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Job Description

Job Title: Primary Futures Project Manager (Maternity Cover)

Reports to: Head of School Programmes

Location: The role is open to hybrid or fully remote working but the candidate would be expected to be able to occasionally travel to schools within the funded project areas (including Westminster, Chester and Lancashire) and attend occasional meetings at the charity’s offices located at Quantum House, 22 – 24 Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, EC4A 3AB.

Purpose: Are you an experienced project manager with knowledge of the primary education sector who can confidently lead an exciting funded project for 12 months, helping children broaden their horizons and discover their futures? This is a fantastic opportunity to take on the role of Primary Futures Project Manager for Education and Employers charity supporting the delivery of our internationally recognised career-related learning programme in primary schools. The programme is called Inspiring the Future and is known as Primary Futures in primary schools.

Through our programmes, our charity brings inspiring volunteers from the world of work into schools, helping children learn in a fun way about a wide range of future jobs and career pathways, broadening their horizons and raising their aspirations and attainment. School activity sits at the heart of our charity’s mission which is to: ‘ensure that every young person in our country, wherever they live, whatever their parents or carers’ circumstances, has the opportunity to meet a diverse range of volunteers to hear first-hand about jobs and the world of work’.

This important role will manage and lead the day-to-day delivery of a key primary school focused project for the charity, funded by the Westminster Foundation. Responsibilities include leading the delivery and coordination of a multi-year funded project, managing stakeholder and funder relationships, overseeing programme activity across schools and partners, monitoring performance against targets and budgets, reporting on impact and outcomes, and providing line management and support to a remote team member to ensure successful project delivery.

Remuneration: £36k per annum FTE.

Additional Terms: We offer an excellent overall package with 30 days paid holiday, exclusive of Statutory Bank Holidays, plus a competitive pension scheme and a volunteering allowance of up to 5 days per annum – pro rata in accordance with the length of contract. Additional family friendly benefits, including enhancements to Statutory Payments.

Appointment Terms: This is a fixed-term, maternity cover role until at least end of November 2027. This role is advertised as part-time (0.6-0.8 FTE) - responsibilities will be adjusted proportionally for part-time candidates.

Job Purpose:

Reporting to the Head of Schools Programmes, the Primary Futures Project Manager (Maternity Cover) will lead the delivery of a major funded project that helps children broaden their horizons, challenge stereotypes and discover the wide range of opportunities available to them in the future. Through Education and Employers' Primary Futures programme, the role will support schools to connect children with inspiring volunteers from the world of work, helping to raise aspirations and develop career-related learning across primary education.

The successful candidate will take day-to-day responsibility for the delivery of this multi-year project. ensuring activity is delivered on time, within budget and in line with agreed objectives and funding requirements. Working closely with schools, employers, volunteers and the funder, they will lead project delivery across a range of workstreams including school engagement, teacher training, volunteer mobilisation, communications, evaluation and reporting.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced project manager with knowledge of the primary education sector to play a leading role in a nationally recognised charity. The postholder will combine project leadership, stakeholder management and school engagement to ensure high-quality delivery and lasting impact for participating schools, teachers and children, while supporting the long-term success of the programme.

The role is open to hybrid or home-based working, with occasional travel to schools and project activities across Westminster, Chester and Lancashire, alongside occasional meetings with colleagues at the charity's London office.

What we are looking for in a candidate:

We are seeking a driven, highly capable, and enthusiastic Project Manager who can confidently manage a funder relationship, work efficiently to ensure project delivery remains on track and deliver engaging presentations to employers, children, and teachers.  You will bring excellent communication, organisational, and project management skills, along with experience in working with or in primary schools that can support design and delivery of project resources and events and an interest in career-related learning and social mobility.

Education and Employers is a small charity working at a rapid pace to bring about change. We are a friendly, diverse, and welcoming organisation and the successful candidate will be well supported. The Primary Futures Project Manager will work closely with the Director of Programmes, Head of School Programmes and wider Inspiring the Future team to undertake the following key accountabilities:

Key Accountabilities:

Project Management

• Lead the day-to-day management and coordination of a five-year funded project, ensuring delivery is aligned with agreed objectives, targets, timescales, budgets and funder requirements.
• Maintain and oversee detailed project plans, delivery schedules and internal tracking systems to ensure all workstreams are effectively coordinated and milestones are achieved.
• Coordinate activity across multiple project workstreams, including primary school engagement, programme delivery, teacher training, primary-aged resource development, volunteer and employer mobilisation, evaluation, communications and reporting.
• Monitor progress against project KPIs and delivery targets and taking appropriate action to maintain successful delivery.
• Contribute to the longer-term development and sustainability of the project, ensuring learning from delivery is captured and used to inform future years of the programme.
• Manage relationships with the funder and other key project stakeholders, ensuring clear communication, appropriate involvement and timely sharing of progress and learning.

