Senior Programmes Manager (fixed-term contract)

Senior Programmes Manager (Fixed-term contract)

Reports to: Director of Finance and Operations
Hours: Full time with flexible hours. Core hours are 10am to 4pm
Location: Hybrid. London (Embankment) on Wednesdays and Thursdays and remote working
Salary: £44,748 p.a.
Contract length: 13 months (starting mid November 2026)

Applications close: 23:59 on August 28th.

First round interviews: September 8th (online)

Second round interviews: September 16th at The Economist Group’s offices in London.

We are committed to an inclusive recruitment process. If there are any adjustments or support we can provide to help you perform at your best during the interview, please let us know.

BENEFITS

• 25 days annual leave, UK bank holidays and one volunteering day a year, one day for moving home
• A highly competitive pension (up to 11% employer contribution for 5% employee contribution)
• Private health insurance, eye tests and medical checks
• Flexible working: core hours from 10am to 4pm with a minimum of two days spent in the office in London each week (currently Wednesdays and Thursdays)
• 24/7 access to counselling and wellbeing resources through our Employee Assistance Programme
• Income protection insurance and life assurance
• Cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan and gym membership loan
• Free access to The Economist content, including an online subscription, our range of apps, podcasts and more

ABOUT US

The Economist Educational Foundation is a fast-growing charity on a mission to ensure that every child is empowered to think critically and communicate effectively about the world’s most complex current issues.

In 2025-6 our core programme, Topical Talk, more than doubled its reach to over 1 million young people across 99 countries. We are at a time of great opportunity, in England and internationally, and have ambitious plans to keep growing and deepen our impact further.

Topical Talk helps children join inspiring discussions about the news by providing:

• Topical Talk Headlines – award-winning weekly lessons for classroom discussions about global news stories
• Leadership for Change Prize – child-led solutions to complex global issues
• Community partnerships – support and training for teachers via partnerships with Multi-Academy Trusts in the UK and School Districts in America

Our programme has received international recognition, including from HundrED as one of the top 100 education initiatives, from UNESCO as a winner of the Global Media and Information Literacy Awards 2022 and from the Money And Inclusion Awards (MAIA) for best content in 2025.

THE ROLE

We are seeking a highly organised, agile and structured Senior Programmes Manager to lead the operational planning, project management and execution of our flagship educational programmes. In this role, you will be the operational engine behind multiple cross-departmental projects, with a focus on meeting the needs of our global teachers and students, as well as funders.

In this fixed-term role you will work closely with our educational content leads, designers and external stakeholders to ensure our high-impact classroom resources and live events are delivered seamlessly, on time and to the highest standard. Rather than drafting the pedagogy yourself, you will manage the project lifecycles, coordinate workflow across internal and external teams and optimise the systems that allow our world-class educational programmes to reach over 1 million young people globally.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Project and operational management

• Manage the Topical Talk Leadership for Change Prize, Live Lessons, curriculum modules and student workshops end-to-end: from roadmaps and capacity mapping through to impact and evaluation
• Project manage the filming required for our content delivery, including the booking and management of experts, production teams and Economist colleagues
• Track and coordinate progress across content creators, graphic designers, proofreaders and editors to ensure all deliverables meet tight production deadlines
• Balance team workloads across concurrent educational projects and plan capacity for incoming projects
• Continuously refine workflow processes to streamline resource creation and evaluation

Programme governance and evaluation

• Partner with the Director of Programmes to track key performance indicators (KPIs), evaluate audience reach and maintain rigorous data collection for monitoring and evaluating our programmes
• Proactively identify bottlenecks, content risks or scheduling delays, implementing swift mitigation strategies to keep delivery on track

Live Lesson and workshop operations

• Manage the end-to-end operational execution of student workshops and our Live Lessons – handling scheduling, platform setups and logistics
• Coordinate school visits for content testing and observation, ensuring all safeguarding and operational requirements are fully met

Stakeholder and relationship coordination

• Serve as the primary operational point of contact for external topic experts, guest contributors, and editorial contributors from The Economist Group
• Maintain clear lines of communication between the programmes team, marketing, operations and external partners to ensure projects are aligned with strategic aims
• Manage external freelance contractors and vendors, with support from the administrative officer

SKILLS AND BEHAVIOURS

Whether you come from a project or educational management background or are a leader in charity operations, you possess the following:

• Outstanding ability to build, manage and maintain complex multi-phase project plans with precision and accountability
• A relentless eye for detail, operational rigor, and a knack for creating clean, efficient workflows out of complex tasks
• A proactive, self-starting mindset capable of foreseeing risks, resolving bottlenecks quickly and keeping cross-functional teams moving forward
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills to effectively coordinate across diverse stakeholders – from freelance producers and internal creative teams to senior editors and external experts
• A collaborative nature. You motivate project contributors, keep teams aligned and foster a supportive working environment
• Discipline with deadlines, whereby you act as a dependable anchor for the team, managing requests consistently

EXPERIENCE

You have…

• Proven project management experience where you have demonstrated success in managing content creation, publishing workflows or educational delivery pipelines from conception to completion
• Experience using project management and collaboration platforms to drive team accountability and workflow tracking
• A track record of coordinating multi-disciplinary teams (e.g. writers, designers, subject-matter experts) under tight production schedules
• Experience implementing monitoring, reporting and evaluation frameworks to track project success metrics and user engagement
• Practical experience running hybrid, in-person, or large-scale virtual workshops and webinars

You might have…

• Formal project management certifications or training
• Background working within ed-tech, publishing or non-profit environments

We're particularly keen for you to apply if you are from a community under-represented in the charity sector or have lived experience of facing extra barriers because of your background.