Programme Manager - Education

Programme Manager - Education
Location: Leeds OR Birmingham based with some national travel (in addition to home-based work)
Job Type: Full Time, permanent
Salary: circa £40k dependent on experience

Deadline: 9am Monday 17th of June

Overview

We are looking for a proactive self-starter who will support employers nationally to help young people realise their potential.  You will build on our success to date and take forward flagship careers and skills programmes that help young people to find their future in key sectors of the economy. You will develop our supporter base, grow our network of education and employer partners across the country and lead the implementation of exciting projects and events led by employers from a range of different sectors. This is a crucial role in stepping up our work in the region and is an opportunity for an enthusiastic individual who is committed to the future of the West Midlands to work with a purpose-led passionate and successful team.

Housekeeping

• Working hours – a standard full-time week is 37.5 hours, with flexible start and finish times.
• The role is based in Leeds / Birmingham and the primary focus will be on national clients. There will be travel and client delivery across the UK, including times when we will come together nationally at our Leeds HQ or elsewhere. This could include overnight stays as required (with reasonable notice provided). Occasional unsociable hours may be required.
• Flexible working and other arrangements happily considered. 
• Because of the varying locations of events and activity, it is ideal to have occasional access to a car and a full clean driving licence is desirable.
• All staff are required to undertake a Criminal Record Bureau/DBS check upon joining.

About our team

We are a team in every sense and many people comment, when joining, that they’ve never worked in such a supportive environment. We pull together, helping and coaching each other because we moved away from formal hierarchy and traditional line management some time ago. Within our flat structure everybody’s voice matters and each member of our committed team is individually empowered to be an agent of positive change. 

The nature of our work is always changing, and we all thrive on this. There’s never a dull day at Ahead Partnership and every member of our team is responsive and flexible, eager to develop new skills, experience and ideas.

About the role

As a Programme Manager you will work with a large variety of public and private sector clients to help them shape and deliver exciting national programmes of careers and skills activities with young people (mainly secondary school age but also primary and sixth form ages). These programmes are wide ranging and include events with young people that take place in schools, in the workplace or online; multi-intervention events and programmes that can involve numerous education partners and employers. We engage partners in initiatives that help deliver our Vision of Building Partnerships with Purpose. Our business is continuing to evolve, and we are regularly taking on new types of projects which may not be restricted to young people/education partners.

The key responsibilities of the role will include:

• National Programme leadership
• Project and team management
• Managing clients and partners
• Ensuring fantastic client service
• Facilitating and delivering activities / events
• Designing projects
• Growing the business
• Data collation and analysis and outcome evaluation

About you

You will be passionate about getting involved in new and exciting opportunities and using creative thinking to best meet client needs. The following experience and skills are required:

Knowledge and Experience

Programme delivery, management and (remote) Team management - Have experience of simultaneously managing and delivering multiple projects, (often remote based) team members and events from start to finish. This experience could have been gained in any environment and could include work experience, voluntary roles, or involvement in clubs, e.g. event organising, event delivery, project management, financial planning, etc.

Client Management - Experience of working with clients - You should be able to demonstrate your ability to understand client needs, how to provide great client service and care and know how to negotiate with a client to get an outcome which is achievable and keeps the client happy.

Business development – Experience of nurturing, developing and growing client relationships  – You should be well versed in business development and be able to demonstrate a structured and organised approach to - spotting opportunities, the process of assessing and stress-testing the validity of opportunities, prioritising of prospects, deciding on the best way to approach and pursue the opportunity using the different BD tools we have available.

Business Knowledge – Strong network and good knowledge of and interest in the business landscape, key sectors of the economy, drivers for engagement in our work coupled with commercial acumen.

Networking - experience of networking or confidence in how to approach this.

Skills

• Highly Organised
• Creative Problem Solver
• Team Player
• Self-driven and resilient
• Confident and effective Communicator
• Confident presenter
• Event facilitator / leader

To Apply

To apply, please submit a copy of your CV and a covering letter (maximum two sides of A4) outlining:

• how your skills/experience/knowledge will enable you to deliver the key responsibilities
• how you meet the person specification for the role
• why you want to work for Ahead Partnership
• what attracts you to the role
• The role is subject to satisfactory references, a satisfactory DBS check, and a six-month probation period.