Programme manager - brent giving

Full-time | £35,000 p/a + benefits | Deadline extended: 6th June 12:00 noon

Details

Salary: £35,000 + pension + employee benefits
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Contract type: Full time
Location: Remote/Hybrid (Travel will be required across the borough of Brent, including Harlesden, South Kilburn, Stonebridge and other areas as the programme grows)
Application deadline: Now extended to 6th June at 12:00 PM (midday)

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About Brent Giving

Brent Giving is a bold new place-based giving initiative with big ambitions for the borough. We are bringing together residents, grassroots organisations, local funders, and institutions to invest in community-led solutions and ideas. Our mission is simple: to give power, funding and support to local people so they can shape their own communities.

We’re proud to be part of developing a new era for Brent. Supported by a group of committed organisations such as The Football Association, Quintain and South Kilburn Trust (amongst others), we are going to build Brent’s innovation, investment and community power and join the wider London Giving Movement. Over the next year, we will be delivering our first Participatory Grantmaking (PGM) programme in three of Brent’s most vibrant and resilient neighbourhoods – Harlesden, South Kilburn and Stonebridge – with the aim of building a borough-wide model rooted in fairness, equity, and community leadership.

Supported by a dynamic Steering Group including The FA, Quintain, South Kilburn Trust, Sovereign Network Group, Harlesden Neighbourhood Forum and others. This is a brilliant opportunity to join Brent Giving at the ground level and help shape local grantmaking and community collaboration in London.

About the role

Brent Giving are looking for a confident and values-driven Programme Manager to help deliver its first-ever Participatory Grantmaking (PGM) programme. You’ll lead the delivery across Harlesden, South Kilburn and Stonebridge, working closely with local residents, community organisations and key partners to ensure funding is decided by the people who know their communities best.

This is a hands-on delivery role. You’ll be responsible for supporting resident-led panels, helping local people to apply for funding, coordinating community engagement activities, and making sure the programme is run in an inclusive, accessible and safe way. You’ll need to feel comfortable facilitating meetings, managing small budgets for events and activities, and ensuring safeguarding is built into every part of the work.

You’ll work alongside the Brent Giving Director, and you’ll be coordinating part-time Community Organisers in each of the delivery areas. You’ll also work closely with us, The Social Change Nest, who are a hosting partner providing operational and back-office support, and with the Steering Group of local stakeholders.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys being close to the ground, working directly with communities, and building something new from the start. You’ll need to be proactive, organised and a great relationship builder. Most importantly, you’ll believe in the power of community leadership and want to help create a fairer future for Brent.

Travel across the borough is a key part of this role. You must have your own means of transport and be comfortable moving between Harlesden, South Kilburn, Stonebridge and other areas as the programme grows.

Key responsibilities

Programme Delivery

  • Plan, execute and lead on the day-to-day delivery of the Participatory Grantmaking programme in Harlesden, South Kilburn and Stonebridge

     

  • Recruit, support and coordinate local residents to join and lead funding panels

     

  • Make the grant application process accessible and supportive for local people

     

  • Oversee application timelines and coordinate with The Social Change Nest on operations and grant management

     

  • Support and liaise with part-time Community Organisers working in each neighbourhood

     

Community Engagement and Communications

  • Be a friendly, trusted point of contact for residents, applicants and grassroots groups

     

  • Organise inclusive meetings and events to raise awareness, gather feedback and celebrate wins

     

  • Promote Brent Giving’s work through social media, newsletters, flyers and local networks

     

  • Capture and share stories, images and updates from the ground to showcase the impact of community-led giving

     

  • Help raise the profile of community campaigns – such as online surveys and photo competitions

     

Monitoring and Learning

  • Support the collection of data and feedback from applicants and funding panels

     

  • Contribute to reflection sessions and learning reports that help  improve the model

     

  • Use local insight and learning to shape future planning and practice

     

Growth and Development

  • Work closely with the Director to explore new areas and opportunities for expansion

     

  • Share local knowledge and insight to guide our engagement and fundraising strategies

     

  • Champion a people-led, locally-rooted approach in all areas of your work

About you

Essential Skills, Knowledge and Experience

  • You must either live in Brent or have a strong, lived connection to the borough.

  • Deep understanding of Brent’s communities, including their strengths, challenges and local networks

  • Experience delivering participatory grantmaking or similar community-led processes, including recruiting residents and supporting them through decision-making

  • Confident facilitator, able to lead inclusive community meetings, workshops or panel sessions where everyone feels welcome and able to contribute

  • Strong project management skills, including organising events, supporting community members through funding applications, and managing small budgets

  • Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage and build trust across diverse groups, both in person and in writing

  • Confident using digital tools such as email, Google Drive, basic data trackers and social media to support delivery and communication

  • Good working knowledge of safeguarding principles, with experience applying safeguarding in community or programme delivery settings

  • Comfortable working independently, Self-motivated, highly organised and able to manage competing priorities independently while working as part of a small, collaborative team

  • Must have your own means of transport and be able to travel easily across Harlesden, Stonebridge, South Kilburn and wider Brent

  • A clear commitment to community power, equity and grassroots-led change

  • An understanding of the messy, interconnected world of social change, institutions and grant giving at a community level.

Desirable Skills and Experience

  • Direct experience delivering participatory grantmaking or similar processes where residents were actively involved in decision-making.

  • Knowledge of basic monitoring and evaluation tools to gather feedback and measure impact

  • Experience creating communications such as newsletters, community updates or social posts using software such as Brevo.

  • Experience working in a start-up or early-stage project where flexibility and problem-solving were important

Personal Attributes

  • Passionate about community leadership and putting decision-making in the hands of local people- almost to the point of being radical about it

  • Approachable and good at building relationships with people from all backgrounds

  • Resilient, self-driven, reliable and proactive when facing challenges

  • Values inclusion, fairness and people-led change at every level

  • Brings creativity, warmth and energy to a small and ambitious team

If you’re ready to apply, please use this form

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Using AI in your application

We recognise that AI tools are becoming increasingly prevalent in various aspects of professional life, including the job application process. While we neither encourage nor discourage the use of AI in your application, we believe it’s important for candidates to be aware of both the potential benefits and drawbacks. Here are some key points to consider:

Potential Benefits of Using AI

  1. Reduces barriers: AI can help individuals with disabilities or those who are not native English speakers in the application process.
  2. Guidance: Can provide suggestions on what you might want to include in your response.
  3. Feedback: Can offer insights on how you could improve your responses.


Potential Drawbacks of Using AI

  1. Generic content: Can result in similar wording appearing across multiple applications, making them feel less unique.
  2. Inaccuracies: AI is sometimes overly creative with facts and may provide inaccurate information.
  3. Loss of personal touch: Your individual experiences and personality might not shine through if AI is relied on too heavily.

Remember, the most successful applications are those that genuinely reflect your skills, experiences, and personality. Whether you choose to use AI tools or not, make sure you check your responses thoroughly and ensure that your application accurately represents you as a candidate.