Young People and Families Service Manager

Location (UK): Office Hybrid* - London / Sheffield / Glasgow
Hours: 35 hours, full-time
Salary: £43,580 per annum (London), £41,504 per annum (rest of UK)
Benefits: Read more about the excellent benefits we offer
Contract type: 12 months, fixed-term contract
Travel: In England and Scotland every month, and occasionally across the UK, including occasional evenings and weekends
Closing date: 23:59 hours, Sunday 12 July 2026

Join us and use your skills, knowledge, passion and energy to help us achieve a future free from arthritis.

This role requires an experienced leader with a strong track record of managing and developing inclusive services for young people and families, ideally within health or the voluntary sector, with skills in project management, safeguarding and safe practise, partnership-building, securing resources, and using data to drive impact.

The successful candidate will join the Young People and Families Service within the Services and Devolved Nations Directorate, working collaboratively with staff, volunteers, NHS partners, and community organisations to deliver and evolve support services across Scotland and England as part of a UK service, improve access, reduce inequalities, and ensure young people and families shape and benefit from high-quality, impactful support.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to shape and lead a national service that improves the lives of children and young people living with arthritis, with a strong focus on innovation, inclusion, and amplifying youth voice. The role offers the chance to build strategic partnerships across healthcare and communities, influence service design at key life stages, and drive meaningful change that reduces health inequalities. Working within a collaborative, values-led organisation, you’ll have real scope to grow and evolve our support service.

Key responsibilities include leading the delivery and continuous development of high-quality, safe, and inclusive services across England and Scotland as part of a UK service, managing and coaching staff and volunteers, and driving increased access and impact through strong planning and partnership working.

You will oversee safeguarding, budgets, data and performance frameworks, while embedding systems and processes that strengthen insight and delivery. The role also involves working closely with NHS and third-sector partners, supporting youth engagement and leadership, and ensuring services are shaped by young people and families.

About you

If your knowledge, skills and experience include the following then we’d love to hear from you:

Experience leading staff and volunteers to deliver inclusive, safe and impactful services for young people and families.
Track record of developing and evolving services to increase access and impact, including managing change with stakeholders.
Experience building effective partnerships across health, community and voluntary sectors.
Experience using service data collection and databases to drive performance, impact, and continuous improvement.
Understanding of disability and long-term health conditions, with a strong commitment to equity and inclusion.
Knowledge of children and young people’s rights, and experience ensuring participant and stakeholder voice shapes service development.
Strong planning and project management skills, with the ability to prioritise and deliver multiple workstreams.
Confident influencer, able to identify opportunities, build partnerships and drive improvement.

*As a hybrid worker the expectation is that you will spend around 40% of your working time in our office spaces or working in community settings.

As an inclusive employer we will consider home-based working for anyone where office-based hybrid working would be a barrier to being able to work for us, for example for someone living with a long-term health condition or disability.

Download the job description and person specification for the Young People and Families Service Manager role (Word 161KB).

Benefits

Your excellent benefits include:

Flexible hours, environments and working practices to promote a healthy work/life balance.
Health and wellbeing support – including the Employee Assistance Programme (free confidential 24/7 support with mental health, legal and financial queries).
Simplyhealth cash plan.
Supportive and inclusive culture, with a wide range of employee networks and support groups available to join.
Learning and personal development opportunities.
Employee supported volunteering.
Competitive annual leave, with the option to buy/sell up to five days per year.
Generous pension plan, with employer contribution of up to 10%.
Life Assurance plan (4 x salary).

How to apply

You must be based in and hold the right to work in the UK to apply for this position.

To apply you MUST submit:

a concise, up-to-date CV
along with an Application form (Word 159KB) demonstrating how you meet the key requirements set out in the job description and person specification for the Young People and Families Service Manager role (Word 161KB).
All sections of the application form must be fully completed.

Email both documents as Word or PDF attachments by 23:59 hours, Sunday 12 July 2026 to recruitment@arthritis-uk.org.

If you have a health condition that prevents you from following the steps above, please email us regarding alternative ways to apply, recruitment@arthritis-uk.org. 

Application deadline and shortlisting 

We advise candidates to apply early as we reserve the right to close applications ahead of this date.  
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

We do not wish to receive contact from agencies or media sales. 

Please note that we do not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) during our recruitment and selection processes, and we would respectfully ask that you also refrain from using AI during the selection process. Whilst we do recognise that AI may be a beneficial tool for some when aiding research and preparation for an application or interview, we want to maintain a fair, inclusive and positive recruitment experience at Arthritis UK where candidates can feel supported to demonstrate their experience, knowledge, and skills without the use of AI generated answers.

Interview

Interviews expected: Friday 17 July 2026 – expected to be in our London Office.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee you will be offered an interview if you disclose a disability and demonstrate sufficient evidence within your application that you meet the essential criteria for this role. We will also make any reasonable adjustments you may require for your interview.

About us

We have made a commitment in our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to increase the diversity of our charity and we welcome candidates from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We want our employees, volunteers and trustees to represent the broad diversity of the communities of which we are a part.

There are over 10 million people living with arthritis. That’s one in six, with over half of those living in pain every single day. The impact is huge as the condition slowly intrudes on everyday life – affecting the ability to work, care for a family, to move free from pain and to live independently. Yet arthritis is often dismissed as an inevitable part of ageing or shrugged off as ‘just a bit of arthritis’. We don’t think that this is OK. Arthritis UK is here to change that.

Arthritis UK is committed to keeping children, young people and vulnerable adults safe from harm. During the recruitment process we will undertake safer recruitment practices and relevant checks to ensure applicants are suitable to work with children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Versus Arthritis is now Arthritis UK. New name, same vision: a future free from arthritis.

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