Job Description Position: Connect to Work Project Manager Department/Service: Hours of Work: Working Pattern: Leave: Location: Future Support 37hrs per week (subject to Four Day Week Scheme following 6-months in post) Mon-Fri with evenings and weekends as required 25 days pa plus Bank Holidays Norwich based – with some travel to North Norfolk required Salary: Application Deadline: Tuesday 21st October 2025 (midnight) £37,338 Interview Date: Monday 27th October Our vision is of vibrant and strong communities where everybody can live independent, safe and happy lives. Vision statement: Purpose: The Project Manager will lead the successful end-to-end delivery of Connect to Work (CtW) across Norwich and North Norfolk - mobilising the project, building partnerships, leading the team, and delivering exceptional performance and quality in line with IPS fidelity and the Service Specification. Context: The Connect to Work project (CtW) is managed by Norfolk County Council Employment & Skills department. Connect to Work is a voluntary programme to help tackle economic inactivity by providing a specific form of support targeted at the right people at the right time, based on their individual circumstances. Participants must be both eligible and suitable for the provision. Connect to Work will deliver the evidence- based Supported Employment model, ‘place, train, and maintain’, building on the existing DWP funded Supported Employment programmes; Local Supported Employment (LSE) and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) and delivering over a 5-year period 2025-2030. Good quality work provides people with income, social interaction, and a sense of fulfilment and purpose among many other benefits. It’s known that work has a positive effect on people’s physical and mental health, and their wellbeing, while unemployment often has a harmful impact. Connect to Work will take a collaborative, locally led approach to tackling ‘Hidden Unemployment’ across Norfolk. The aim for the project is to transform lives and make a difference for disabled people, people with health conditions and other complex barriers to employment, helping them to get into and on in work. Key Deliverables include: 1) mobilisation, service design & governance 2) partnerships & system integration (health, VCSE, DWP, local employers) 3) employer network leadership, market engagement & communications 4) people leadership, supervision & IPS fidelity 5) performance, quality, risk & compliance 6) data, MI, reporting & insight 7) direct service contribution & escalation handling Job Title: Project Manager September 2025 Page 1 of 6 Person Specification: You will be fully accountable for the successful end-to-end management of CtW and trusted to run the programme to an exceptional standard. As such you will be highly motivated, able to work independently, and goal-focused. You will be an exceptional problem solver with strong emotional intelligence. Essential Significant project/programme management experience (3+ years) with full life-cycle responsibility, ideally within employment support or adjacent public/VCSE services Proven experience delivering or managing IPS-fidelity supported employment (or very similar evidence- based programmes) Strong understanding of the Equality Act 2010, reasonable adjustments, and the barriers/strengths of people with health conditions and disabilities Extensive employer engagement experience (including account management, job development and influencing at senior level) Excellent leadership and people management: supervision, coaching, performance management and culture-building Strong safeguarding, health & safety and lone working practice and oversight within support settings Skilled in data/MI, dashboards and turning insight into action; confident reporting and presenting to stakeholders Outstanding partnership skills across NHS Primary Care/ICS, social care, VCSE and DWP/JCP Able to provide hands-on IAG, problem-solve complex cases and support delivery when needed Highly organised, decisive and resilient; able to work flexibly, including evenings/weekends to meet project and participant needs Desirable Experience leading marketing/communications activity for programmes or services Knowledge of welfare benefits and their interaction with employment Experience commissioning/managing supply chains or partner frameworks (e.g., SSF) About Future Projects: Future Projects is a charity which was founded in 2000 by two volunteers who had become increasingly frustrated at the social exclusion, poverty, and lack of support available in their local community. They recognised that the issues people faced on their local housing estate in Norwich – one of the most deprived in the U.K. – could not be resolved by simply addressing one problem at a time in isolation. So they set about working with the local community to understand their needs and ambitions, and developed projects in youth work, education, media and advice along the way. Today, we aim to help people in difficult situations build in their strengths and capabilities, and to develop the skills confidence and resilience to take control and transform their lives. We do this by providing high quality services in the community which promote education, health & wellbeing, skills, employment and improved life chances. Our current projects and services are organised in three distinct departments as set out below. Job Title: Project Manager September 2025 Page 2 of 6 Detailed duties and responsibilities: Key Deliverable 1) mobilisation, service design & governance Purpose: set up the project at pace and to a high standard, ensuring clear plans, systems and governance – and maintain these over the life of the programme. • Further develop, and deliver the project mobilisation plan (staffing, induction, training, systems, venues etc) • implement the Specialist Support Framework (SSF): onboard providers, define service offers aligned to participant need, set SLAs and reporting • establish and meet programme governance arrangements with NCC colleagues, including cadence for contract/performance meetings, progress monitoring etc. • develop and maintain risk, issue and dependency register with mitigations • Maintain close oversight of delivery and implement adaptations as required to deliver strong performance Key Deliverable 2) partnerships & system integration (health, VCSE, DWP, local employers) Purpose: build productive relationships that generate referrals, encourage partnership working and support better outcomes for participants. • lead engagement with Primary Care Networks, NHS/ICS teams, social care, VCSE networks, JCP/DEAs and community partners to delivery truly integrated employment and health support • agree referral routes, warm handovers and co-case-management arrangements; chair/join MDTs, locality forums and other groups to promote the project and its activity/outcomes • collaborate with other CtW delivery partners to align practice, share learning and amplify the impact of CtW across all of Norfolk • represent CtW locally, influence decision-makers and broker support that benefits participants and employers Job Title: Project Manager September 2025 Page 3 of 6 Key Deliverable 3) employer network leadership, market engagement & communications Purpose: grow a high-value employer network and lead communications that drive opportunities to deliver positive outcomes. • lead the team’s employer engagement strategy, aligning relationships with the local sectors and participant employment routes • oversee marketing and