Purpose
To provide strategic leadership and oversight of SAAC's Adult Autism Services (Non-residential), ensuring the highest quality of care, programme delivery, Quality of Life for beneficiaries and alignment to organizational goals. The role steers the development of sustainable services for adults with autism, expands post-18 programme pathways, and builds a values-driven culture that aligns with SAAC's vision, values and mission.
Job Description
- Provides strategic leadership in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of all Adult Autism Services, including Day Activity Centres (DACs) and emerging post-18 programmes.
- Oversees the daily operations and management of multiple centres, ensuring excellence in service delivery, safety, and compliance with statutory regulations and licensing requirements.
- Develops and sustains high-quality programmes and services that respond to the evolving needs of adults with autism and their caregivers, while ensuring alignment with SAAC's mission, vision, and values.
- Pilots and scales new post-18 programmes to supplement DAC services, addressing the national shortage of adult service placements and creating meaningful pathways for beneficiaries.
- Partners with internal and external stakeholders including caregivers, government agencies, social service agencies, VWOs, donors, and volunteers to co-create initiatives and advocate for better resourcing within the adult autism sector.
- Leads and manages a diverse staff team of coaches, managers, allied professionals, and support staff, fostering a culture of growth, collaboration, and resident-centric service.
- Oversees the facilitation of training programmes within the centres, ensuring continuous professional development and skills enhancement of staff.
- Manages manpower allocation, staff supervision, and succession planning to sustain organisational capacity and service quality.
- Maintains high standards of corporate governance, strict adherence to regulatory auditing standards, and the consistent attainment of KPIs and service level agreements (SLAs).
- Formulates and reviews policies, standard operating procedures, and strategic plans to drive organisational excellence.
- Develops and manages budgets for Adult Services, including funding applications, reporting, and stewardship of financial resources.
- Partners the CEO and leadership team in advocacy, sector engagement, and the advancement of autism services locally and internationally.
- Builds Adult Autism Services into a centre of excellence that models serving leadership, Christian love, and values-driven practice.
Requirements
Required Skills/Abilities:
- Excellent organisational, strategic, and leadership abilities.
- Proven experience in managing large teams, multiple centres and programmes.
- Strong communication, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Ability to foster teamwork, mentor staff, and build collaborative partnerships.
- Strong planning, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities.
- Resonates with SAAC's values of Love, Integrity, Growth, Honour, and Teamwork.
Education and Experience:
- Minimum 10 years of experience in the social service or disability sector, with at least 3 years in a senior leadership role.
- Demonstrated experience in programme development, corporate governance, and staff leadership.
- Postgraduate qualification in Management, Organisational Leadership, or a related discipline preferred.
- Deep understanding of autism and experience in adult service settings is strongly desirable.
- Most importantly, a desire to be a serving leader.
Apart from a competitive pay package (relative to the social sector), the successful candidate can look forward to working closely with a team of mission-minded, passionate and forward-looking colleagues in SAAC's Leadership team to constantly advance SAAC's mission
