Early Years Project Manager - Belfast, Northern Ireland

Due to the ongoing success of our children & early years centre in Belfast, a truly exciting opportunity has arisen for an Early Years Project Manager to join Mencap NI. We have recently agreed a new strategy, “Our Big Plan” and within this have a focus on early years support for children with a learning disability and their families. Northern Ireland currently holds the organisational lead for our early years priority.

The Centre provides a programme of early care and education for 2 – 3 year olds with significant developmental delay and the Project Manager (CEY) will have responsibility for ensuring the effective operational management of this programme and lead on the development of services for young children with a learning disability.

The successful candidate will work closely with and develop excellent working relationships with the health professionals team based at Mencap Centre. You will manage Mencap staff and coordinate with partners and stakeholders involved in the delivery of early years’ projects.

Key areas of Responsibility:

-          Manager of people

-          Manager of stakeholder relationships

-          Manager of Resources

-          Manager of information

* Please refer to the attached job description for more detailed information on the above *

• Managing budgets, resources and outcomes, ensuring the outcomes and learning from early years projects are shared across the organisation.
• Working with the Programme Manager Early Years Family Support to ensure co-ordination across the early years and early intervention programme of work.
• Working collaboratively with teams, including the health professionals team based in our Mencap Centre and across the organisation to provide operational expertise on delivering projects for young children.

We are looking for someone with a keen eye for detail who has a passion for making a difference. You will be someone who can take responsibility for the quality of the services whist working effectively with a range of stake holders both internally and externally.

The successful candidate will have the ability to troubleshoot and problem solve complex issues. The Project Manager will be robust with the ability to influence, inspire, motivate and instil confidence in others. The art of communication come naturally to the successful candidate enabling them to keep all parties informed of the progress of the projects.

Key Skills & Experiences:

• Extensive experience working with children and families is essential to be considered for this post
• Direct experience of managing within an early years’ service for young children
• Experience of managing budgets
• Knowledge and experience of children with a learning disability
• A Project Management qualification would be highly advantageous
• Ideally qualified to a degree level or equivalent
• Ability to build relationships with stakeholders is essential
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Great overall IT skills with an emphasis on Microsoft Office Suite.

In addition to the things above, at Mencap we expect our employees to:

-          be positive about working for Mencap and to demonstrate this to all the people they come into contact with

-          work well with all of their colleagues

-          take responsibility for their own development

This is a varied role where what you do will make a difference in someone’s life and future. If you are passionate about what Mencap NI do and want to be a part of our future, then we want to hear from you!

Please quote job reference: 4910

Please click the “Apply” button to register you interest today … Good luck!!

We believe that all our people are amazing and we wouldn't be able to achieve what we do without them. Here’s how we value and invest in them.

At Mencap we recognise and reward great behaviour and work with ‘You Rock’ – our awards scheme for staff and volunteers. Thousands of colleagues each year say thanks to each other through You Rock for a job well done, and every few months we give out treats to people who’ve done something extra special.

Our training is award winning and has a proven track record of creating high quality improvement in our services. Our innovative approach and commitment to continuous development has gained us ‘Centre of Excellence’ status from Skills for Care. And we are fully committed to the Leadership Qualities Framework so our training clearly helps to develop the attitudes and behaviours needed for high quality leadership at all levels. 

Developing our people is important to us. Through ‘Shape your future’ (our performance appraisal framework) we are able to understand how the efforts of each person who works for us; help us achieve our goal of making a difference to the lives of people with a learning disability. Our managers and teams have meaningful conversations about their day to day work, how they are contributing towards our goals and most importantly, how they demonstrate the values that are so important in everything we do.

Any colleague rated as ‘excellent’ in their Shape Your Future performance review is eligible to apply to our ‘You’ve Got Talent’ programme, where they get access to a mentor, a chance to get involved in special strategic projects, our leadership training programme or to apply for a bursary to undertake additional training.

We offer a competitive holiday allowance.

Through our pension scheme with NEST we help our people save for their future by matching the payments they make into it. If eligible, you will be automatically enrolled into NEST within three months of joining. If you are in NEST, you will also be eligible for life insurance cover.

Being an employee means that you have exclusive access to Mencap Extras, an online portal offering discounts at high street shops including major super markets, cinemas, gyms, visits to leisure / theme parks, holidays – flights and hotel bookings and much much more. Discounts come in various forms and can vary from 3% to 30%.

You can also take advantage of salary exchange offers on our childcare voucher scheme, Cycle2Work scheme and loans for mobile phones.  We also offer loans to buy season tickets for travel, laptops and tablets.

Through our Essentials4health scheme you can also join our health cash plan at competitive rates, which allows you to claim cash towards dental check-ups and treatment, new glasses or contact lenses, therapy treatments as well as have access to a 24/7 GP consultation service. 

In addition, you will be able to access lifestyle support, our employee assistance programme, which is around the clock free and confidential assistance via phone, email, instant messaging and, where necessary face to face meetings, to help you on matters such as consumer rights, wellbeing, family matters debt management as well as useful resources and advice on anything from finding a reliable babysitter or locksmith to organising a children’s party. 

At Mencap, we are so much more than an employer and you are far more than just an employee.