communications for CtW in line with programme guidelines, co-branding and NCC comms protocols • cultivate business networks and anchor institutions; secure commitments for inclusive recruitment, job carving and sustained employment • act as senior lead in complex employer cases; escalate and unblock quickly to secure outcomes Key Deliverable 4) people leadership, supervision & IPS fidelity Purpose: lead, develop and support staff to deliver high-quality IPS-aligned practice. • • line manage and supervise Employment Specialists across the county, providing coaching, case management reviews and support in line with IPS standards and charity protocols track caseloads, flow and intensity; balance and allocate cases amongst the team; deploy contingency capacity to meet demand spikes • set clear standards for IPS fidelity; run file/case audits and practice observations; address gaps with targeted CPD, coaching and support/direction • ensure safe and effective practice across safeguarding, lone working and health & safety Key Deliverable 5) performance, quality, risk & compliance Purpose: deliver contract targets and continuous improvement with robust controls to ensure the project remains on track throughout. • own the performance plan and trajectory for referrals, starts, employer engagement, job starts and sustainments • Oversee and report against the above and all other CtW related KPIs/objectives • monitor provider performance under the SSF; set KPIs, review quality/evidence and take corrective action where required • maintain compliance with contractual requirements, data protection, equality law and organisational policies • lead internal/external audits, fidelity reviews and lessons-learned – both internally and externally, and embed improvements into planning and practice • ensure that equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDIB) is embedded in all practice; challenge discrimination, remove barriers (including reasonable adjustments) and use accessible, person- centred communication Key Deliverable 6) data, MI, reporting & insight Purpose: turn data into action and communicate progress clearly to stakeholders. • oversee accurate/timely MI and case records; maintain dashboards for caseload, outcomes, employer activity and fidelity indicators • analyse trends (cohort mix, conversion, sustainment risks) to target activity and improve outcomes • prepare high-quality reports and presentations for NCC, system partners and internal governance; evidence impact and value • Lead the contribution to monitoring and evaluation efforts, providing insight internally and externally Job Title: Project Manager September 2025 Page 4 of 6 Key Deliverable 7) direct service contribution & escalation handling Purpose: stay close to delivery and provide resilience when needed with a small caseload of participants. • hold a small contingency caseload when required and support complex cases (participant or employer) • provide cover during staff absence/peaks; model excellent participant and employer engagement • Remain abreast of developments and local trends in the labour market, employment law and relevant practice (e.g. Equality Act 2010) Other • undertake any other duties reasonably required and commensurate with the role to meet participant, employer and programme needs, including supporting service improvement, training and cover as needed This Job Description is intended to provide a broad outline of the main duties and responsibilities only. It is not exhaustive, and is subject to review in conjunction with the post holder and according to future changes/developments in the service. Job environment: This is a highly mobile role requiring delivery in community venues, primary care and health settings, partner organisations’ premises, and Future Projects offices, with significant expectation of evening and weekend working where needed to meet the needs of participants and the service. Supervision: The post holder will report to the Support Services Manager and will be subject to regular performance reviews and support sessions. Line Management Responsibility: The post has line management responsibility for c10 Employment Specialists in Norwich and North Norfolk. As such, the role includes regular direction, support and supervision in line with the charity’s procedures. Health and Safety/Safeguarding: The post holder must comply with policies and procedures relating to health and safety, security, confidentiality, data protection, and safeguarding adults and children. Future Projects is committed to safeguarding children and at-risk adults, and expects all staff and volunteers to share that commitment. Our primary concern is always the safety and wellbeing of children and vulnerable adults. • The Charity’s Designated Safeguarding Lead for Children is: Jane MacLennan – Deputy Head Teacher at Future Education: j.maclennan@futureeducation.org.uk 01603 251 310 • The Charity’s Designated Safeguarding Lead for Vulnerable Adults is: Grace Richardson – Support Services Manager: g.richardson@futureprojects.org.uk 01603 250 505 Future Projects will provide a programme of induction and training to include Health & Safety and Safeguarding, and will make external training available as required. It is a requirement that all employees complete this training and refreshers as directed to ensure compliance with our procedures. Equalities: The post holder must be aware of, support and promote equality and diversity in all its forms, and ensure that clients have equality of access to the services on offer. In the context of this role, this includes being mindful of participants’ access requirements to information, facilities and services and making reasonable adjustments where appropriate. Future Projects is an equal opportunities employer, a Living Wage employer, and a Disability Confident employer; more information is available on request. Job Title: Project Manager September 2025 Page 5 of 6 Pre-employment checks: Appointment is subject to satisfactory checks completed before start, including proof of identity and right to work in the UK, an enhanced DBS (adult workforce; adults’ barred list if the role meets ‘regulated activity’), and two references (including your current/most recent manager). we will verify stated qualifications/experience and discuss any employment gaps at interview. having a criminal record does not automatically bar you; decisions are made case by case in line with legislation. Applicant instructions: - Complete the application form in full. Explain any gaps in employment; incomplete applications may not be shortlisted. - Tailor your answers. Use the person specification and key deliverables to structure your application with clear, outcome-focused examples where appropriate. - References. Provide two referees (one must be your current/most recent line manager). We will not contact referees without your consent and not before interview/outcome. - Reasonable adjustments. Tell us if you need any adjustments for the application or interview - we are happy to help. - Interview format. Shortlisted candidates will complete one panel interview (we will send discussion topics in advance) and one service-user interview/exercise. Dates are published with the advert; please let us know if you are not available on these days. - Submission. Follow the advert instructions (deadline, where to send, file format). CVs are not considered. - Data. We will handle your information in line with our recruitment privacy notice and GDPR. Job Title: Project Manager September 2025 Page 6 of 6