The vacancy
We help young people to build life-long belief in themselves, supporting them to take on their own challenges, follow their own passions and discover talents they never knew they had. Because when you prove yourself that you’re ready for anything nothing can hold you back.
Do you want to be part of that?
This is an opportunity to join a small, dynamic, ambitious and welcoming team that believes in the transformative power of youth work and the power of partnerships. The Operations Manager is responsible for managing a team of geographically dispersed Operations Officers to support the operational delivery and development of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) across Scotland.
DofE operates through a licensed model of delivery partners and licensed organisations range from local authorities, state and independent schools to youth organisations, secure units and community groups. The DofE Scotland Operations team works with these licensed organisations to build their capacity, support their reach into more marginalised communities and ensure quality and compliance with the Award framework.
The DofE Scotland office covers DofE activity across the length and breadth of Scotland, working with over 140 Licensed Organisations and over 17,000 young people in the last year alone. There are two Operations Managers in the team, each with a distinct geographic remit and together with the Business Support Manager and the Director, they form the Scotland Management team, developing and delivering the Scotland business plan, and supporting the Access, Reach, Impact and Quality strategic goals set out in DofE’s “Youth Without Limits” 5 year strategy.
The role will be field-based and when not attending meetings, employees will work from home. You will need to have an appropriate home office set up and live within the region.
What we are looking for:
The successful candidate will be an experienced people manager, who is able to embrace innovation and change and has experience of managing remote/hybrid teams. You will be a confident and organised manager, an effective communicator and collaborator and have experience of building and sustaining relationships with stakeholders across the education and/or youth and community sectors.
You will be a passionate advocate for the work of the DofE and motivated by the charity’s strategic ambition to give more than one million young people the chance to participate in our life-changing programmes, over the next four years.
If you think you have the desired skills and experience, then please do apply online by clicking on the apply button. As part of the application process, you will be expected to complete a statement of suitability and answer competency-based questions relevant to the role to help us assess your application.
We offer excellent staff benefits including a generous pension contribution, flexible working and an employee assistance programme.
Successful candidates will be required to undergo an enhanced criminal record check (e.g. DBS/PVG or similar).
About DofE
Since its launch in 1956, the DofE has empowered millions of young people to become the very best they can be. It was established by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, our Patron, and is still guided by the same set of principles he laid down.
The flexibility and adaptability of DofE have allowed the DofE to spread around the world. We operate through a social franchise model in the UK, licensing and supporting a wide range of organisations to deliver DofE programmes to hundreds of thousands of young people every year.
Despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak our ambition to grow the number of young people who can access a DofE programme remains unchanged and we continue to engage new partners and develop innovative ways of working with businesses, the voluntary sector, and policymakers across the UK to ensure that any young person who wants to do their DofE can do so. To find out more visit DofE.org/about.
Diversity, equality & inclusion
The DofE is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive staff team and we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.
We recruit, develop, promote and value people without regard to race, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or age. In order to meet the changing needs and aspirations of the most diverse generation of young adults ever, our staff need a range of perspectives, skills, and lived experience.
While we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds to join our passionate and friendly team, at present people of colour, disabled people, and people under 25 are not as well represented as we would like. As such we particularly encourage applicants from these backgrounds.
If you would like to access the application form in a different format or if you would like any assistance that might help improve your experience while completing the application, please contact us by email recruitment@dofe.org
Closing Date: Friday 18th March at 12 noon
First Interview: Tuesday 22nd March (held virtually)
Second interview: Friday 25th March (held virtually)