The Maple Tree Centre Manager Job description and person specification

Job title Centre manager

Salary and From £24,000 pro rata according to qualifications and experience. hours of work Hours and days worked by negotiation but at least 20 hours per week, 52 weeks a year with holiday entitlement.

Location The Maple Tree Centre, 20 Littleworth Road, Wheatley, , OX33 1NW

Responsible to: The Maple Tree Trustees

Job purpose To manage The Maple Tree Centre and its programme of services and activities. This involves managing the centre staff, the premises and providing quality support and learning opportunities for children and their families. The centre mainly supports young children although we do offer some family learning aimed at families with children of all ages. Some of our work is in locations outside the centre.

The area served by Maple Tree includes the following villages: , Little Milton, , , , The Baldons, Stanton St John, Beckley, Forest Hill, Holton, Worminghall, , , Milton Common and Tiddington.

Applications For further details please contact [email protected]

The deadline for applications is midday Monday 14 September 2020

Interviews Interviews will take place in the week of 21 September 2020 Key tasks 1. In close collaboration with the trustees, lead on the implementation of The Maple Tree’s Strategic Plan including reviewing, monitoring and evaluating its effectiveness.

2. In close collaboration with the treasurer and other trustees, oversee the centre budget and payroll in line with delegated responsibilities.

3. Manage and develop a staff team, setting clear objectives for their roles and functions. − Provide regular performance management meetings including annual appraisals to inform their training and development opportunities. − Recognise strengths and manage any unsatisfactory performance in collaboration with the trustees and in line with employment law − Lead staff meetings to ensure centre objectives are being met, keep staff appraised of trustee decisions, listen to staff and involve them in evaluating and improving the centre’s effectiveness. − Ensure that staff undertake any mandatory training and training to support their development. − With the trustees recruit to any vacancies and carry out appropriate suitability checks

4. Lead the staff team in the planning and delivery of a range of high quality services and activities for babies, young children and their families in response to local needs including: − Working with other professionals such as local schools and health visitors to identify local needs − Working in partnership with parents and carers to help them identify and understand their own adult needs, those of their children and of their family unit − Reviewing the effectiveness of sessions by setting aims against which sessions are evaluated − Maximising participation through publicity and regular review including seeking views of parents and children − Encouraging parents to become involved in their children’s play and learning through providing support and information about the purpose of activities and discussion about children’s development.

5. Recruit and manage a team of volunteers, carrying out suitability checks and providing them with an induction and training as required.

6. In collaboration with the trustees, review, update, maintain and implement the policies and procedures needed for: − The safe running of the centre including the suitability of staff and volunteers − Safeguarding children − Inclusive practice − Providing quality services.

7. Help parents and carers gain access to information and advice relevant to their families and, where appropriate, liaise and work in partnership with staff from the County Council and other statutory and voluntary agencies in order to provide accessible and effective support for families.

8. Manage the centre premises including carrying out required record keeping and training relating to health and safety, arranging for repairs and refurbishment in line with any delegated budget and reporting on health and safety matters to trustees at required intervals.

9. Maintain a positive public image of the centre contributing regular reports to funders and local organisations and services about the centre’s work; coordinating publicity, including advertising sessions, on-line networking and updating the centre website

10. Work with the trustees to maximise opportunities for income- generation and fundraising including promoting the centre’s facilities for a range of community uses, overseeing private bookings of the centre, and ensuring any external use is in keeping with the ethos and policies of the Centre.

11. Take responsibility for obtaining and keeping accurate data relating to families, activities and attendance, preparing reports for the trustees and others as required, in accordance with our data protection policy.

12. Carry out any general duties that may be reasonably requested by the trustees.

Centre Manager – Person Specification

Essential Desirable Education and • Good general standard of education • Professional training qualification at Level 3 • Evidence of commitment to ongoing or Level 4 in the field professional development of Education, Social Care, Health, Early Years or Community Work

• Safeguarding lead training

• Management training

• Safer recruitment training

Previous • Recent relevant experience in one or • Evidence of inclusive experience more of the following: childcare, health, practice nursery/primary education, community work or family support • Project management experience • Experience of budget management • Marketing/promoting • Experience in line management services

• Experience in health and safety • Business planning, requirements monitoring and evaluation • Evidence of productive partnership and team working • Developing and providing training • Evidence of working supportively with parents/families

Knowledge, • Able to communicate effectively in • Knowledge of early skills and English at different levels and in different childhood aptitudes situations development

• Ability to work creatively and innovatively • Promoting learning as leader of a team and be solution through dissemination, focused coaching and mentoring staff, • Form good working relationships with volunteers and people from a wide range of social, students. cultural and ethnic backgrounds to enable goals to be achieved • Marketing and multi- media publicity and • An understanding of, and commitment to, communication diversity and inclusive practice • Ability to generate • Good IT skills including the ability to income collect, analyse and present data

• Ability to generate reports and documents for public circulation

Other • Occasional travel to different venues and • Car desirable requirements locations within the area

• Flexible working including occasional evening and weekend working