YMCA Robin Hood Group works relentlessly to ensure all children and young people can assess high quality early years childcare, term time and school holiday childcare, youth programmes as well as a whole range of other opportunities for children and young people to discover who they are and what they can become.

As our Children, Youth & Families Service continues to grow in a rapid fashion over the next 6-12 months in terms of the scope of services we offer, the number of individuals we serve and the impact we’re making, this feels the ideal time to introduce this new role to deliver on our outcomes and outputs.

Through the introduction of this role, we hope to allow for significant growth in current and new programmes, to streamline our team reporting lines and provide more support and opportunity to our current team.

All of this is to ensure that we as a team contribute to our North Star and our relentless dedication to ensure all children and young people have the developmental relationships that support them to connect with one another and their communities.

The Role

As Operations Manager - Children, Youth & Families, you’ll provide strategic direction and operational leadership across the CYF department with covers programmes across Nottingham and the wider county including Newark.

You’ll be responsible for ensuring the delivery of high-quality, sustainable services that align with our mission, vision, and values.

You’ll lead a diverse portfolio including:

• Residential and non-residential holiday camps
• Disability sport programmes
• Youth engagement services
• Family and community programmes

You’ll also take the lead on safeguarding, performance management, business planning, and partnerships – ensuring all our services are impactful, compliant, and financially sound.

There is huge scope to expand our services into other areas of our Association to continue to provide excellent services to the children and young people in our Communities. The possibilities are almost endless.

What You’ll Do

• Provide inspirational leadership across all CYF services, teams and activities.
• Develop and grow services aligned with the needs of children, young people, and families across our communities.
• Lead quality assurance and ensure we achieve and maintain “Good” or “Outstanding” Ofsted ratings.
• Act as Designated Safeguarding Lead for the CYF department.
• Work with internal and external partners to develop strategic opportunities and collaborations.
• Ensure financial sustainability through effective budget management and funding development.
• Drive innovation and continuous improvement, encouraging bold ideas and high standards.

Who We’re Looking For

We’re looking for a dynamic and passionate leader who is:

• Experienced in managing large-scale programmes for children, youth and families across multiple sites.
• Skilled in leading diverse teams, driving performance, and managing change.
• Confident working with partners, stakeholders, and funders.
• Knowledgeable about Ofsted regulations, safeguarding requirements, and the strategic landscape of children’s services.
• Driven by values and committed to delivering real impact for young people.

Key Requirements

• Significant operational leadership experience in children’s or youth-focused services.
• Proven ability to manage budgets, people, and performance to a high standard.
• Knowledge of local authority commissioning, Ofsted requirements, and safeguarding legislation.
• A degree in a relevant field; post-graduate qualification in management or leadership (desirable).
• Willingness to work flexibly and travel regularly across sites.

We envisage this role will be split between our Nottingham and Newark locations with you managing your diary to be where you need to be, when you need to there. Our work from home policy supports 1 day per week from home where practicable for the needs of the service.

This post is subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check (paid for by YMCA) and registration with the DBS Update Service. We reserve the right to withdraw this role before the closing date should we be able to appoint to the role.