Head Of Service Delivery

The Head of Service Delivery will provide senior operational leadership across all Mainstay DRP services, ensuring regulated (Residential Living, Supported Living, Short Breaks) and unregulated (Day Opportunities including Social Enterprise) services are safe, effective, person-centred, compliant, and aligned with Mainstay’s values and strategic plan.

The postholder will also serve as the Organisational Safeguarding Lead, ensuring compliance with Adult Safeguarding:
Prevention and Protection in Partnership (2015) and providing organisation-wide leadership, assurance, and oversight of safeguarding practice.

This role builds operational resilience, enhances service quality, strengthens safeguarding governance, and forms a critical component of Mainstay’s succession planning and leadership pipeline.

• Lead all operational service areas to deliver safe, high-quality, person-centred support.
• Line-manage Managers, embedding consistency, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure services meet regulatory and contractual requirements including RQIA, Supporting People, Trust contracts, and funder specifications.
• Ensure service delivery reflects Mainstay’s strategic priorities and aligns with NI system reform, including We Matter, HSC Reset, and the Disability and Work Strategy.
• Translate organisational strategy into operational delivery plans with measurable outcomes.
• Lead service development and innovation, ensuring services support independence, inclusion, meaningful lives, and transitions.
• Drive a learning organisation culture — reflective practice, learning reviews, and quality improvement cycles.

• Provide expert safeguarding leadership across Mainstay.
• Ensure organisational compliance with Adult Safeguarding:
  Prevention and Protection in Partnership (2015) and NIASP procedures.
• Advise the CEO and Board on safeguarding matters, emerging risks, and trends.
• Lead safeguarding governance, ensuring strong alignment with quality, risk, and incident management frameworks.
• Act as the principal point of contact with HSC Trusts, PSNI, RQIA, Supporting People, and other safeguarding partners.
• Ensure consistent safeguarding practice across all services.
• Provide expert advice on safeguarding concerns, risk thresholds, and decision-making.
• Ensure safeguarding concerns are reported, investigated proportionately, recorded accurately, and closed appropriately.
• Ensure staff have appropriate safeguarding training and competency.
• Oversee and audit safeguarding records.
• Produce the Annual Adult Safeguarding Position Report.
• Identify emerging safeguarding themes and lead organisational learning.

• Ensure consistent implementation of governance, audit, incident reporting, and quality assurance systems.
• Monitor regulatory compliance across all operational services.
• Lead internal quality reviews for safeguarding, risk, and service effectiveness.
• Prepare services for RQIA inspections and manage post-inspection improvements.
• Ensure high standards of practice in medication, care planning, risk enablement, incident management, and safeguarding.

• Model and promote Mainstay’s values.
• Provide strong leadership to Managers and teams.
• Ensure effective supervision, appraisal, staff development, and workforce planning.
• Lead initiatives that strengthen retention, wellbeing, reflective practice, and competence.
• Support the development of future leaders through mentoring and succession planning.

• Lead work on transitions including children to adult services, family home to supported/independent living, and internal transitions.
• Oversee implementation of carer support initiatives.
• Strengthen partnership working with families and carers.
• Drive volunteering, skills-building, and supported employment pathways.
• Work with the CEO and Finance Team to ensure efficient operational budgets.
• Support financial planning, workforce establishment control, and efficiency.
• Contribute to business cases, funding proposals, and service expansion planning.