Head of Regions and Nations

Job description

WIG is a membership charity that is building a community of leaders across public, private and not-for-profit sectors to drive growth and prosperity across the UK. For over 40 years, WIG has brought together senior decision-makers and thought leaders from business, government and civil society to tackle the challenges that matter most to the UK’s future.

The organisation is in a period of strategic growth, investing in new capabilities, regional expansion and marketing reach to deliver against a five-year strategy running to 2029.

After a successful one year pilot, WIG is establishing a second office in Manchester as the foundation for expanding its presence, relationships and impact across the UK’s regions and nations. The office will enable WIG to convene sustained cross-sector dialogue closer to where policy is implemented, public services are delivered and regional economic priorities are shaped.

The Head of Regions and Nations will be responsible for standing up this office and leading WIG’s place-based delivery. The role will have accountability for shaping of the long-term model that will scale WIG’s offer across the nations and regions of the UK.

Following strong Board and member backing for an ambitious place-based offer and a successful pilot year, the Head of Regions and Nations is responsible for establishing WIG’s Regions & Nations Hub in Manchester and building a high performing and inclusive team to deliver programmes and interventions that delivers real world impact. The focus is on tangible outcomes for leaders across central/local government, private sector and civil society, a credible business model, and a compelling vision for the next phase of growth.

This is a hands-on strategic leadership role in a lean organisation, requiring the post-holder to act as both architect and operator – building partnerships at the most senior levels, while designing and delivering a place-based programmes that holds its own alongside WIG’s national offer.

The right person understands devolution, place-based leadership and the politics of regional economic development. They are confident operating across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, comfortable engaging senior civil servants, Combined Authority leaders, Vice-Chancellors, regional business leaders and well as civil society partners. They bring entrepreneurial instincts to building something new, the discipline to evidence what works, a track record of managing delivery and the patience to take partners with them as the model is refined.

Responsibilities

1. Place-Based Cross-Sector Leadership – strategic delivery

●        Take personal accountability for the strategic success of the Greater Manchester (GM) cross-sector leadership programme along with Leading Greater Yorkshire (LGY) Programme, ensuring both deliver strong participant outcomes, demonstrable cross-sector impact and a compelling case for future investment.

●        Refine and own the GM/LGY programme business model, working with the Director of Strategy and Programmes and the Head of Finance and IT to ensure programme economics support a replicable approach in other parts of the UK.

●        Lead the relationship with GMCA, the University of Manchester and other key Greater Manchester partners, ensuring WIG’s offer is well-aligned to local priorities and the city-region’s growth ambitions.

●        Convene and curate the GM/LGY cohorts and wider regional dialogue programme, drawing in leaders from public, private and not-for-profit sectors across the city-region.

2. Place-based strategy and scaling the model

●        Working with the Director of Strategy and Programmes, develop WIG’s long-term place-based strategy, identifying the next regions and nations for expansion and the conditions required for successful delivery.

●        Develop a scalable delivery framework that captures what works in Greater Manchester and Yorkshire and translates it into a model that can be adapted to different regional contexts – including Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and other English regions.

●        Engage potential commissioning partners (combined authorities, devolved administrations, anchor institutions and corporate partners) to test the model, secure investment and lay the groundwork for new regions.

3. Senior stakeholder engagement and external profile

●        Build and maintain trusted relationships with senior leaders across the city-regions and nations – including Combined Authority Chief Executives, Vice-Chancellors, NHS Trust leaders, civil society heads and senior corporate executives, acting as WIG’s lead voice on place-based leadership.

●        Represent WIG at regional and national forums on devolution, regional economic development, place-based policy and cross-sector collaboration, ensuring WIG is recognised as a credible contributor to the national conversation.

●        Develop and curate place-based dialogue events and programmes that bring senior cross-sector leaders together around the issues that matter most to their region or nation.

●        Work closely with the CEO and Director of Strategy and Programmes on the highest-priority strategic relationships, including engagement with mayoral offices, devolved governments and major anchor institutions.

4. Programme design, quality and impact

●        Oversee the design, delivery and continuous improvement of place-based programmes, ensuring they meet WIG’s quality standards and deliver a participant experience consistent with the wider WIG offer.

