Job Description

Birmingham office based / hybrid/ with travel across our area.

Join Kapella at the start of our new chapter. We're looking for a Service Manager to lead and develop our Mediation and Separated Parents Services.

Kapella, formerly known as Relate Birmingham and Black Country, is a well-established and respected charity with a fresh identity and clear vision. We're at the start of an exciting new phase and we're building our team to grow our services and extend our reach across Birmingham, the Black Country, and surrounding areas.

At our core, Kapella's focus is building better relationships and improving wellbeing. We deliver accessible and affordable services including counselling, relationship support, family mediation, and domestic abuse programmes. Our clients are diverse, and we work with both self-paying individuals and those supported through funded contracts, grants and partnerships.

Our Mediation and Separated Parents Service will help families through conflict resolution, support separated parents and provide safe, child focussed contact. As Service Manager, you'll be instrumental in developing and shaping this service, alongside establishing and overseeing new child contact centre services.

This role combines service leadership with operational management, focusing on quality assurance, safeguarding and continuous improvement, and sustainable growth.

The successful candidate will be an experienced service manager within mediation, parental conflict resolution, family courts or child contact settings, including contract delivery, project management, partnership working and managing teams.

You will have knowledge of legal, quality and safeguarding frameworks and experience of managing safeguarding issues. You will be solution focussed, providing positive leadership and working as part of our dedicated, friendly management team.

In this developing role, you'll be able to think strategically and be comfortable being hands on. Initially your focus will be increasing our existing mediation service and separated parents support and managing a small team of practitioners, and then setting up child contact centre services (in line with our NACCC Accreditation) and recruiting new staff and volunteers.

Flexibility in working hours to meet service needs and manage risk or safety concerns is needed and some evening hours may be required and some travelling to other offices and external meeting will be necessary. Ideally it's a full-time (37.5 hours per week), but we are open to 4 days or part time working arrangements for the right person.

The post is based at the Birmingham Office, with some hybrid working available. We offer ongoing development, 25 days leave, professional development, a pension scheme and staff wellbeing support.

How to Apply

:

Submit a CV and personal statement setting out how you meet the requirements of the role or call 0121 643 1638 if you have any queries.

Deadline for applications: Thursday 18 September 2025

Interviews will be held: 23 and 24 September 2025

More details of the job description and person spec are below:

Mediation and Separated Parents Service Manager

Main duties and responsibilities:

Service Leadership and Development

Work with the Chief Executive to develop the current service offering in line with the business plan, including developing the new child contact centre service from initial set up to full operational delivery.

Ensure service meets the needs of the individuals, families and children we support and is also responsive to changes in demand, legislation, commissioning requirements or funding opportunities.

Operational Management

Manage service delivery, including case management, staffing, scheduling, and referral pathways.

Line manage staff, placements and volunteers, recruiting as needed.

Monitor and evaluate service performance against KPIs, targets and budgets.

Prepare reports for internal use, contracts, funders and regulators.

Partnerships and External Engagement

Build and maintain strong relationships with key partners and local agencies, including effective contract management.

Represent Kapella at external meetings, forums or networks to promote services, presenting as required.

Identify opportunities for service expansion, partnerships and contracts.

Support the Chief Executive with bids, tender submissions and grant applications.

Safeguarding & Quality Assurance

Ensure all activities are delivered in line with our safeguarding policy and procedures.

Act as Designated Safeguarding Lead for this service.

Ensure services are compliant with national standards (e.g. FMC, NACCC, LAA) and retain accreditations.

Maintain the highest standards of professional practice, including adequate training and CPD for all practitioners.

Monitor service delivery to ensure accessibility, equity and inclusion.

Lead service evaluations and monitor impact and effectiveness of services.

Maintain accurate records and reports in line with policy and data protection legislation.

Other

Work collaboratively as part of the management team, contributing to organisational objectives, operational projects and planning, marketing and promotion activities, development of policy and good practice and duty manager cover.

Understand and work within all policies and procedures of Kapella.

Support inclusive and anti-discriminatory practice in all areas of your work.

Undertake training and other duties required to meet the objectives of the post.

Skills & experience

Recognised qualification in family mediation or related conflict resolution discipline, or similar senior service delivery role.

Experience of managing services in mediation, family support, parental conflict or child contact settings.

Excellent leadership, staff management and supervision skills

Strong knowledge of safeguarding practices and experience of managing safeguarding issues.

Proven ability to work effectively with families in high conflict and sensitive situations.

Experience of successful partnership working and networking.

Strategic thinking and ability to adapt services in changing funding or policy landscape.

Commercial awareness and budget management skills.

Strong organisational skills, with a high level of IT literacy.

Creative and solution focussed approach to problem solving.

Ability to work flexibly, including occasional evenings/weekends

This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check and a 3-month probationary period.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: 42,000.00-46,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Company pension Health & wellbeing programme
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Birmingham B15