South West Programme Manager

This academic year, we will be expanding our work significantly, supporting close to 3,000 young people from Cornwall to Northumberland. The majority of this growth will be through a one-year project we are running in partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation.

This project is a randomised control trial (RCT) of our Peer to Peer coaching programme, where we will be working with an additional 50 new secondary schools. We have seen consistently strong impact from this programme on the attainment, social & emotional development, and school attendance of disadvantaged young people for many years. This EEF supported RCT now gives us the opportunity to test this impact at significant scale, specifically on the maths attainment, maths self-efficacy, and school attendance of disadvantaged Y10 and Y7 pupils.

To support with the delivery of this work, we are looking to recruit a part time (2-3 days per week) Programme Manager based in Cornwall, to start as soon as possible, and deliver programmes through to July 2026. We welcome applications from candidates seeking either a fixed-term or freelance contract, depending on individual circumstances.

You will have end-to-end ownership of your own allocation of programmes, which may involve a mixture of Peer to Peer, Core and LifeCycle programmes. Whilst delivering our programmes you will be required to build excellent relationships with our school and university partners, support with training and developing our undergraduate volunteers, use our evaluation frameworks to assess impact, and lead on conversations related to retention and expansion.

Candidates will be required to travel to secondary schools across Cornwall, with occasional trips to Plymouth and other locations in the South West. Access to a car will be required. At times team members may be asked to travel to a location outside of their region, but this will be rare and sufficient notice and TOIL will be given where appropriate.

The majority of direct delivery in schools will begin in November.

Whilst there is the potential for a permanent role beyond the length of this project, this will be based on our levels of school retention and business development, and so cannot be guaranteed.

You will flourish in this role if you have a genuine passion and knack for working with young people and supporting them to succeed, as well as being organised, motivated, and able to think on your feet quickly. If that sounds like you, please get in touch!

Role details Managing and delivering programmes

Coordinate and run multiple in-school and online programmes, typically requiring travel to schools most working days.

Set timelines for programme start and finish dates.

Oversee programme quality and communicate with school staff weekly to provide feedback after sessions.

Facilitate in-school or digital workshops for groups of pupils, typically Key Stage 3 and 4.

Plan and organise graduation trips to a local university for pupils on the programme.

Collect data for monitoring and evaluation purposes, such as pre and post programme questionnaires, attendance records, and pupil and coach feedback.

Report regularly to the Programmes Team Leader on key performance indicators and programme updates.

Build and maintain high quality relationships with pupils, schools, and universities.

Collect data and write impact reports and case studies for each programme. Expanding our reach and impact:

Ensure retention of schools and universities within the region by delivering high quality programmes, and leading retention, renewal, and expansion conversations with partners.

Support the growth of our network of schools, Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), Local Education Authorities, and universities in your region.

Contribute to programme design, take part in a working group and whole team meetings.

Gather and create content for social media and marketing materials.

Running pupil and school leader focus groups.

Carry out other tasks that are within the scope and spirit of the role.

Person Specification Essential characteristics and experience

Below are the key attributes candidates will need to be confident of demonstrating.

Passion for social mobility. We have big aims and are looking for those who share our desire to make education fairer in the UK.

Ability to think on your feet. Delivering programmes with young people can be unpredictable, so you will need to be comfortable working reactively to solve challenges at short notice.

Programme or project management experience. In particular the ability to be organised, plan ahead, and manage competing priorities and timelines.

Experience with young people. Comfortable running a session or delivering a workshop with a group of young people from age 8-18. (Please note, the vast majority of our programmes are at secondary phase).

Relationship building and facilitating. This is a public-facing role so you will be involved in communicating and delivering workshops to groups as well as communicating our mission to a wide range of stakeholders (business leaders, senior members of MATs, universities etc.).

Excellent communication skills, particularly public speaking. You should be comfortable talking to groups of 5 or 500.

Ability to make quick and clear decisions.

Desired characteristics and experience

Below are attributes that would be useful in the role. However candidates that have less experience in these areas should not be discouraged from applying.

Understanding of the specific barriers to social mobility, both nationally and regionally, and the context for the young people we work with.

Experience of sales or partnership management/development, particularly with schools or universities.

Experience of working in education settings.

Existing network of relevant sector contacts in schools and/or universities, or demonstrable ability to quickly establish new connections independently.

Key details Benefits (for employed staff)

An opportunity to contribute to an exciting charity with scope to input widely and take on new responsibilities. 28 annual leave days (pro rata).

Fridays off during non-term-time (pro rata).

Access to a 24-hour employee assisted helpline facilitated independently by Health Assured.

Access to BrightHR perks, including a range of retail discounts. Key Information:

Annual salary for fixed-term position: £30,579 (pro rata)

For freelance contracts: day rate typically in the range of £180-£220 per day depending on experience and location. Freelancers will be engaged on a self-employed basis.

Starting as soon as possible through to week ending 31st July 2026

Remote role with travel to schools across Cornwall. The majority of working days will require a trip to 1-2 schools in your region.

Reporting to our Programmes Team Leader

How to apply

Please apply with a CV and brief covering letter

Please include whether you are applying on an employed or freelance basis, your earliest start date, and (if freelance) your proposed day rate.

There will be one interview round, likely conducted weeks beginning 17th and 24th November