Programme Manager – Children and Families in Temporary Accomodation

24 Month Fixed Term Contract / Secondment Opportunity

With over 2,200 households and approximately 4,000 children currently living in temporary accommodation (TA) in Hackney, this role is a unique opportunity to drive systemic change for families who need it most. We are seeking a dedicated Programme Manager to lead, influence, and integrate services across Housing, Children’s Services, Health, and the voluntary sector.

As our Programme Manager, you will bridge the gap between high-level strategic leadership and the daily realities of frontline practice. You will not only manage a programme but also act as a powerful advocate for families, ensuring that the services we provide are joined-up, preventative, and responsive to trauma, poverty, and instability.

What You Will Do

System Leadership: Lead a system-wide strategic approach, convening multi-agency forums to identify blockages and negotiate new, effective ways of working.

Strategic Integration: Act as the primary integrator for services supporting families in TA, bridging pathways between Family Hubs, Health, Housing, and schools.

Drive Reform: Support the implementation of “Families First” and the Family Hub model, ensuring our service design is inclusive, trauma-informed, and anti-racist.

Use Data for Good: Gather and analyse qualitative and quantitative insights from the frontline to inform senior decision-making and policy development.

Who You Are

We are looking for a leader who combines technical expertise with a deeply empathetic approach. You should be:

Empathetic & Humble: You listen deeply to others’ experiences and approach the work with respect for the people and contexts involved.

Action-Oriented: You have a bias towards action, learning by doing, and delivering measurable results.

A Systems Thinker: You can navigate complex organisational landscapes, identifying the root causes of system failure rather than just treating symptoms.

A Collaborative Influencer: You build trust across boundaries—whether with frontline practitioners, senior leaders, or community partners—to reduce friction and achieve shared goals.

Essential Experience

– Experience working across organisational boundaries to influence strategy and frontline delivery.

– Understanding of the challenges faced by families affected by homelessness or poverty, with a commitment to tackling structural inequality.

– Demonstrable experience in convening multi-agency partners and contributing to service redesign.

This role is for someone ready to challenge the status quo and improve the lives of children and families living in temporary accommodation.

An Enhanced DBS check is required for this role.

Why Hackney? 

Our Systemic, Trauma-Informed and Anti-Racist (STAR) practice model informs everything we do.

Following on from our Anti Racist Summit in October 2023 we remain committed to dismantling systemic racism, discrimination, injustice and making anti-racism a foundation of our practice. 

We provide wide-ranging and excellent training and development opportunities; we will help you to develop excellent practice, leading to career advancement at your own pace. 

We are an innovative borough where we collaborate to support change for the children and families we work for and for each other.

Ready to build the future with us?

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.

This application process replaces a supporting statement.

If you are applying for a vacancy for a secondment opportunity, please liaise with your line manager and inform them of your interest before applying for the role.

Closing date for applications: 12 July 2026 (22:59)

Interview dates: W/c 27 July 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

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