Event executive jobs in Cardiff

Social entrepreneurs scaling their ventures face a specific set of challenges including income generation, hiring, governance, hard calls about growth and risk, all alongside scaling their social impact. We’re recruiting learning and enterprise development managers who’ve lived that journey themselves, to bring first-hand credibility and challenge directly to the entrepreneurs on our scale-up and scale-up-plus programmes.

You’ll hold ownership of SSE’s scale-up approach, shaping our learning content on strategy, profitability and the systems that hold a growing venture together – grounded in what actually works, not just what’s written down. Facilitation sits at the heart of this role. You’ll design and deliver learning programmes and group sessions for cohorts of entrepreneurs as well as leading 1-2-1 coaching and diagnostics, and delivering Action Learning Sets, SSE’s long-standing peer-coaching method (training provided).

We’re looking for people who’ve founded or led a VCSE with an annual turnover of £100,000 or more and held financial accountability such as statutory reporting to the Charity Commission and, where relevant, Companies House, reporting to a board or funders, and making hard calls about growth, income and risk.

You’ll succeed in this role if you believe in what social entrepreneurship can achieve and want to turn your experience into supporting social ventures to scale and create more impact in their communities and beyond

The young people, children and families that we support are at the heart of everything we do at Mermaids.  The work that we do has significantly expanded and we now need a highly effective and experienced Support Line Manager to join the organisation. The role is a core part of the our management team and will lead and manage our support line services.

Mermaids is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from those with lived experiences (directly or indirectly) and/or close ties to the LGBTQ+ community. We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to join us and shape what we do. We are particularly keen to receive applications from BPOC (black and people of colour) and/or disabled and trans candidates.

Purpose of the Role

The Youth Insights Programme Lead is responsible for leading the effective design, planning and delivery of assigned Youth Insights panels and projects. The role bridges strategic leadership and operational delivery, ensuring that panels are well designed, well facilitated, well coordinated and deliver high-quality insight for partners.

The Programme Lead manages day-to-day partner relationships, leads delivery planning, supports facilitators, oversees programme outputs and ensures young people have a positive, inclusive and meaningful experience.

The role contributes to insight generation and reporting, working within the frameworks and quality standards set by the Programme Manager.

Key Responsibilities

1. Programme Design and Delivery

• Lead the design and delivery of assigned Youth Insights panels, within the methodology and standards set by the Programme Manager.
• Translate partner objectives into clear delivery plans, session structures and participant journeys.
• Develop and adapt session plans, materials and activities for assigned panels.
• Ensure sessions are engaging, inclusive, purposeful and appropriate for young people.
• Lead or support facilitation of Youth Insights sessions as required.
• Ensure delivery remains aligned with agreed outcomes, quality standards and partner expectations.
• Identify practical improvements to delivery and share learning with the Programme Manager.

2. Operational Partner Management

• Act as the primary day-to-day relationship manager for assigned partners.
• Lead operational planning meetings, delivery updates and routine partner communications.
• Manage partner expectations around timelines, outputs, session planning and reporting.
• Maintain strong working relationships with operational partner contacts.
• Identify risks, issues or opportunities in partner relationships and escalate appropriately to the Programme Manager.
• Support strategic partner conversations by providing delivery insight, evidence and learning.
• Where a partner contact holds both strategic and operational responsibilities, act as the primary day-to-day contact while ensuring the Programme Manager retains senior oversight.

3. Insight Generation and Reporting

• Analyse youth feedback and identify key themes, patterns and insights from assigned panels.
• Draft reports, summaries, presentations and recommendations for partners.
• Ensure reports go beyond description and begin to translate youth feedback into meaningful insight.
• Work within the reporting frameworks, standards and templates agreed by the Programme Manager.
• Incorporate quality feedback from the Programme Manager and strengthen outputs accordingly.
• Support the development of case studies, impact stories and evidence of partner value.
• Contribute learning from assigned panels into wider Youth Insights service development.

