| Service | Catalyst – Community Services |
| Job Title | Senior Manager: Community Wellbeing Services |
| Reports to | Director of Services |
| Location | Nankeville & Hybrid – with regular presence across community sites, partner organisations and Catalyst locations |
| Hours | 1 FTE (to be worked flexibly for needs of business) |
| Salary | £41000 – £45000 p.a. FTE |
| Organisation | Who we are:
Catalyst Support is a leading Surrey charity dedicated to championing wellness across communities, transforming lives by addressing mental, physical, and emotional health needs. Guided by the belief that wellness is a right for all, Catalyst Support embodies its moto, Supporting Wellness Together, by empowering individuals and communities with innovative, accessible services. With embedded values of kindness, integrity, and commitment, the charity strives to create sustainable, transformative social impact. Through strong partnerships, ethical governance, and initiatives focused on environmental and financial sustainability, Catalyst Support aligns its efforts with national health priorities, embracing the opportunities to lead the way in integrated, preventative, and community-based care. |
| Purpose of role | This is a senior leadership role accountable for the strategic direction, operational performance and integration of Catalyst’s community-based services and partnerships across Surrey.
As Senior Manager: Community Wellbeing Services, you will hold leadership responsibility for key services including Community Connections, Safe Haven and Counselling, ensuring they are safe, effective, high-quality and aligned within a coherent organisational approach. Beyond service oversight, you will lead the development of a connected and responsive community offer, ensuring Catalyst’s services operate as part of a wider network of provision across Surrey. You will play a central role in shaping |
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| how services connect with each other and with external partners to create clear, accessible and holistic pathways for clients.
You will lead the development of a coherent community wellbeing operating model, ensuring clarity of roles, responsibilities and pathways across services. You will define and drive what partnership working means at Catalyst, building strong, visible relationships across the VCSE sector, statutory services and local networks, and ensuring Catalyst is a trusted, active and vibrant presence within local communities. A key focus of the role is ensuring consistent quality, strong safeguarding practice and effective performance across diverse community settings, supported by clear standards, oversight and continuous improvement. You will be expected to be highly visible and present across services and partnerships, maintaining close connection to delivery, staff, communities and stakeholders. This is a strategic portfolio leadership role accountable for delivering a connected ‘One Catalyst’ model across services, moving beyond service-level leadership to portfolio-level accountability. |
Key Responsibilities
- Service Leadership and Portfolio Oversight
- Hold accountability for the strategic direction, performance, leadership and system integration of the community wellbeing portfolio, including across Community Connections, Safe Haven and Counselling services, ensuring they are well-led, safe and delivering high-quality support.
- Hold strategic oversight of service delivery through senior staff, maintaining visibility of performance, risk, quality and workforce capacity.
- Ensure services are aligned in their approach, standards and delivery, moving from service specific models to a more cohesive organisational offer.
- Lead the development of a coherent community wellbeing operating model across the portfolio.
- Hold accountability for the effectiveness of leadership across services, ensuring consistent delivery, quality and performance across the portfolio.
- Ensure services are sustainable, responsive and aligned with organisational priorities. • Lead implementation of the new portfolio structure, including phased transition and stabilisation, and hold accountability for delivery of change, continuity of service, operational performance, service quality and the realisation of intended outcomes throughout and beyond transition.
- Maintain ongoing responsibility following transition for embedding change, stabilising delivery and realising intended service and organisational outcomes.
- Community Partnerships and System Working
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- Lead and shape Catalyst’s community wellbeing and partnership approach, ensuring services are well-integrated within local networks and pathways.
- Shape place-based service development and community pathways across the portfolio • Lead and influence strategic relationships with VCSE partners, statutory services and community organisations.
- Support the development of clear, accessible and holistic pathways for clients across services and partners.
- Visibility, Presence and System Influence
- Maintain a strong and consistent presence across services, community settings and partner organisations.
- Act as a visible senior leader within Surrey’s community and VCSE landscape. • Build and sustain relationships with local charities, community groups and statutory partners. • Represent Catalyst within local forums, partnerships and place-based discussions. • Ensure Catalyst is recognised as an engaged, reliable and influential partner within the communities it serves.
- Quality Assurance and Practice Standards
- Lead and embed consistent quality assurance processes across Community Services, including: Connections, Safe Haven and Counselling services.
- Ensure high standards of practice across varied and dispersed community settings. • Oversee audits, case quality, service standards and data integrity.
- Identify themes, risks and areas for improvement, taking action to strengthen delivery. • Promote reflective practice and continuous learning across teams.
- Safeguarding and Risk Management
- Act as the senior safeguarding lead within the Community Partnerships portfolio • Provide oversight of safeguarding decision-making, incidents and escalations • Ensure consistent application of safeguarding policies and procedures across all services • Maintain visibility of risk across community delivery, including outreach, lone working and partnership environments
- Support staff to manage complex risk confidently and safely within community settings
- People Management and Leadership Culture
- Lead through senior and operational leaders across the community wellbeing portfolio including Community Connections, Safe Haven and Counselling services
- Hold accountability for leadership capability, performance and consistency across services • Define and implement clear accountability structures across services, ensuring clarity on roles, decision-making and escalation routes
- Ensure the workforce is structured and developed to operate effectively within the portfolio model.
