Wraparound Programme Manager

Our benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
• Cycle to Work scheme. 
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Car Lease scheme
• Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Commsave- Free membership to Commsave Credit Union who provide a variety of savings accounts, loans, a monthly lottery draw and more!
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
• Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
• Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

About the role

The Government’s ambition is that by 2026, all parents and carers of primary school-aged children who need it will be able to access term time childcare in their local area from 8am-6pm, so that parents can access employment and improve labour market participation.

To support this ambition, the Government announced that it will provide start-up funding over two academic years – (until July 2026,) to support local authorities and providers in England to introduce or expand childcare provision before or after the school day, which parents of primary school aged children will be able to pay to access.

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore subject to an enhanced DBS certificate. It is also a regulated activity and will be subject to a Children and Adults Barred List check. West Northamptonshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

What will you be doing?

To undertake a strategic role in working collaboratively with teams across the local authority, schools, families, childcare providers (including private providers, childminders, community and voluntary organisations and early years settings) to assess supply and demand of wraparound provision across West Northamptonshire for all children.

The role is varied and includes:

• To meet specified service and national targets with agreed timelines as outlined in DfE Wraparound Programmes.
• Define needs, develop proposals, implement and deliver an expanded wraparound childcare provision that is accessible to children and families, according to current and future demand.
• Effective engagement with stakeholders to securing high quality Ofsted registered  provision.
• Inspire and influence lead partners to work in partnership to support sufficiency.
• Maintaining effective record keeping, data analysis and report writing.
• Work in collaboration with School Improvement Team and Early education team to monitor issues that could impact on quality of performance and achieve agreed outcomes.
• Effective monitoring and reporting to Senior management and DfE on the evaluation of the programme.
• Developing key processes to administer and allocate funding, in line with legal and financial regulations.
• Challenge and support providers to secure and achieve good inclusive provision.
• Ensure that Safeguarding the welfare of children is paramount and that there is regard to the statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education.’ (2023.)

About you

Are you self-motivated individual, have excellent organisational and interpersonal communication skills. If you have the ability to build positive relationships with a variety of stakeholders, which is key to effective collaboration. We are looking for a person who is creative in solving problems to meet operational targets, and not be afraid to have difficult and challenging conversations and resilience and tenacity will be essential attributes.

If you would like to discuss this position, please call
Rehana Karim on 07919 065000 

About us

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services. 

Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU  

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential.  We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.