or developing services, your goal is to support others to grow, achieve and thrive.

Why should you apply?

• A chance to make a lasting impact: Your work will help veterans and their families move forward in life with confidence and dignity.
• Competitive salary and benefits including generous holiday and pension contributions.
• A welcoming and empowering culture, with regular opportunities for team connecting and shared learning throughout the year.
• Flexibility and variety: a mix of travelling in your area, home working and regular visits to the historic Poppy Factory in Richmond, London
• Autonomy and influence: The opportunity to shape your region, build meaningful partnerships, and develop services that meet real needs.
• Be part of an iconic charity with over a century of history supporting the Armed Forces community.

For the full job description and more information about the role please download the Candidate Pack.

Due to the travel requirements of the role and the region covered, it is essential that the post holder is able to meet these requirements through their own transport arrangements.

How to apply

To apply for this position please click "Apply for this job" to submit your CV and a covering letter outlining how you meet the essential criteria in the person specification. Please address your covering letter to Debbie Boughtflower, Director of Operations.

Top tip: we don't recommend using AI to generate your covering letter (we've seen a lot of covering letters and we promise, we can tell!) - we want to know what makes YOU a good fit for the role, and AI covering letters can't capture your personality, values and qualities, or what makes your specific combination of skills and experience an ideal candidate.

The closing date for applications will be 23 September 2026. Please note, we cannot accept late or incomplete applications. Only applications submitted through the online process will be considered.

Online interviews will be held on 1 or 2 October 2026, with potential second interviews on 12 October 2026 in person @ The Poppy Factory in Richmond, London.

To arrange an informal conversation about the role, please contact Kirsty Gronow at [email protected]

No agencies please.

The successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to equality, valuing diversity and promoting inclusion within our workforce. As an equal opportunities employer our commitment is to take positive measures to recruit people from underrepresented groups, and we actively encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and LGBT+ candidates as these groups are currently under-represented in our organisation.

As a Disability Confident employer, we offer a guaranteed interview for any job applicant with a disability who meets the essential criteria for the role. Please indicate in your covering letter if you wish to be considered under this scheme. We are also happy to discuss reasonable adjustments to the application or interview process to accommodate disabled candidates.

We are a family friendly employer and happy to discuss flexible working.

About The Poppy Factory

The Poppy Factory aims to be an exemplar employer. We recognise the impact that working with a challenging cohort can have on our staff, which is why we prioritise work/life balance and support mechanisms including training, supervision and EAP provision.

The Poppy Factory provides competitive terms and conditions of employment, including:

• Opportunity for home-based/hybrid and flexible working
• 28 days’ basic annual leave per year (including a day in lieu of Armistice Day, and 3 days’ Christmas closure), rising to 32 days with long service, plus bank holidays
• Double-matched pension contributions up to 10% employer contribution