Job Title

Job Role : Employability Team Leader Location : Oxfordshire (Hybrid approx. 3 days per week in Oxfordshire) Salary : 35,000 40,000 (dependent on experience) Contract : Permanent Proximity to Oxfordshire is essential due to regular on-site responsibilities. Role Overview: We are seeking an experienced Team Leader/Senior to lead the delivery of the Connect to Work programme across Oxfordshire. You will oversee a team of up to 20 staff (including partner organisations), ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality, person-centred employment support aligned with the IPS framework. This is a unique opportunity to help shape the direction, culture and operational foundations of a newly mobilised programme. Working closely with delivery partners, you will drive performance, create effective systems, build stakeholder networks, and ensure that service users receive exceptional support that delivers measurable outcomes. The successful candidate will be an inspiring leader with strong operational management experience, excellent stakeholder engagement skills, and the ability to deliver against demanding performance targets. Key Responsibilities: Programme Leadership & Delivery Lead a high-performing team, providing coaching, direction and consistent communication to ensure high standards across both in-house and partner staff. Build strong operational relationships with delivery partners, ensuring processes, expectations and responsibilities are clear, consistent and monitored. Ensure the programme is delivered in line with the IPS framework from launch, embedding quality, fidelity and continuous improvement. Drive performance to meet and exceed contractual targets, outcomes and service quality measures. Maintain strong standards of integrity, compliance and safeguarding throughout the team. Stakeholder & Employer Engagement Develop and implement a stakeholder engagement plan, building community networks that support customer engagement and reflect programme priorities. Co-produce an employer engagement plan, building strong relationships with local employers and ensuring shared goals and responsibilities. Hold key relationships with commissioners and external partners, producing performance updates and supporting collaboration across the region. Support co-location and cross-agency partnership activity where required. Operational Management Accurately forecast performance, resource needs and financial implications, addressing gaps in capacity, performance or fidelity as required. Lead on induction, onboarding and training for all staff and partners, with a focus on capability, development and retention. Oversee quality assurance processes and governance structures to ensure contractual, operational and safeguarding compliance. Manage performance across a supply chain model, ensuring seamless delivery and accountability. Programme Development & Mobilisation Support the mobilisation of new programme structures including recruitment, office setup, system configuration and supply chain alignment. Implement efficient operational processes that enable consistent, high-quality delivery from service launch onwards. Essential Criteria: Experience developing and delivering stakeholder engagement plans aligned to contract priorities. Proven operational management experience in a comparable sector, ideally managing dispersed or hybrid teams. Demonstrable success delivering against contractual performance targets or SLAs. Experience analysing performance data and using insights to drive improvements. Experience delivering through both an in-house team and supply chain partners. Strong skills in mobilising new services or programmes, including early-stage operational setup. Ability to influence and build effective relationships with a wide range of external stakeholders. Professional, independent and confident decision-maker with strong leadership presence. Desirable Criteria: Experience delivering SEQF and/or IPS contracts against fidelity standards. Experience leading employability, community support, education, integration or social care programmes. Understanding of the barriers faced by individuals out of work due to health or disability. Lived experience of challenges faced by service users (beneficial but not essential). Full driving licence and access to a vehicle due to community-based delivery. TPBN1_UKTJ