Senior Programme Manager

About Media Trust

At Media Trust, we believe it’s by giving everyone a voice that we’ll get to a more equal society. That’s why we’re working with hundreds of charities to strengthen their storytelling, advocacy and campaigning, press engagement and social media. We do this through media, communications and digital skills training delivered in partnership with our media and creative industry partners and by matching media industry volunteers with charities looking for help with content creation and other comms support. At the same time, we are working with hundreds of young people and talent from under-represented communities to give them the skills, access and mentoring to break into the media.

About the Role

Do you want to lead innovative and impactful programmes to strengthen the communications, campaigning, storytelling, media engagement and digital skills of organisations advocating for social justice and systemic change?

We are looking for a dynamic, proactive, and organised individual with a demonstrable track record of successful programme management, who is passionate about communications that drive change.

This position will report to the Head of Programmes and oversee Media Trust’s thematic strategic communications programmes that strengthen the voices of charities. Our thematic strategic communications programmes support cohorts of charities working in the same area, including equalities and social justice and environmental and climate issues.

Stronger Voices and Communicating Climate are both six-month strategic communications training programmes designed to support charities and community organisations to amplify their voice, mobilise support and influence meaningful change. Stronger Voices is designed specifically for UK equalities organisations while Communicating Climate is tailored to organisations working on environmental and climate issues and related areas. These programmes include in-person and virtual training, mentoring and support from industry experts, and tailored digital resources for charities and community groups.

This role will directly manage our Stronger Voices programme, and ensure the effective and efficient delivery of the programme including managing our cohort of equalities organisations; overseeing the budget and timeline, managing our relationships with funders, trainers and partners; and impact evaluation and reporting.

You will also oversee our other thematic strategic programmes (currently Communicating Climate). You will line manage the Project Manager of Communicating Climate and a Project Coordinator.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone committed to social justice, with strong programme management skills, a passion for strategic communications and experience in empowering the charity sector through training and mentorship. This is a demanding but highly rewarding role which offers opportunities for extensive engagement with the charity sector as well as the media and creative industries.

Key Responsibilities

Programme Management of Stronger Voices:

• Lead our Stronger Voices programme, ensuring it is high quality, innovative and tailored to the needs and priorities of equalities organisations
• Recruit and build successive new cohorts of London-based equalities charities, user-led organisations and community groups, supporting them through the programme to ensure high levels of engagement and collaboration
• Recruit and work with trainers and equalities experts to develop engaging, practical and tailored training content, activities and resources
• Plan and ensure the smooth delivery of all activities, (including training workshops, peer to peer networking sessions and other events), ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget and lead to planned outcomes
• Work with Media Trust’s media and creative industry partners to develop tailored training, mentoring and digital resources for the equalities sector
• Manage the Advisory Group for Stronger Voices comprising leading media organisations and equalities charities and experts, coordinating regular meetings and preparing papers
• Manage our relationship with our key programme partners including Equally Ours, negotiating partnership agreements and key deliverables
• Work with media industry partners to design and deliver activities for volunteers from leading media and creative agencies to provide pro bono strategic communications support to equalities charities
• Manage the programme budget and financial reporting
• Lead on the monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the programme, ensuring impact is evidenced by high quality data
• Produce programme impact reports, social media content and presentations sharing insights and learning on strategic communications in the equalities sector
• Maintain up to date knowledge of trends and developments in the equalities space and contribute to the development of future programmes and funding applications

Other Thematic Strategic Programmes:

• Oversee all our other thematic strategic programmes, ensuring key learnings, innovative ideas and best practice flows across this entire body of our work
• Line manage the Project Managers (currently one) and Project Coordinators (also currently one), providing support, guidance and development opportunities
• Support the Business Development team on securing grant and other funding for new thematic strategic programmes, helping to write funding applications and attending pitch meetings as required
• Collaborate with our Marcomms team to craft compelling copy for various platforms including web, e-marketing, and social media channels, while also partnering closely to develop communication strategies and create impactful case studies.

What we are looking for in you:

• Demonstrable track record of successful programme management and delivery, with experience in project design and development
• A passion for tackling inequalities with experience working on equalities issues, with an interest in environmental and climate issues being a bonus
• A good understanding of strategic communications, with experience of media, communications or campaigns, and preferably knowledge of how the communications and media industry works
• Experience of designing and delivering training and/or capacity building projects, with strong workshop facilitation, hosting and public speaking skills
• Proven track record of organising and managing events, including online and face to face events, co-ordinating participants and trainers and overseeing logistics
• A passion for building the capacity of the equalities sector
• Experience of developing and maintaining successful partnerships with multiple stakeholders
• Experience of writing funding applications desirable
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, enjoys working with people and getting the best out of partners and project participants
• Highly organised with the ability to plan, prioritise and manage your own time
• Process-driven with excellent attention to detail
• An understanding of financial processes with experience of preparing, managing and reporting on project budgets
• Excellent writing and editing skills with the ability to produce clear and engaging copy and content for our website, guides, blogs or digital resources
• Line management experience, including providing professional development support and guidance, would be desirable
• Experience in data management and analysis and/or monitoring and evaluation of programmes
• Ability to take initiative, be pro-active and work autonomously when necessary
• Willingness to deliver regular in-person activities in London to support cohorts of London-based organisations
• A passion for, and commitment to, the aims and values of Media Trust

The above job description is a guide to the work you may be required to undertake but does not form part of your contract of employment and may change from time to time to reflect changing circumstances.

We understand that no applicant may perfectly align with every point in the job specification. If you are enthusiastic about this role, passionate about the power of media to drive positive social change, and believe you can contribute to our team, we encourage you to apply. We value diverse perspectives and are committed to fostering an inclusive work environment, so don’t hesitate to showcase your unique skills and experiences and what you can bring to Media Trust.

Working at Media Trust

Media Trust is an ambitious charity, full of passionate people. We are a small and dynamic team that works collaboratively and supports each other in a fast-paced environment. We are looking for motivated, agile and value-driven people to join our team. In return we offer:

• Remote working
• 30 days annual leave (plus bank holidays)
• Flexible hours, to be agreed with line manager
• Pension contributions
• 2 volunteer days each year
• Attend two Media Trust Open courses each year at no cost to you

Flexible Working at Media Trust

Media Trust values and respects all differences in people (seen and unseen). One of the ways we do this is by actively encouraging staff to work in ways that best suit their needs and our flexible working policy outlines many of the options available, such as part-time and term-time working, job sharing, home working and working compressed hours. Please talk to us at the interview about the flexibility and equipment or other support you need. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise not to judge you for asking.

Media Trust values diversity and is an equal opportunities employer.

How to apply

Download and complete the Equal Opportunities form. Email a covering letter (max 2 pages) describing how your skills and experience match our requirements, along with your CV and the completed equal opportunities form. Please put Senior Programme Manager in the subject heading of the email.

We aim to represent the communities we support. We encourage applications from people of colour, those who identify as LGBTQIA, working class as well as Disabled people and those living with mental health conditions.

We are happy to make reasonable adjustments for applicants who need additional support at any stage of the recruitment process – please just get in touch to discuss.

Closing date: Monday 4 March 2024.