ID: 1916 LifeSkills Open, Senior Practitioner (2 roles, one for South and one in the North)
LifeSkills

Salary: £28,884 - £31,698 FTE per annum – (Pro-rata for 18.5 hours: £14,442 - £15,849) Inclusive of home working allowance

Location: Homebased, with some travel within region of employment

Hours: Part-time (18.5 – 25 hours per week)

We offer flexible working arrangements - please see below for more details.

Contract: Temporary, until 31st Dec 2027

Family Action & the Role’s Impact:
At Family Action we support people through change, challenge or crisis. It’s what we’ve done for over 150 years. We protect children, support young people and adults and offer direct, practical help to families and communities.

We see first-hand the power of family to shape lives, for better or worse, so we speak up for the importance of family in national and local policymaking, amplify family voices and represent the changing needs of families in the UK today.

We are looking for an experienced and motivated Senior Practitioner to lead and develop the LifeSkills Open programme across a designated geographical area. The role combines leadership, service delivery and partnership development, supporting individuals and families to build confidence, strengthen social networks, improve financial capability and move closer to training, volunteering or employment.

As Senior Practitioner, you will help manage, supervise and support a team of Coordinators and Practitioners, oversee quality assurance and ensure the service delivers positive outcomes for learners. You will also work closely with partners and stakeholders to promote LifeSkills, develop new opportunities and maintain effective local networks. Alongside your management responsibilities, you will facilitate LifeSkills sessions directly and contribute to service development, reporting and continuous improvement.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone with excellent leadership, relationship-building and organisational skills who is passionate about empowering individuals and families and delivering high-quality community-based services.

Main Responsibilities:
• Provide leadership for the LifeSkills Open programme within a designated area, ensuring high-quality delivery, effective performance management, quality assurance, and positive outcomes for learners.
• Supervise, coach and develop Coordinators and Practitioners, providing guidance, oversight and support to ensure colleagues are confident, effective and delivering services to a consistently high standard.
• Develop relationships with community organisations, referral partners and stakeholders to increase reach and engagement, while delivering LifeSkills sessions and supporting individuals to improve confidence, financial capability, wellbeing and progression opportunities.

Main Requirements (for details check the job description and person specification):
• Experience of leading, supervising or supporting staff and volunteers, with the ability to motivate others, maintain high standards of practice and support continuous development.
• Proven ability to build and maintain effective relationships with community organisations, referral partners and external stakeholders to promote services and achieve positive outcomes.
• Experience of facilitating training, group work or support programmes with individuals and families, alongside a good understanding of issues such as financial wellbeing, employability, social inclusion and community engagement.
• Appointments are subject to Family Action receiving a satisfactory disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service – ENHANCED DBS LEVEL

Benefits:
- an annual paid leave entitlement that commences at 25 working days FTE, and after 1st April 2027, rises to 30 working days FTE plus bank holidays / of 30 working days FTE plus bank holidays pro rata
- up to 6% matched-pension contributions
- enhanced paid sick leave and paid family leave provisions
- eye care and winter flu jabs vouchers
- cycle to work scheme
- investing in your professional development with ongoing quality training and career development opportunities

We are forward looking, ambitious and committed to continuous improvement. We are a people focused, can-do organisation, which strives for excellence in all we do and operates with mutual respect.

To Apply:
• Click the ‘Apply’ link below and fill out our Expression of Interest form
• Closing Date: Monday 9th November 2026

Interviews are scheduled to take place from November 2026 virtually, with slots throughout the working day and early/late slots available.
For any queries, or if you would like to discuss any aspect of the selection process or the potential for flexible working, please email: Emily.phelps-jones@family-action.org.uk

All appointments with Family Action are subject to satisfactory Safer Recruitment checks.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion:
We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may need during the recruitment process and you will be asked whether you require any adjustments if shortlisted for interview. We also make reasonable adjustments on the job, where required.

We are committed to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion in all that we do and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Intersectionality is important to us and we welcome applications from ethnically diverse communities, LGBTQIA+ candidates and disabled candidates. We are committed to increasing the representation of these groups at Family Action because we know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for families and children and we strive for our workforce to be truly representative of the diverse communities we support.

All candidates with a disability are welcome to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and request priority consideration for an interview, provided they meet the essential criteria for the role.

To help remove financial barriers to working with us, we will reimburse reasonable travel costs if you are invited to attend an interview in person.

*Ordinarily Family Action appoints new starters at the starting point of the salary scale (with subsequent annual pay progression), unless you have experience that would justify appointment further up the salary scale or there are any other exceptional reasons.