Assistant Directors of Services – 2 positions

• Criminal Justice & Housing/Homelessness – 12-month fixed-term contract | Full-time 
• Substance Use & Children and Young People  – Permanent | Full-time 

Salary: £58,560–£71,480 per annum

Hours: 35 per week

Location: Home-based with regular national travel 

Job reference number: 1766

Help shape the future of Cranstoun’s services 

Cranstoun is a social justice and harm reduction charity supporting and empowering people to live healthier and safer lives. Each year, we support more than 45,000 people through services including substance use, criminal justice, domestic abuse, housing and services for children and young people. 

Following a successful five-year strategy and significant growth, we remain ambitious about the difference we can make. As we enter our next phase, we are investing in the leadership and operational capability needed to support our continued development. We are now recruiting two Assistant Directors of Services to join our senior management team: 

• Assistant Director of Services – Criminal Justice & Housing/Homelessness: 12-month fixed-term contract  

• Assistant Director of Services – Substance Use & Children and Young People: permanent  

These are significant senior leadership roles offering the opportunity to lead substantial service portfolios while helping shape how Cranstoun’s services are led and delivered across the organisation. 

The roles 

Reporting to the Director of Operations, each Assistant Director will lead a substantial portfolio of complex commissioned services and senior operational managers. 

The Assistant Director – Criminal Justice & Housing/Homelessness will lead nine services with nine direct reports, spanning criminal justice and housing/homelessness provision. 

The Assistant Director – Substance Use & Children and Young People will lead eight services with nine direct reports, spanning substance use and services for children and young people. 

Whichever portfolio you lead, you will have clear accountability for ensuring services are safe, effective and well-led, with strong contractual performance, financial sustainability and positive outcomes for the people and communities we support. 

You will provide operational grip and evidence-based assurance, strengthen safeguarding and management accountability, build effective relationships with commissioners and partners, and ensure risks and underperformance are identified, escalated and addressed early. 

You will also work collectively with fellow senior operational leaders to embed a One Cranstoun approach, strengthening common standards, sharing learning, developing leadership capability and improving quality and resilience across our services. 

What you will be accountable for 

As an Assistant Director, you will take senior operational accountability for: 

• Safe, effective and well-led services – ensuring strong safeguarding, quality, operational risk management and service user outcomes.  

• Contractual performance – ensuring services deliver against contractual requirements and KPIs, with strong commissioner relationships and timely action to address underperformance.  

• Financial sustainability – maintaining strong financial oversight, effective workforce management and oversight of the sustainability of individual contracts.  

• Evidence-based assurance – using reliable performance, quality, workforce and financial information to identify risks and drive improvement.  

• Collective organisational leadership – working beyond individual portfolio boundaries to build consistent standards, stronger leadership and shared ways of working across Cranstoun.  

You will lead and develop senior operational managers, set clear expectations and create a culture in which support and accountability operate together. 

You will also lead and contribute to service mobilisation, transformation, workforce planning and continuous improvement. 

Who we are looking for 

We are looking for established senior operational leaders with substantial experience leading complex commissioned services and geographically dispersed teams. 

You will bring a strong track record of: 

• leading safe, high-quality services for people with complex needs;  

• safeguarding, quality and operational risk management;  

• contract and performance management;  

• managing significant service budgets and improving financial performance;  

• building effective relationships with commissioners, regulators and strategic partners;  

• leading service improvement, mobilisation and organisational change;  

• developing senior operational managers and addressing underperformance; and  

• using performance, quality, workforce and financial information to provide assurance and drive improvement.  

You will need to combine strategic leadership with operational pragmatism, understanding the detail when necessary while maintaining oversight of performance, risk, quality and sustainability across a complex portfolio. 

Above all, we are looking for collaborative, credible and values-led leaders who can support and challenge in equal measure, build leadership capability and bring people together around common standards and organisational priorities. 

Specialist experience 

Criminal Justice & Housing/Homelessness 

For this role, you will need significant leadership experience across both Criminal Justice and Housing/Homelessness services, including housing or accommodation-based provision. 

You will understand the complexity of working across criminal justice, housing, local government and other statutory systems and be experienced in building effective relationships with commissioners and partners while maintaining strong operational and contractual oversight. 

This is a 12-month fixed-term appointment at an important stage in Cranstoun’s transformation, offering the opportunity to lead a significant portfolio, strengthen operational performance and help shape the future development of our operating model. 

Substance Use & Children and Young People 

For this role, significant senior leadership experience within substance use services is essential, including experience of leading CQC-regulated provision and maintaining high standards of quality, safety and regulatory compliance. 

You will also need a strong understanding of safeguarding and the governance required to deliver safe and effective services for children and young people. Direct operational experience of Children & Young People services would be valuable, but we are equally interested in candidates who can demonstrate strong safeguarding and CYP governance experience alongside substantial substance use leadership. 

This permanent appointment offers the opportunity to provide long-term leadership to a significant portfolio and help shape the future development of Cranstoun’s services. 

Be part of Cranstoun’s next chapter 

Our successful five-year strategy has seen Cranstoun grow considerably, extending our reach and the range of services we provide. We remain ambitious and innovative, committed to developing services that respond to the changing needs of people and communities. 

As we look to the future, we are investing in the leadership, operational capability and organisational infrastructure needed to support our continued development, strengthening operational governance, consistency and assurance across our services. 

These roles offer the opportunity to do more than manage established portfolios. You will help shape the future of our services and build an Operations Directorate characterised by high standards, clear accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement. 

Find out more 

For an informal discussion about either opportunity, please contact Darren Nicholas, Director of Operations, at dnicholas@cranstoun.org.uk  

Please refer to the accompanying recruitment pack for the full Job Description, Person Specification and details of the application process.

Please note: All posts are subject to an Enhanced DBS check.

How to Apply:

To apply for this role, please submit your CV, along with a Cover Letter outlining your skills, experience, relevant qualifications and values fit for the role to recruitment@cranstoun.org.uk. Please ensure you clearly state the Job Reference Number on your Cover Letter.

Applicants must be able to provide satisfactory evidence of their right to work in the UK at the application stage.

Sponsorship is not available for this post. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK that does not require employer sponsorship for the duration of the appointment.

Closing date: Sunday 20 September 2026