Job summary
- Main area
- Education
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Fixed term: 2 months (Contract ends 31/06/2026)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 990-PPL-EC1194-E
- Employer
- NHS England
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- 3 Piccadilly Place
- Town
- Manchester
- Salary
- £47,810 - £54,710 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 18/03/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Project Choice Area Manager
NHS AfC: Band 7
Our Organisation
The NHS is building a culture that is positive, compassionate and inclusive – and we all have our part to play.
As employers we are committed to protecting and promoting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all our colleagues. This underpins our values as set out in the NHS Constitution and supports us to be an Employer of Choice, while helping our colleagues to deliver high quality services for our patients and communities.
As a flexible employer, we want to support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern. In addition, although the role advertised may have a ‘home’ office base indicated, we remain committed to supporting flexibility around workplace locations. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
We are an accredited Living Wage Employer which means that every colleague working for our organisation and third-party contractors will earn a real Living Wage. We are one of over 15,000 organisations, who voluntarily chose to pay the real Living Wage.
Job overview
NHS England Choices College is a supported internship programme that aims to support young adults with learning difficulties, disabilities, or autism to become employment ready.
This very unique and exciting opportunity has arisen to manage and develop the Supported Internship which has been identified as a key priority and can bring significant value to the NHS by providing young people with LDD/ Autism with the training and work experience required for careers in the NHS and its associated sectors.
Please note - This post requires travel as part of the jobs duty to other areas across the region.
Main duties of the job
The Area Manager will play a key role in delivering the local programme of supported internships to interns with LLDD or Autism aged 16 to 24 years. The manager will be expected to develop and manage the project, whilst ensuring the students learn the skills required for work and ensure positive outcomes for young people on programme. The post will work as part of a team based with an NHS organisation and will manage additional staff working locally on programme.
It is essential the post holder has experience of working on supported internship/ employment programmes and have experience of teaching students with Learning Disabilities in a classroom and work placement setting.
The post holder will have strong presentation and persuasion skills and experience of multi-agency working with Local Authorities and NHS Trusts. In addition, an understanding of disability employment and apprenticeship legislation is crucial alongside knowledge of legislation relating to EHCP’s.
Working for our organisation
Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms — enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.
We lead the NHS in England by:
- Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities
- Making the NHS a great place to work, where people can develop and make a difference
- Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
- Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
- Delivering value for money
In 2025, the Government announced that NHS England will gradually merge with the Department of Health and Social Care, to create a smaller, more strategic centre that reduces duplication and waste.
If successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in-person.
Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You can find further details about the job, in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
Secondments
Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.
If you like what you have read and think you have the skills and experience, we need then don't delay, apply today! We get lots of applications for our roles and so we sometimes have to close our posts early. Don't miss out!
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Educated to degree level in a relevant subject or equivalent level of experience/knowledge from working in a similar area/environment
- Teaching qualification or relevant experience related to young people with learning disabilities difficulties/Autism.
Desirable criteria
- Training in Systematic Instruction qualification
Experience and Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Significant experience of supporting and developing people with SEND preparing them for entering paid employment
- Experience of delivery within a classroom including planning, marking and assessing intern work
- Experience of line managing and developing team members
- Significant knowledge and experience to act as a champion for people with learning difficulties/disabilities or autism.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of chairing effective meetings through building agendas and providing structure e.g. ECHP annual reviews
Skills and abilities
Essential criteria
- Identifies the impact of contextual factors on communication specifically for those with SEND
- Ability to advocate for those with SEND
- Manages people’s expectations and adapts communication to take account of the intended audience
- Present and communicate verbally and in writing complex, sensitive or contentious information to large groups or differing stakeholder groups where challenge or resistance may exist e.g. formal presentations, representation at formal meetings
- Works autonomously and expected outcomes are defined but post holder has freedom to determine how best to deliver these.
Desirable criteria
- Able to influence and persuade others to take a specific course of action to keep activities on track and ensure successful delivery.
Values and Behaviours
Essential criteria
- Have an understanding of, and a commitment to Supported Internships
- Maintains the highest standards of integrity in all interactions
- Acts within the limits of own competence and authority at all times, and honestly represents own expertise and abilities to others.
Desirable criteria
- Empowered and enabled to deliver change
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Steph Walker
- Job title
- Regional Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07866757262
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