●        Work with the Head of Research, Policy and Impact to embed impact evaluation into all place-based work, contributing to WIG’s evidence base and theory of change.

●        Work with the Head of Leadership Development to ensure regional programmes draw on, and contribute to WIG’s leadership framework and curriculum, avoiding fragmentation between national and regional offers.

●        Develop a body of regional case studies, alumni profiles and evidence of outcomes that supports both ongoing programme improvement and the wider business case for scaling.

5. Cross-directorate collaboration

●        Lead the regional activity to strengthen member and non-member engagement in the relevant geographies to creates pathways into WIG membership for regional partners. Work with the Head of Membership and the Director of Membership and Marketing to deliver this

●        Work with the Head of Partnerships to identify commercial and sponsorship opportunities arising from place-based work, including bespoke regional interventions, sponsored programmes and corporate partnerships anchored in regional strategy.

●        Work with the Director of Membership and Marketing to develop the storytelling and external positioning of WIG’s regions and nations work, ensuring it is well-represented in WIG’s brand evolution and 45th anniversary narrative.

●        Contribute as a senior member of the Strategy and Programmes leadership team to directorate planning, performance and continuous improvement.

6. People management and team development

●        Provide leadership, direction and operational line management to the Regions and Nations team, supporting development, allocating resources and championing pan-WIG working as the team grows.

●        Performance manage and develop direct reports through objective setting, performance reviews, coaching and career development.

●        Plan team capacity and capability for the next phase of place-based growth, building the case for additional roles where required to deliver the regional strategy.

●        Drive team engagement, wellbeing and psychological safety, particularly given the role’s remote and hybrid delivery context.

7. Other

●        A commitment to ongoing professional development.

●        Significant ability to travel across the UK.

Qualifications

Educated to degree level or equivalent. A postgraduate qualification in public policy, regional or economic development, leadership, social science or a related field is desirable but not essential.

Competencies

Strategic leadership: translates the regions and nations priority into a deliverable, sequenced strategy with clear milestones for the interventions and the wider scaling agenda.

Place-based and policy literacy: demonstrable expertise in devolution, regional economic development and the operating dynamics of the public, private and not-for-profit sectors at city-region and national level.

Stakeholder influence: gravitas and credibility to engage Combined Authority Chief Executives, Vice-Chancellors and senior corporate leaders, and to build durable cross-sector partnerships.

Commercial acumen: designs and stress-tests programme business models, balances mission and margin, and builds investment cases that command trustee and partner confidence.

Programme delivery: experienced leader of complex programme delivery with strong quality assurance, impact evaluation and continuous improvement practice.

Collaboration: works generously across WIG’s directorates to ensure place-based work strengthens – rather than fragments – the wider WIG offer.

Inclusive leadership: builds high-performing, accountable teams with a coaching approach to development; particularly important as the regions and nations team scales.

Experience

Essential

●        At least three years’ experience as a Head of, or in an equivalent senior leadership role, within a place-based, regional, public sector, civil society, public policy or membership context.

●        Demonstrable knowledge of devolution, regional economic development and the cross-sector leadership challenges facing UK city-regions and nations.

●        Track record of building and sustaining senior-level relationships across government, business and civil society, ideally with Combined Authority or devolved administration leaders.

●        Experience of designing and delivering programmes – leadership, dialogue, research or commissioned interventions – with strong quality assurance and impact evaluation practice.

●        Commercial acumen with experience of developing programme business cases, managing budgets and meeting financial targets

●        Experience of leading and developing a small team, with a track record of building capability through periods of growth or change.

Desirable

●        Strong existing networks in Greater Manchester and the wider North West or other comparable regions.

●        Experience of working with combined authorities, devolved administrations or anchor institutions on partnership models or commissioned programmes.

●        Background in a membership body, charity or other mission-driven organisation operating across multiple geographies.

●        Familiarity with leadership development, talent programmes or cross-sector exchange in a structured programme context.

●        Experience of supporting organisational scaling, business case development or trustee-level investment decisions.