Job title:
Directorate:
Development Manager (Early Years, Young People)
Strategy and Influence
Reports to:
Country Director (England)
Management of:
Early Years and Children Project Manager
Overall purpose of post:
Mencap has recently agreed a new strategy called “Our Big Plan”. Within this strategy we have two
priorities around young people:
-
an early years’ priority focusing on young children with a learning disability and their families
a priority around changing attitudes of children without a learning disability to children with a
learning disability by increasing contact.
The Development Manager will be responsible for leading and overseeing the strategic development and
operational management of strategically significant programmes of work under these priority areas.
They will achieve this through the design of impactful projects and excellent project and programme
management. They will ensure that people with a learning disability and families are at the heart of our
work and combine this with our other intelligence to inform decision making and delivery of the strategy.
The post holder will champion evidence informed and insight driven decision making.
The role will include providing project management expertise to the organisation, running significant
projects, managing resources, colleagues and partners to identify needs and gaps, models that address
these gaps and new projects that deliver to the priorities.
The post holder will be responsible for developing agreed ideas into workable models in consultation
and collaboration with teams across RMS, particularly the Research, Policy and Public Affairs Team, the
impact and evaluation team and the team in Northern Ireland, as well as our external network of local
organisations. They will develop and maintain positive relationships with the fundraising team to secure
income for delivery of agreed activity.
They will line manage project managers and delivery staff across areas of Early Years and Young People
to implement change projects. They will be responsible for developing and maintaining relationships
with key internal and external stakeholders and leading partnership account management as
appropriate for project delivery. They will work closely with the Impact Manager to make sure all projects
are delivering against agreed outcomes to progress the Big Plan. They will be responsible for producing
reports for funders and internally to communicate progress and will work closely with stakeholders in the
Network Office and relevant delivery teams in RMS to disseminate learning and models so that they
inform practice.
The key roles for Development Manager are:
April 2016





Manager of people
Manager of stakeholders
Manager of resources
Leader of change
Driver of strategic projects
1. Manager of people
The Development manager will ensure that the team they manage are able to meet their performance
objectives and targets by driving a high performance culture. They will be responsible for agreeing and
setting performance objectives and ensuring that strong employee engagement is delivered through
effective leadership, management, communication and motivation. They will be accountable for
ensuring effective performance management, coaching and development is conducted across their
team. They will work with the team they manage to deliver effective business planning, recruitment,
financial management and performance reporting as required by the wider team and RMS to ensure that
activity delivering against the Big Plan is planned and delivered in the most effective way.
KPIs



Creates a culture within their team that supports the organisation values of inclusion of all
people, valuing difference and promoting diversity. Supports their own and other teams to
include people with a learning disability in their work in a meaningful and appropriate way.
Supports their team to deliver the team objectives through effective business and financial
planning, performance management, feedback, coaching and development
Demonstrates positive behaviour, credibility and is a role model for their team and others in the
way they support the delivery of the team objectives, supporting the overall delivery of the
corporate objectives
Measures
o 360 feedback from team members and others
o Observation/Feedback from team
o Evidence of objectives being met
April 2016
2. Manager of stakeholders
The Development Manager will work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders both internally and
externally. They will be able to identify the stakeholders they will need to work with to be successful in
their role and be able to build positive and productive relationships with these people. Where
appropriate they will need to influence and lead these people and provide accurate information and
reports.
KPIs

Develop positive relationships with internal and external stakeholders who can directly impact
the delivery of their performance objectives; to include key priority leads, fundraising teams,
delivery teams, the network office and local network and external partners and funders. Once
positive relationships are established they will develop and maintain these relationships to
ensure a long term positive outcome.
 Actively seek stakeholder involvement, engagement and feedback and use information gained to
have a positive impact on the work they undertake and the projects they are delivering.
 Demonstrates an appropriate level of understanding for the different parts of the organisation
where they have internal stakeholder relationships
 Is able to provide information in a clear, concise and appropriate way ensuring they remain
professional at all times.
Measures:
o Feedback from stakeholders
o Evidence of information given, correspondence and reports
o Observation/Feedback from team
3. Manager of resources and information
The Development Manager effectively manages resources that they are responsible for including
budgets, assets and systems. The post holder will be responsible for providing key operational and
strategic insight and information relating to the delivery of projects within the Big Plan. They will
champion the insight of people with a learning disability and other organisations from within the
network in the context of the work they are developing to ensure that the value of insight and shared
knowledge is well understood and valued. They will lead identification of new resource for activity and
work with fundraising to secure this
KPIs




