Engage Deputy Manager

Salary: £40,000 - £45,000 per annum
Hours: 40 hours per week, full year
Location: Keys Head Office, Ipswich, Suffolk
Holiday: 25 days plus Bank Holidays
Travel: Regular travel across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex required
Reports to: Service Lead - Engage

Keys Engage is a specialist, trauma-informed programme supporting children and young people who are unable to access traditional education successfully.

Through highly personalised, relationship-based support, we help learners build confidence, resilience, emotional regulation, independence and positive learning behaviours, enabling them to move towards sustainable educational destinations.

Preparing young people for education by developing the person before the learner.

We are seeking an experienced and approachable operational leader to join Keys Engage as Deputy Manager.

Reporting to the Service Lead, you will play a key role in ensuring the smooth day-to-day operation of the service. You will directly manage Progress Coordinators, provide operational oversight and performance support to Engage Mentors, and ensure learner journeys continue to progress positively.

This role requires someone who can maintain strong operational oversight across a growing service, support staff performance, monitor quality and safeguarding standards, and work collaboratively with colleagues, families, schools, Local Authorities and other professionals.

• Oversee the daily operation of the Engage service across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.
• Identify and resolve operational challenges including staffing pressures, capacity issues and delivery gaps.
• Ensure delivery remains aligned to the Engage trauma-informed and relational practice model.
• Monitor service performance and elevate significant concerns appropriately.

• Maintain oversight of learner progress through the Engage framework.
• Ensure learners are making meaningful progress and receiving the support they need.
• Support effective transition planning, helping learners move towards mainstream, specialist or alternative educational destinations.
• Ensure actions from reviews, meetings and commissioner discussions are followed through.

• Line manage Progress Coordinators through supervision, support and accountability.
• Conduct quality and performance reviews with Engage Mentors.
• Identify development needs and support continuous professional growth.
• Address performance concerns in line with organisational procedures.

• Ensure safeguarding, quality assurance and compliance systems are consistently implemented.
• Maintain high standards of documentation, reporting and record keeping.
• Monitor emerging safeguarding, risk and quality themes and ensure appropriate escalation.

• Assess the operational feasibility of new referrals.
• Consider learner needs, risk, staffing availability, geography and service capacity.
• Provide recommendations regarding placement suitability and sustainability.

• Build strong professional relationships with Local Authorities, schools, families and partner agencies.
• Act as an operational point of contact for complex delivery issues.
• Contribute ideas and operational insight to support the continued development of Keys Engage.

You will have significant experience within alternative provision, SEND, specialist education, SEMH services or a related children's service
, alongside experience of supervising or developing staff.

• Managing staff, teams or service delivery.
• Supporting children and young people with complex needs.
• Working within safeguarding, risk management and quality…