- Contribute to workforce development and readiness to operate within the portfolio’s evolving service model, including preparation for and support through transition.
- Define and implement clear accountability structures across services, ensuring clarity on ownership, decision-making, escalation routes and where responsibilities sit across the portfolio.
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- Identify, monitor and mitigate workforce risks across the portfolio, including capacity pressures, burnout, vacancies and capability gaps
- Maintain oversight of team performance, wellbeing and development across the portfolio • Embed reflective practice, learning and continuous professional development • Work with People & Culture to support recruitment, performance management and workforce planning
- Performance, Contracts and Financial Oversight
- Hold accountability for contract delivery, KPIs and performance across the Community Partnerships portfolio
- Ensure systems, processes and operational infrastructure across the portfolio are designed and maintained to enable delivery of KPIs, quality standards and contractual outcomes. • Lead on commissioner relationships relating to service delivery, performance and development • Monitor performance data, identifying risks and addressing underperformance proactively • Work with finance colleagues to set, manage and monitor budgets across services • Contribute to financial forecasting and service sustainability planning
- Ensure accurate, timely and high-quality reporting to commissioners and stakeholders
- Leadership Contribution
- Be an active member of the operational management group, contributing to organizational best practice, learning and development.
- Hold accountability for translating organisational strategy into a coherent operating model across the portfolio, ensuring services, structures, pathways and leadership arrangements support delivery.
- Work in partnership with the Director of Services to shape strategy, operating models and future service design.
- Carry out other responsibilities and duties appropriate to the seniority of the role and reasonably required to fulfil Catalyst’s mission and organisational objectives.
- The services listed in this job description may change depending on the needs of the organisation, and where services end or new services are provided.
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Person Specification
Qualifications & Experience
Essential
- Relevant professional qualification in mental health, social care, counselling, community development or a related field, and/or substantial equivalent professional experience, with a strong applied understanding of community-based and partnership-led service delivery
- Significant experience working within community settings, supporting individuals and communities with a range of needs, including mental health, wellbeing and social disadvantage, and a strong understanding of local systems and networks
- Proven experience of managing staff and services in complex environments, including line management, supervision and oversight of delivery across multiple services or programmes • Strong safeguarding knowledge and sound professional judgement, with experience of holding
safeguarding decisions and managing risk within multi-agency and community contexts • Demonstrable experience of working in partnership with a range of stakeholders, including VCSE organisations and statutory services, with the ability to build, sustain and influence effective working relationships
- Demonstrable ability to operate at a strategic level while ensuring effective delivery across a portfolio of services, including oversight of performance, quality and service improvement, and the ability to lead services through change and development
- High level of emotional intelligence, resilience and integrity, with the ability to hold complexity, lead others through change, and work in partnership with a range of stakeholders and partners.
Desirable
- Management or leadership qualification or equivalent senior leadership experience within community based-services.
- Experience of contract management, commissioner reporting and performance improvement. • Experience of service redesign, pathway development or system integration across multiple services or organisations
- Experience of working within commissioned services and engaging with commissioners
Knowledge & Skills
- Strong understanding of community-based service delivery, partnership working and place-based approaches
- Ability to lead and embed quality assurance processes across dispersed and varied service settings
- Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage effectively across a range of stakeholders and settings
- Ability to interpret and use data to inform service improvement, performance management and decision-making
- High level of emotional intelligence, with the ability to lead with clarity, integrity and professional boundaries in complex environments
- Ability to maintain visibility and connection across services while holding strategic oversight
Additional Requirements:
- Ability to travel regularly across Surrey and work flexibly across multiple sites and community settings
- Ability to maintain a consistent and purposeful presence across services, partnerships and local networks
- Ability to prioritise effectively and operate with clarity within a complex and changing environment
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- Ability to manage emotionally demanding work with professionalism and appropriate boundaries.
- Commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusive practice, and to delivering gender-informed, trauma-responsive services.
This is a portfolio-level leadership role accountable for integration, performance and system-wide delivery.
Equal Opportunities Statement
We acknowledge the unique contribution that all Catalyst employees, volunteers and clients can bring to our organisation in terms of their culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital status, nationality, age, religion or belief and any physical disability or history of mental health or additional problems.
We recognise the value of lived experience and the unique perspectives that people bring, and we actively encourage applications from women from diverse backgrounds.
All appointments are based on merit and no applicant or volunteer will be treated unfairly or discriminated against. All employees and volunteers have equal access to development.
Any employee or volunteer who breaches this policy may be subject of grievance and/or disciplinary procedures.
This post is subject to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at an enhanced level. Please note past drug and/or alcohol or criminality history will not necessarily discount you from undertaking this role.
Catalyst Support is committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and in employment. Please let us know if you require any adjustments to support your application.
Amendments: This role description accurately reflects the present position; it may be amended and reviewed. Any change will be made following a period of consultation.