Programme Support Officer - Children's Improvement Team

Job description
Location: (Westminster, In-office but open to home based)

Fixed term until 31 March 2026. This is a secondment opportunity up to 31 March 2026
About us

The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national membership body for local authorities. We work on behalf of our member councils to support, promote and improve local government.

We are a politically led, cross-party organisation that works on behalf of councils to ensure local government has a strong, credible voice with national government. We influence and set the political agenda on the issues that matter to councils to help them deliver local solutions to national problems.

We also provide councils with the tools and resources to respond to challenges present and emerging, and support improvement across the sector.

We value diversity and encourage applications from all sections of the community to this high-profile role.
About the role

We have a new contract with the Department for Education to deliver the National Centre for Family Hubs. Family Hubs provide a single point of access for children, young people and their families to access support and information from different services. The National Centre for Family Hubs (NCFH) was established to support local authorities in the design and implementation of the hubs, spread best practice and develop a supportive network through national and regional events.

We value diversity and encourage applications from all sections of the community to this role.

We are now looking for a programme support officer to work at a national level, to support the delivery of the NCFH programme.

The NCFH will be supporting the existing funded areas to further develop their offer and work with the Development Grant areas to develop services into the family hubs model. We will have a team of nine regional advisors who will be delivering within their localities.

In the national role, you will be providing support to the central team, programme manager and advisors and the regional advisors. You will be working collaboratively not only with colleagues across the LGA, but also with local authorities, Departments for Education, Health and Social Care and a range of external partners. You will be supporting the delivery of peer challenges, online events, in person conferences, round tables and co-design events.
About you

We are looking for a confident and capable programme support officer who will be able to provide support to the central and regional teams.

You will need good interpersonal skills to work with colleagues in the LGA , Government Departments, local authorities and key partners.

You will need to use your good recording keeping skills to help track the delivery of the programme against the key performance indicators in the contract, process financial information and collate data from events .

You will be supporting the programme manager and advisors to deliver online events, so you need to be confident in using the TEAMS webinar platform, break out rooms and polls.

You must have the right to work in the UK, the LGA are unfortunately unable to offer sponsorship visas. Evidence for the right to work in the UK will be requested at the interview stage.
To apply

If you would like to be considered for the role, please complete the online form and include a supporting statement detailing how you meet the criteria for the role before the closing date.

We are specifically assessing candidates against the following criteria:
• Knowledge and experience in children’s services /Family Hubs
• Political sensitivity, with the ability to exercise discretion, judgement and confidentiality when dealing with politicians and officers at every level, and to demonstrate political neutrality at all times.
• Excellent oral and influencing skills, with the ability to give clear advice on procedural issues.
• Experience of organising meetings, events or other activities
• Good interpersonal skills, with the ability to deal with members, other clients and colleagues with courtesy, tact and sensitivity.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise work to meet deadlines, and a concern for order and accuracy

Programme Support Officer - Children's Improvement Team- Job Description

Closing Date: 5pm, 1 August 2025

Interview Date: 7 August 2025, virtual

If you would like to discuss the role please contact

Liz Hodgman, Programme Manager for the National Centre for Family Hubs and Early Language, Local Innovation and Excellence (ELLIE) Programme

In recognition of the summer period and to support future organisational design, we are adopting a new approach to recruitment. All LGA roles will be advertised internally for one week prior to being advertised externally and internally, providing colleagues with the opportunity to engage with roles ahead of wider publication. Should you require additional time to submit an application due to annual leave or other commitments, please contact the recruitment inbox so that appropriate arrangements can be considered.

We use anonymous recruitment, which is the practice of hiding candidates’ identities. This process involves removing any identifying information from candidates’ applications which includes names.

At the LGA we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Our recruitment decisions are based on fair, open competition, with appointment on merit.

The LGA are proud to be awarded a “Disability Confident Leader”. Please contact us via if you require a reasonable adjustment, which is a change to the format or conditions of the recruitment process to accommodate any disability-related needs you may have.
Our benefits
• LGA annual leave entitlement is 29 days, rising to 31 days after three years’ service and to 33 days after five years’ service, plus all UK public holidays (pro rata for fixed term and part time contracts).*
• Flexible agile working – office-based staff are required to work in the LGA’s London office two days per week as a minimum, subject to business need and this may vary significantly between different roles and from week to week.
• Future development – face-to-face and virtual courses are scheduled in line with developmental goals
• The LGA offers 24/7 access to a free, confidential employee assistance programme managed by Health Assured. This service is also available for Dependants.
• Family friendly policies

For more of LGA’s benefits and working with us, please view our webpage https://www.local.gov.uk/benefits-and-working-lga
Our values behaviours

Our Values and Behaviours are there to give us an understanding of who we are as an organisation and who we want to be. They are a framework to help us understand:
• how we work with each other
• how we work with our members and stakeholders
• our expectations for ourselves and each other

Our values are:

Collaboration – We value collaboration, to pursue shared goals by encouraging and utilising diverse perspectives and working with internal and external colleagues across the organisation.

Inclusion – We value inclusion, where everyone feels valued, understood, and supported to contribute meaningfully.

Ambition – We value ambition, reflecting our desire to achieve best possible outcomes for local government, communities, and individuals.

Respect – We value respect, to ensure fairness, recognition, and shared accountability. Read more