Job Description:

Programme Manager

Location: Leeds

Working hours:Full-time, 37.5 hours per week with flexible start and finish times. A minimum of 2-3 office days per week.

Salary: £37,000-£40,000 DOE

Closing date: Friday 25th September

Join Ahead Partnership and play a leading role in designing and delivering impactful school programmes that connect young people with brighter futures. We're looking for a highly organised and client-focused Programme Manager who thrives on building relationships, managing complex projects and creating meaningful social impact across communities and businesses.

About this position

Are you a highly organised and self-driven programme manager with a passion for supporting young people?

The Programme Manager is responsible for the design, delivery and evaluation of impactful programmes that meet client objectives and support Ahead Partnership’s mission. Working closely with clients, partners and internal teams, you will lead multiple programmes from discovery through to delivery, ensuring excellent outcomes, strong stakeholder relationships and effective financial management. You will also contribute to business growth, innovation and organisational learning.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Programme design, delivery and management

• Lead the discovery, design and scoping of programmes, identifying client needs and translating requirements into impactful delivery plans.
• Manage the end-to-end delivery of multiple programmes, ensuring objectives, timelines, budgets and quality standards are achieved.
• Build, lead and support programme teams through coaching, mentoring and effective delegation.
• Recruit and manage volunteers, schools, employers and external partners as required.
• Monitor programme performance and report on key outcomes and impact measures.
• Facilitate workshops, events and presentations for a range of audiences.
• Lead internal strategic projects and organisational initiatives where required.

Programme development, innovation and evaluation

• Collaborate with the creative team to design innovative programmes that meet client objectives and create meaningful impact.
• Develop and implement robust evaluation frameworks aligned to client outcomes and Ahead Partnership’s social mission.
• Gather, analyse and report data to evidence programme impact and identify opportunities for long-term improvement.

Client Service Excellence

• Accountable for managing client relationships and building long-term trusted relationships with our clients and stakeholders by exceeding client expectations
• Ensure that exemplary client service is delivered by all members of the programme teams, ensuring that there are clear lines of communication across all members of the team as well as clearly understood areas of responsibility and accountability.
• Being client-centred at all times – putting the client’s objectives at the heart of our programme design and delivery
• Respond to the needs of clients and prospects with an innovative and considered approach
• Accountable for resolving delivery-related challenges with clients
• Communicate with other members of the team on client-related issues to optimise results

People

• Champion Ahead Partnership’s values and contribute to a positive, inclusive and high-performing culture.
• Share knowledge and best practice through training, induction, coaching and resource development.
• Support performance management and address delivery issues constructively, escalating where appropriate.

Finance

• Responsible for financial performance of programmes, ensuring they are delivered to budget and reviewing, managing and reporting on financial performance on an ongoing basis
• Accountable for contracting and invoicing on the programme portfolio
• Responsible for ensuring that timely payment is made of invoices for all programmes under your management.

Profile / Reputation

• Responsible for building a best-in-class reputation through excellent client service and supporting the marketing team on relevant campaigns
• Provide impactful, data-evidenced content and case studies
• Liaise with clients to secure and manage their involvement in marketing and BD efforts

Other

• Undertaking other duties as requested to support the business
• Ensuring programmes have a strong social value and best support our communities to achieve change and stronger futures together
• Embed our culture by living our values and challenging behaviour which does not align to our values.

About you

You will be passionate about our mission, getting involved in new and exciting opportunities and using creative thinking to best meet client needs. The ideal candidate will have as much of the following experience and skills as possible:

Essential skills and experience

Programme and project management skills

➜ Experience managing complex programmes involving multiple stakeholders.

➜ Strong planning, organisational and prioritisation skills.

➜ Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and deliver to deadlines.

➜ Stakeholder and client management skills

➜ Experience building strong client and partner relationships.

➜ Excellent communication and facilitation skills.

➜ Ability to influence and engage diverse audiences.

Commercial and strategic thinking

➜ Commercial awareness and experience managing programme budgets.

➜ Ability to think strategically and contribute to organisational growth.

➜ Understanding of business development and client development opportunities.

➜ Leadership and personal attributes

➜ Proactive, self-motivated and resilient.

➜ Creative problem solver who thrives in fast-paced environments.

➜ Collaborative team player with mentoring skills.

➜ Flexible and adaptable, with a positive, solutions-focused approach.

➜ Digital skills

➜ Strong Microsoft Office skills.

➜ Experience using collaboration and design tools such as Canva.

Applying for the role

Please apply using the URL on our website with your latest CV and cover letter.

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that some groups of people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Ahead Partnership we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, then Ahead Partnership encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Equals One is an advertising and recruitment agency working on behalf of our client to promote this vacancy. You may be contacted directly by the employer should they wish to progress your application. Due to the number of applications we receive, we are unable to provide specific feedback if your application is unsuccessful.