About Northside Partnership / The Northside Partnership is a Local Development Company working with individuals and communities in north east Dublin to bring about positive changes in their own lives and in the life of their community.
A registered Charity, we work to improve opportunities for people experiencing poverty and disadvantage and offer a range of programmes and services to support individuals, local organisations and communities across the Northside Partnership catchment.
About Preparing for Life / Established by Northside Partnership in 2008 Preparing for Life (PFL) is one of Ireland’s first early childhood prevention and early intervention initiatives which set out to use evidence based programmes to improve outcomes for children living in disadvantaged communities.
Originally funded by Atlantic Philanthropies PFL is now funded under the Area Based Childhood Initiative of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
Working in the Dublin 5 and 17 the key aim of PFL was, and remains, to improve children’s school readiness. It does this primarily through the provision of home mentoring and positive parenting programmes to equip parents with the knowledge and skills to help their children develop. It also supports local early years providers in achieving Síolta accreditation
PFL’s home mentoring programme, developed between 2008 and 2016, has undergone extensive evaluation by UCD’s Geary Institute and is now recognised in its own right as a key evidence based programme.
What is the purpose of the job? / The PFL Manager is responsible for the development and overall day-to-day management of the PFL/ABC Programme.
Providing leadership and strategic vision they will work with the PFL/ABC Management Committee, a sub committee of the Northside Partnership Board, and the PFL Strategy Committee to identify mechanisms and opportunities through which prevention and early intervention work can be developed and sustained within the Northside Partnership catchment.
This is a challenging role requiring an individual with considerable management experience including innovation, programme design and development, HR, finance and social entrepreneurship.
The PFL Manager will also play a critical role in leading and facilitating the development of a new Strategy, in collaboration with the PFL Strategy Committee.
Main Responsibilities
Duties of the job / Programme Development and Implementation
· Working in collaboration with the PFL Sub-Committee and Strategy Group enable the future growth and development of PFL through the identification and implementation of a sustainable business model
· Managing the relationship with the programme evaluators, and governance agents CES and Pobal.
· Leading in relation to the ongoing embedding of evidence based approaches in mainstream partner organisations .i.e. schools, health services, early years services.
Finance and Administration
· Managing the Programme finances in conjunction with the Northside Partnership Finance Manager and CEO.
· Identifying and developing funding opportunities, including the potential of social enterprise, as mechanisms to sustain prevention and early intervention work within the Northside Partnership catchment.
· Preparing reports as required for the Northside Partnership Board, PFL/ABC Steering Committee and funding agencies.
· Supervising case files and reports and ensuring that these are maintained in line with best practice and Freedom of Information guidelines.
Stakeholder Engagement
· Managing effective relationships with personnel from other agencies including DCYA, HSE, Tusla, local Early Years Providers, local Schools and community organisations
· Maintaining and building on key relationships that have been developed by the PFL/ABC programme and forging new relationships as appropriate
· Working in partnership with other PEI and ABC managers to further PEI work in Ireland
· Engaging fully in discussions and developments with the funders and any other partners to further the embedding, development and mainstreaming of the PFL/ABC work and evidence based PEI work.
· Maintain and develop relationships with international experts, international researchers, policy makers etc. to promote the future of PFL programmes.
· Maintain and develop strong relations with other Managers in Northside Partnership to further integrate PFL/ABC into the organisation and to ensure other programmes run by the Partnership are promoted through PFL where appropriate
Managing Staff
· Providing leadership to the PFL/ABC programme and staff team and ensuring implementation of the PFL/ABC programme of work.
· Convening and chairing team meetings
· Providing supervision, guidance and support to PFL/ABC programme staff and ensuring that the work of PFL/ABC is delivered to the highest standards in line with the PFL/ABC Plan.
· Putting quality assurance measures in place to support high quality implementation.
· Ensure all staff adhere to PFL/ABC Policies and Procedures particularly in relation to working with children and families
· Adhering to Northside Partnership protocols and policies in the areas of Health & Safety, Communications, People management and Planning.
· Ensuring the delivery of team training, supervision and appraisals.
· Plan and deliver induction programme for other staff members
· Carrying out various household duties to ensure the smooth running of the team.
· Recruiting staff to the team where necessary utilising NSP’s recruitment policies and procedures.
· Facilitating cross Partnership working including participating as an active member of the NSP management team
· Performing any other duties assigned from time to time by the CEO.
Marketing & Communications
· In conjunction with the communications personnel lead in relation to the development and dissemination of information pertaining to the programme through presentations, policy papers, media engagement etc.
· Attend and present at conferences, seminars and other fora on the PFL/ABC research and work
· Horizon scan on an ongoing basis for opportunities that could promote, support, fund or further develop the work of PFL and NSP.
· Be pro-active and available to avail of media opportunities as they arise
Intellectual Property
· Ensuring the intellectual property i.e. unique learning and knowledge garnered through the implementation of supports developed by PFL, is documented and captured in a format that makes it accessible to others
Person Specification
Qualifications / · A level 8 qualification preferably in a field related to Children/families, Health, Community, Social Enterprise.
· A qualification in management is desirable.
Experience/Knowledge / · Minimum of 5 years project management experience working in a leadership role in the community/voluntary, early childhood, or Social Enterprise sectors. This must include proven ability to engage with statutory, non-statutory and community organisation, lead a multi-disciplinary team and deliver outcomes for key stakeholders.
· A good understanding of prevention and early intervention both theory and practice.
· Experience of managing staff is essential.
· A track record of innovation and working effectively with funding agencies and key partners is essential.
· Experience of programme design, development and scaling is desirable.
· Knowledge of managing intellectual property, business planning and development is desirable.
Technical Skills / · Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook. Knowledge of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and/or other output/outcome capturing software systems is desirable
Personal Skills
/ · Very strong organisation, time management, people management and analytical skills· Ability to lead and motivate a team.
· Very good communication and written skills
· Very good interpersonal, negotiation and diplomacy skills
· Ability to build and maintain relationships
· Ability to maintain attention to detail at all times
· Ability to work to tight deadlines
· A pro-active and can-do attitude.
Terms and Conditions of Employment
Location / Northside Partnership, Preparing For Life, Bell Building, Darndale, Dublin 17
Salary / Subject to Experience
Contract Type / Northside Partnership is offering a six month contract up to August 2018 with extension subject to further funding.
Annual Leave / 22 working days exclusive of public holidays with one additional day awarded after each year of service up to 25 days. 30 Days having completed 10 years service
Travel & Subsistence / Travel and subsistence will be paid at public sector rates
Pension / Northside Partnership operates a defined contribution group pension scheme. Employees have access to the scheme on successful completion of their six month probationary period.
Garda Vetting / Appointment to the role of Preparing for Life Manager is subject to the outcome of the Garda Vetting process.
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