Specialist Management Accompanied Youth Housing (80%)

About the job

Organisation: Youth Network Foundation, Department "Start-Life Zurich North"
Workplace: 8050 Zurich, Canton of Zurich
Start: from 01.11.2026 or by arrangement
Workload: 80%
Employment: Permanent position as Specialist Manager (Team Leader)
Education: Degree in Social Work/Social Pedagogy or Psychology (HF, FH, University) or an equivalent qualification, ideally with leadership training
Professional experience: Practical experience in advisory or residential work with adolescents and young adults as well as leadership experience

The Youth Network Foundation offers diverse psychosocial support for adolescents, young adults and families. Our services are individual, needs- and impact-oriented – from outpatient family activation through accompanied youth housing forms to supervised residential groups.

The "Start-Life Youth Housing" service is aimed at adolescents and young adults aged 16 to 25 who temporarily require professional support. Approximately 64 places are available in decentralised apartments.

As a successor to the previous specialist management, we are looking for a committed, strong leadership personality as Specialist Manager Accompanied Youth Housing (80%) for the Start-Life Zurich North team from 01.11.2026 or by arrangement.

What you bring

• Degree in Social Work/Social Pedagogy or Psychology (HF, FH, University), ideally complemented by leadership training
• Several years of experience working with adolescents and young adults as well as leadership experience
• Schemacoaching certificate or willingness to obtain this through internal training
• Mature, resilient and self-initiated leadership personality with communication skills, high capacity for reflection and a sense of humour
• Fluent written expression and confidence in documentation and reporting
• Organisational strength, decisiveness and the ability to maintain an overview and set priorities even in demanding situations
• Enjoyment in leading, coaching and supporting employees in their professional development
• Interest in professional and conceptual development as well as collaboration with diverse perspectives and stakeholders

Willingness to maintain a high presence and to work recipient-oriented hours, occasionally also in the evenings and as part of weekend telephone on-call duties

What you achieve

• You take on the professional, personnel and organisational responsibility for your location and ensure a professional, effective and efficient operation.
• You ensure high-quality pedagogical work and develop it further together with your team.
• You lead, coach and develop individual employees and the team, creating orientation, commitment and space for autonomous work.
• You actively shape casework, lead key conversations (such as status assessments and crisis talks) and take responsibility for crisis intervention and management.
• You are responsible for the available resources, budget and infrastructure (including properties) of your location and ensure their targeted and sustainable use.
• You contribute to the further development of the service as well as its professional concepts and processes, bringing in your leadership experience and expertise.
• You work in the management team, actively network with cooperation partners and represent your location to specialist offices and other stakeholders.

What to expect

• You have a lot of scope for design and shape the professional, personnel and organisational development of your own location.
• You lead a committed team of four to five specialists and jointly shape the pedagogical work with them.
• You combine leadership work with active casework, thus staying close to the adolescents and young adults as well as to the professional questions of everyday life.
• You are part of a collegial management team and benefit from collaboration on equal terms, regular professional and know-how exchange as well as supervision, coaching and internal training.
• You contribute your ideas to the further development of concepts, projects and processes and actively shape the development of the service.
• Your employment is remunerated in accordance with the salary guidelines of the Canton of Zurich and you benefit from generous employer contributions (60%) to your pension fund.
• Your workplace is located in the immediate vicinity of Oerlikon station.

Interested?
Then we look forward to receiving your application dossier in PDF format at:
📧 info@jugendnetzwerk.ch
For enquiries, please contact:
📞 Olivia Dürst, Head of "Start-Life": 044 727 40 24
More about us at:
🌐 www.jugendnetzwerk.ch