4. Delivery Quality and Facilitation

• Ensure all assigned programmes are delivered to a high standard.
• Brief, support and coordinate freelance facilitators for assigned sessions.
• Ensure facilitators understand the purpose, method, safeguarding requirements and desired outcomes of each session.
• Monitor delivery quality and participant experience.
• Provide feedback to facilitators and escalate quality concerns where needed.
• Ensure session materials, resources and activities are prepared and appropriate.
• Support consistency of delivery across panels, while adapting appropriately to different partner contexts.

5. Youth Engagement and Inclusion

• Ensure young people are meaningfully involved, listened to and supported throughout their participation.
• Work with the Programme Coordinator to support recruitment, onboarding, retention and engagement.
• Monitor participant experience and respond to issues or barriers to participation.
• Identify gaps in representation within assigned panels and work with the Programme Coordinator and Programme Manager to address them.
• Ensure delivery is inclusive, accessible and responsive to young people’s needs.
• Support young people to build confidence, skills and understanding through their involvement.

6. Programme Coordination and Project Management

• Develop and maintain delivery plans for assigned Youth Insights panels.
• Coordinate timelines, milestones, partner inputs, facilitator availability and reporting deadlines.
• Work closely with the Programme Coordinator to ensure logistics, communications and records are well managed.
• Ensure risks, actions and dependencies are tracked and communicated.
• Support effective use of HubSpot and other systems to manage participant journeys and partner activity.
• Ensure programme information is accurate, up to date and accessible to the team.

7. Team Support and Development

• Delegate appropriate tasks clearly and support effective workload management.
• Share learning, tools and good practice across the Youth Insights team.
• Contribute to training, reflection sessions and process improvement.
• Support a positive, collaborative and values-led team culture.
• Help build team confidence in delivery, facilitation, insight generation and partner communication.

8. Safeguarding, Compliance and Risk

• Ensure safeguarding, consent, data protection and risk processes are followed across assigned programmes.
• Identify and escalate safeguarding concerns or risks in line with S4TP policies.
• Ensure facilitators and delivery contributors understand relevant safeguarding and compliance requirements.
• Support accurate record keeping and documentation.
• Contribute to risk assessment and mitigation for sessions, panels and partner activity.

Key Relationships

Internal:

• Youth Insights Programme Manager
• Youth Insights Programme Coordinator
• CEO where required
• Wider S4TP team
• Freelance facilitators

External:

• Operational partner contacts
• Strategic partner contacts where appropriate
• Young people and alumni
• Schools, colleges and youth networks
• Delivery partners and stakeholders

Success Measures

Success in this role will include:

• Assigned panels are delivered effectively, safely and to a high standard.
• Partners receive timely, useful and high-quality reports and outputs.
• Young people have a positive, inclusive and meaningful experience.
• Operational partner relationships are well managed.
• Programme delivery runs smoothly, with clear plans, timelines and communication.
• Insight reports demonstrate analysis, themes and recommendations, not just summaries.
• Facilitators are well briefed, supported and consistent in delivery.
• Learning from delivery contributes to wider Youth Insights improvement.

Person Specifcation

Youth Insights Programme Lead

Person Specification

At Solutions for the Planet, we believe young people should have a meaningful voice in shaping the decisions that affect their lives, communities and futures.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about youth participation and skilled at turning young people's experiences, ideas and perspectives into insights that organisations can learn from and act upon.

This role would suit someone who enjoys working directly with young people, building trusted relationships with partners, facilitating engaging discussions and leading projects from planning through to delivery and reporting.

We're looking for someone who has...

Experience working with young people

You'll have experience engaging young people in a meaningful way and be confident creating environments where young people feel safe, included and empowered to share their views.

You may have worked in youth work, education, youth voice, participation, consultation, research, social action, community engagement or a related field.

Strong programme and project management skills

You'll be organised and able to manage multiple projects, deadlines and relationships at the same time.

You'll be comfortable:

• Planning and coordinating programmes or projects
• Managing timelines and delivery schedules
• Identifying and managing risks
• Keeping people informed and on track
• Maintaining accurate records and documentation

Excellent facilitation and communication skills

A key part of the role involves helping young people share their ideas and experiences.

