Youth Employment Manager

Hackney is one of the most dynamic and progressive local authorities in the UK. We are a resilient, vibrant, and creative borough in the heart of London, with strong, diverse communities and a powerful set of shared values.

Over the past twenty years, the Council has built up first-class services, outstanding public infrastructure, and a reputation for excellence, innovation, and ambition. We are leading the way on essential work such as our fight for equity in Hackney with a particular focus on becoming an actively anti-racist borough. But the work doesn’t stop there, we are proactive in our approach to bringing fairness to all aspects of life including gender, neurodiversity and across the poverty divide.

Hackney Council’s Employment, Skills and Adult Learning Service is seeking to recruit a Youth Employment Programme Manager. This pivotal role provides strategic oversight and coordination for two of the Council’s high-profile initiatives: the Supported Internship Programme for young people with SEND, and the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer initiative for care-experienced and NEET young people with barriers to accessing the labour market.

As Youth Employment Programme Manager, you will be responsible for leading the delivery and implementation of these programmes, ensuring their successful impact across the borough. You will implement effective monitoring processes to review success, drive strategic and operational improvements and establish robust governance structures. Additionally, you will have overall responsibility for managing key stakeholder relationships and providing effective leadership to staff to drive employment outcomes. You will work closely with commissioned partners, overseeing performance and compliance to ensure high-quality and impactful service delivery.

You will work closely with colleagues across the wider Employment, Skills and Adult Learning team, as well as stakeholders in Education, to build a strong pipeline of young people for both programmes. Your role will involve embedding co-production to ensure young people are central to programme design, while maintaining operational excellence and strategic oversight to ensure both initiatives are successful.

The ideal candidate will be an excellent people manager with proven experience in leading complex employment or skills-based programmes within a target-driven environment. You should have extensive experience in coordinating multi-agency partnerships and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by care-experienced young people and those with SEND. A working knowledge of Supported Employment models and a commitment to championing diversity and inclusion are essential.

If you would like to have an informal discussion about this post, please email Anna-Renée Paisley at anna-renee.paisley@hackney.gov.uk to arrange a phone call.

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.

If you want to work in a place where you can represent our values so we achieve the best for our residents, please click on the apply button below.

We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CV’s.

To proceed with your application, you will need to create an account and submit your application.

As part of the application process, you will need to complete a number of competency based questions. These questions allow you to demonstrate your suitability for the role and provide examples of your skills, knowledge and experience outlined in the job description.

We understand the benefits of using AI in the workplace. However, if you are thinking of using this tool to submit your application, we ask you to think about what value it will add. AI tools tend to lack the personal touch and authenticity we value in candidates. We encourage you to showcase your unique knowledge and skills using your own voice.

Closing date for applications: 19 July 2026 (22.59)

Interview date: W/C 03 August 2026

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud; a place that celebrates diversity and where everyone can feel valued, included and involved. In order to achieve this, we look for people who are: Proud; Ambitious; Pioneering; Open; Proactive; Inclusive.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: hackneyworks@hackney.gov.uk