Delivery

• Take overall responsibility for the successful delivery of the project's programme of activity, ensuring participating primary schools receive a high-quality and consistent experience.
• Lead the development of high-quality primary-aged resources for teachers, pupils and parents/carers, overseeing the scoping, creation, and refinement of materials to support project delivery and enable schools to sustain career-related learning beyond the funded programme.
• Lead engagement and delivery with a designated group of participating primary schools, developing strong relationships with teachers and school leaders and tailoring support to their needs.
• Maintain a clear understanding of the needs and context of participating primary schools and geographical areas, using this insight to inform project planning and delivery.
• Ensure teacher training and support builds schools' capacity and confidence to embed career-related learning and independently use Primary Futures beyond the funded intervention.
• Oversee volunteer and employer mobilisation required to meet project delivery needs, working collaboratively with colleagues, employers and local stakeholders.

Reporting

• Lead on the collection of project data and feedback to monitor progress, demonstrate impact and inform ongoing improvements to delivery.
• Oversee the implementation of appropriate reporting mechanisms, including Salesforce and SurveyMonkey, to ensure accurate and timely recording of project activity and outcomes.
• Ensure project data and evidence are accurate, timely and sufficient to demonstrate progress against agreed KPIs and funding requirements.
• Produce high-quality progress updates, reports and other project documentation for senior leadership and funders.

Line Management

• Provide effective line management, direction and support to a remote team member, including performance management, professional development and regular review of progress.
• Plan and allocate workloads, balancing competing priorities and ensuring resources are effectively deployed to meet project and organisational targets.
• Provide oversight and direct leadership of key project activities, including employer encounters, virtual events, teacher training and primary school-based delivery.
• Work collaboratively across Education and Employers to ensure communications, research, evaluation and employer engagement support project delivery.

Person specification:

We are looking for someone with the following Skills/ Knowledge/ Expertise

Skills/Knowledge/Expertise

Essential

• Experience of working with primary schools, teachers or other education professionals, with a good understanding of the primary education context. (Ideally 2–3 years experience.)
• Strong project management experience, including coordinating complex, multi-year funded projects and delivering against agreed objectives, targets, timescales, budgets and funder requirements. (Ideally 2–3 years experience.)
• Experience of successful relationship management, with the ability to engage confidently and sensitively with funders, schools and education professionals at a range of levels of seniority.
• Experience of line managing staff, including setting objectives, providing direction, performance management, coaching and development support.
• Experience of collecting, managing and interpreting project data to produce high-quality reports for senior colleague and funders and demonstrate progress against agreed objectives, outcomes and KPIs
• Experience of developing, reviewing or improving primary-aged resources, programmes or activities for children, young people and/or education professionals.
• Understanding of the evidence base underpinning career-related learning at primary age and its role in broadening children's aspirations, knowledge and understanding of the world of work.
• Understanding of safeguarding, risk management and data protection and their application within an education or project delivery context.

Desirable

• Passion for supporting children and young people to realise their potential, including through the engagement of skilled volunteers and employers in education.
• Experience of working within the charity, education, social mobility, careers or youth sectors.
• Experience of motivating, supporting and coordinating volunteers to deliver activities impactfully and successfully
• Experience of identifying and managing risks, resolving problems and taking appropriate action to maintain successful project delivery.
• Experience of facilitating virtual activities with children and young people, including creating an engaging and interactive online environment.

Personal Attributes

• Commitment to uphold our charity’s five values - Inspiring, Inclusive, Innovative, Impactful, Integrity
• Enthusiastic about inspiring children and supporting social mobility.
• Flexible – responsive to changing operational context and new opportunities
• Team Player: working collaboratively and flexibly to achieve outcomes and is keen to add value to the organisation’s culture and ethos
• Able to undertake some occasional work in the evenings and at weekends
• Able to travel in the UK if required

Application process

The Education and Employers charity values having a diverse workforce. We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. We offer a range of inclusive employment and family friendly policies as well as flexible working arrangements in order to support staff from different backgrounds. 

The closing date for applications is 9am on Monday 5th October and interviews will take place in the week of the 12th October. The organisation reserves the right to conduct interviews and appoint prior to the closing date dependent on the calibre of applications received.

Please send a covering letter of no more than 2 sides of A4 setting out your interest in and suitability for the role against the job description and person specification, together with an up to date CV. 

*Please note, in your cover letter we have a strong preference for human-written content. We want to hear about you, your genuine interest in the role, and why from your experience, skills, and personality you feel you are a great fit for the role

We will only consider applications with both a CV and covering letter and applications will only be accepted from those with the right to work in the UK with a valid passport/visa. 

Thank you for taking the time to consider this role. We very much look forward to receiving your application!

The Charity is fully committed to safeguarding those in our care. We plan our recruitment processes to ensure effective timelines for any required vetting processes such as enhanced DBS, qualification, reference and identity checks. The Charity also ensures that each staff member is appropriately trained for their duties with a comprehensive induction process on commencement and regular CPD in areas like safeguarding.