We're looking for someone who can:

• Facilitate engaging discussions and workshops
• Adapt their approach for different groups and situations
• Listen actively and build trust
• Communicate confidently with young people, partners and colleagues
• Present information clearly and professionally

Experience generating insight and writing reports

You do not need to be a formal researcher, but you should be comfortable analysing feedback and spotting patterns, themes and key messages.

You should be able to:

• Review qualitative feedback and discussions
• Identify meaningful themes and insights
• Draw out implications and recommendations
• Write reports and presentations for external audiences
• Translate young people's views into actionable learning for partners

Experience managing stakeholder relationships

You will often be the main day-to-day contact for partner organisations.

We're looking for someone who can:

• Build positive professional relationships
• Manage expectations effectively
• Communicate with confidence and credibility
• Handle challenges constructively
• Represent Solutions for the Planet professionally

Experience supporting others

You may have experience supervising colleagues, coordinating volunteers, supporting facilitators or mentoring others.

You don't need extensive line management experience, but you should be comfortable helping others succeed and contributing to a collaborative team culture.

You'll be a great fit if you are...

Passionate about youth voice

You genuinely believe that young people should be listened to and involved in decisions that affect them.

People-centred

You enjoy building relationships and helping others feel valued, supported and included.

Curious and reflective

You're interested in understanding different perspectives and using learning to improve future practice.

Organised and proactive

You take ownership of your work, manage competing priorities effectively and look for solutions when challenges arise.

Adaptable

You're comfortable working in a growing organisation where priorities can evolve and where continuous improvement is encouraged.

Values-led

You care about delivering work ethically, inclusively and with integrity, always keeping the needs of young people at the centre of your decision making.

It would be a bonus if you have...

While not essential, we'd love to hear from you if you have experience of:

• Youth research, consultation or co-design
• Facilitating focus groups or participatory workshops
• Impact measurement and evaluation
• Working with businesses, employers or corporate partners
• CRM systems such as HubSpot
• Education, youth sector or community engagement networks
• Managing freelance facilitators or delivery teams
• Social impact, sustainability or social enterprise organisations

Practical Requirements

We ask that applicants:

• Are willing to travel within the UK for programme delivery, partner meetings and team activities
• Can occasionally work evenings when required for youth sessions or events
• Are eligible to work in the UK
• Are willing to undertake an Enhanced DBS check

What Success Looks Like

In this role, you'll help create high-quality experiences that young people genuinely value and that partners genuinely learn from.

Success means:

• Young people feel heard, respected and able to make a meaningful contribution
• Sessions are engaging, inclusive and well facilitated
• Partner organisations receive useful and insightful outputs
• Projects run smoothly and meet agreed deadlines
• Facilitators are well supported and prepared
• Youth feedback is translated into clear themes, insights and recommendations
• Learning is shared across the team to strengthen future programmes

Most importantly...

We're looking for someone who combines strong project delivery skills with a genuine commitment to empowering young people.

You don't need to meet every desirable criterion to apply. If you're excited by the opportunity, share our values and believe you could thrive in the role, we'd love to hear from you.

We are especially interested in hearing from candidates whose lived experience, background or perspective can help strengthen the diversity and inclusivity of our Youth Insights programmes. We believe great youth engagement is built by teams that reflect and understand the diversity of the young people we work with.

The purpose of this role is to lead the design and delivery of learning programmes that help social entrepreneurs create lasting impact. You’ll take direct responsibility for facilitating cohorts as well as leading 1-2-1 coaching and diagnostics, and delivering Action Learning Sets, SSE’s long-standing peer-coaching method (training provided). You’ll hold accountability for the quality of programmes allocated to you. You’ll work alongside our learning facilitators and our learning and enterprise development managers to ensure every programme stays true to our action learning approach.

As SSE deepens its focus on commercial acumen and scale-up support, you’ll help make sure that direction reaches every cohort you work with — keeping your programmes as sharp, practical and impactful as everything else we do. You’ll bring your own commercial awareness to how you facilitate, and build relationships with contributors, speakers and specialists who can bring real-world commercial expertise into the room for your cohorts.

You’ll succeed in this role if you believe in what social entrepreneurship can achieve and want to support social ventures to grow and create more impact in their communities and beyond.