Undertakes effective budget planning and delivery, adhering to Mencap's financial policies at all
times. Regularly reports on budget performance to relevant people including any potential over
or under spends
Works to identify new resource requirements, brings these into the organisation and ensures that
spending is effectively monitored and cost effective solutions are sort when spending
organisational money
Identifies and manages risks associated with resources and when necessary puts in place
recovery plans
Champions information and knowledge relating to delivery of projects within their area, ensuring
that insight and learning are valued by RMS and are used to inform ongoing development and
delivery against priorities in the Big Plan
Measures:
o 360 feedback
April 2016
o Observation/Feedback from team
o Evidence of efficient resource management
4. Leader of change
The individual will lead the development of projects with an Early Years and Young People focus at
Mencap. They will be able to work with teams across Mencap, including Campaigns and Activism, Policy
and Public Affairs, the Network Office and Network Regional team, Lifestyles and Work, Research and
Impact and Fundraising to research and identify potential project work that directly contributes to
Mencap’s Big Plan. They will have the ability to work with their team and across the organisation to
develop, fund and lead these change initiatives so that they have a positive impact for the organisation.
They will be able to drive forward and fund new ideas and promote new and innovative ways to deliver
these; working with teams internally and the external local network. They will be able to challenge
thinking and promote new models of practice.
KPI’s:




Works across Mencap to research and evidence need, define objectives, pilot and prototype
new ideas and plan new projects that meet organisational need under Mencap’s Big Plan
Develops change projects that secure support from key stakeholders so that they can be
delivered under a One Mencap approach
Takes responsibility for keeping up to date with Mencap’s Early Years agenda and Changing
Attitudes priority as well as organisational messages so that they can effectively support the
work of their team and others who they work with both internally and externally
Is committed to growing and promoting opportunities to run projects and work within the Early
Years sector and with Young People to promote quality of service delivery and bring about a
positive change in attitudes. They will use their practical experience to come up with good ideas
and practical solutions to help their colleagues to do their job well. Provides feedback and
challenges in a positive and productive way and makes recommendations about how things
could be better
Measures: Feedback from stakeholders, manager observation, projects and products developed and
funded, contribution to Mencap priorities
5. Driver of strategic projects
The Development Manager will manage a portfolio of strategic projects to ensure deadlines are met and
stakeholders managed engaged for maximum impact on the lives of people with a learning disability. –
They will provide and deploy excellent project management and support staff, within their own team and
working in other internal and external teams, to effectively plan, manage and deliver these projects,
prioritise requirements, establish clear goals and impacts, sequencing activities to meet delivery dates,
identifying and mitigating risks and monitor progress to inform ongoing development and progression
towards achieving the Big Plan.
They will take responsibility for considering the impact of the changes on their work area.
KPIs
April 2016



Line manages project managers to deliver projects and agreed plans on time to ensure they
support the change process. Discusses any difficulties and challenges with their manager and
finds positive solutions to overcome these problems.
Monitors, reports and evaluates projects and shares learning and findings within their team and
across teams.
Leads a cycle of continual improvement and development by evaluating impact and ensuring
that measurements are in place to assess effectiveness and inform future planning.
Measures:
360 feedback from members of the team
360 feedback from working with project management officer
Observation/Feedback from line manager
Evidence of delivering on the aims, objectives and outcomes identified for the change
projects
o Evidence from monitoring, reporting and evaluation in line with plan and budget
o
o
o
o
Any other relevant information:
This role is for 37.5 hours a week and is subject to standard Mencap terms and conditions. The post
holder is expected to work flexible hours in accordance with the needs of the post and be able to travel
to various locations within the UK with some overnight stays. The post will be based in London
April 2016
Person specification
In addition to the things below, Mencap expects its 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
Skills/competence requirements
Essential/desirable
Team player with collaborative style
Financial management
Risk management
Consultative skills (influencing and leading)
Problem solving
Decision making based on information and evidence
Ability to influence, inspire, motivate and instil confidence in others
Analytical mind
Performance management
Excellent administration skills, written and verbal communication skills
Excellent planning, organisational and project management skills
Experience
Experience of managing, developing and motivating staff teams
Experience of working directly with people with learning disability
Experience of problem solving and negotiation
Writing reports and briefings
Project development
Market and project research
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
E
D
E
E
E
E
Knowledge
Knowledge of issues relating to learning disability and inclusion
D
Knowledge of the Early Years and Education Sector
E
Knowledge of both technical and practical aspects of project development and delivery
E
Qualifications
Project management qualification
D
April 2016