About the role

ID: 1818 Operational Manager, Wigan & Bolton (MH Crisis Support)
Wigan Crisis Space & Bolton Listening Lounge & TOGS MIND

Salary: £42,562 –£46,703 FTE per annum (Pro-rata for part-time hours - £34,049 - £37,362)
- Additionally, £480 home-based allowance FTE per annum (pro-rata £384)

Location: Hybrid – please note we would expect Operational Managers to have a regular presence within services

Hours: 29.6 hours per week (Part-time) Plus out of hours management cover and support

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

Contract: Permanent

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.

This is an exciting opportunity to lead the operational delivery of our Listening Lounge and Crisis Space services that operate across Bolton and Wigan. The service operates from 3pm – 10pm , 7 days per week. There is an expectation that the post holder will work flexibly to meet the needs of the service. Please see Job Description for additional information.

The Listening Lounge services form part of the Greater Manchester VCSE crisis pathway, we are non- clinical alternative to A&E. The focus of our work is to offer timely support to adults who are experiencing mental and emotional distress and suicide ideation. The Listening Lounge service is an out of hours service that creates a safe space for adults to access timely compassionate support from trained recovery workers.

The Operational Manager will have responsibility to line manage two service managers who will provide the day to day, onsite operational delivery support to both services. We are looking for a values driven leader who can support and develop both services to increase our reach to adults who are experiencing a MH crisis.
The Operational Manager will also have responsibility to ensure that our sub-contracting relationship with TOGS MIND is managed effectively. Family Action is a delivery partner for the 111 press 2 Mental Health Urgent Triage team located within the Northwest Ambulance service call centres.

Main Responsibilities:
• Provide leadership, management and supervision to operational service delivery of both Listening Lounge and Crisis services.
• Ensure that services are delivered to a good quality standard in relation to practice and performance and that services can demonstrate their impact using evidence-based outcomes tools.

Main Requirements (for details check the job description and person specification):
• Experience of providing effective management, leadership and safeguarding oversight of Mental health case work and group work-based support MH services, which overall improve the lives of service users.
• Experience of setting up and/or managing innovative projects.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the confidence and ability to present and communicate information effectively both in person and using a range of mediums to internal and external stakeholders, adults, children, young people and funders.
• Appointments are subject to Family Action receiving a satisfactory disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service –Enhanced

Benefits:
- an annual paid leave entitlement that commences at 25 working days, rising each April by one day, subject to a maximum of 30 working days plus bank holidays / of 30 working days plus bank holiday pro rata
- up to 6% matched-pension contributions
- flexible working arrangements and new starters have the right to make flexible working requests from day one of employment
- 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 Now” link below and fill out our digital application form
• Closing Date: 1st July 2026

Interviews are scheduled to take place on: Monday 13th July 2026 in Wigan.

For direct queries or if you would like to discuss any aspect of the selection process or flexible working requests, please email: rita.cromme@family-action.org.uk or lisa.handley@family-action.org.uk.

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 particularly welcome applications from ethnically diverse communities, LGBTQIA+ candidates and disabled candidates because we are committed to increasing the representation of these groups at Family Action. We know that greater diversity will lead to even greater results for families and children and strive for our workforce to be truly representative of the diverse communities we support. We offer a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role, and will reimburse your travel cost if you attend an interview.

*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.