Programme coordinator jobs in Leeds

At Basecamp Adventure Trust, we empower vulnerable young people from West Yorkshire to thrive through unique, long-term programmes which harness outdoor adventure as a powerful vehicle for personal transformation. Through a combination of skills workshops, exhilarating adventure trips and a deeply relational approach, we challenge, celebrate and inspire young people to discover a newfound sense of confidence, resilience and self-belief, and to explore new possibilities for themselves. Our programmes are intensive, sustained and individualised to make a lasting positive difference on the young people we work with so they can lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives.

This role demands a unique combination of skills. You’ll be a capable Programme Manager (or at the very least an aspiring one with a strong desire to step up from your current youth experience), with an understanding of the role outdoor adventure can have in supporting health and wellbeing and underpinning personal development.

In addition to this, we’ve got big ambitions to develop an events strand to our work, which brings together three separate but interlinked fundraising ideas. You will support us to create, shape and implement this new initiative alongside our team, helping us to turn our initial idea into a reality. We are proud to be very much a people-led organisation, so it’s possible that your own strengths and experience may sway the specifics of the role.

Reports to: Senior Management Team

Hours: Full time, 5 days (37.5 hours) a week, flexible working evenings and weekends as required

Salary: £28,000 - £35,000 dependant on experience

Location: The Old Fire Station, Leeds (Basecamp HQ), but the role also incorporates travel across Yorkshire and the Lake District

Transport: The role will require access to a car

Start Date: We will accommodate the start date depending on the individual’s situation, but we are looking to get someone in for Spring

Annual Leave: 22 days + bank holidays + 1x day off per Adventure Residential) to account for extra hours worked)

The Role

Programme Manager (~35% of the role) – We are looking for an enthusiastic and capable Programme Manager who can lead the delivery of our Core Programme, having the ability to directly work with young people, lead a team, have an acute eye for detail and organisation and a creative, dynamic approach to problem-solving. The Programme Manager role takes up around 80 days a year, with the days being weighted unevenly across the months of the year.

Events Coordinator (~65% of the role) – We are looking for a driven and creative Events Coordinator who will help us create a Basecamp calendar of external events, which will support our fundraising goals and bring a large and diverse audience to our work. The right candidate will be excited at the prospect of turning ideas into a reality, supporting us with the creative development of this idea as well as the practical implementation.

Programme Manager Roles and Responsibilities

Acting as the key point of contact to organise, deliver and oversee the Basecamp Core Programme to 1 cohort of young people, including managing residential trips, school workshops and other supporting sessions throughout the year’s programme (e.g. Taster Days, Graduation etc) (September - June).

This includes:

• Onboarding young people onto the programme, working in collaboration with schools to ensure our referral criteria are met and we have the information we need.

• Facilitating creative, arts and games-based workshops in school.

• Supporting day-to-day administration and management of the programme including maintaining a database and producing written communications and reports.

• Coordinating Adventure Youth Coaches, Volunteers, Instructors and School Supporting Staff on residential, as the main point of contact.

• Managing disciplinary action as required if a situation is escalated higher than Adventure Youth Coaches or Volunteers.

• Ensuring the highest standards of support, safety and safeguarding across the programme, in line with Basecamp’s ethos, policies and procedures.

• Providing ongoing feedback to young people, parents, carers and schools, through email, Whatsapp and handwritten cards.

• Working with partner organisation such as schools and instructors/activity providers, to ensure the Basecamp mission is consistent and everybody has the smoothest experience possible and to build the Basecamp ‘brand’ to an extent that the schools want to keep working with us and value the work that we do.

• Contributing to organisational planning and development, including supporting the development of further opportunities for young people.

Events Coordinator Roles and Responsibilities

Supporting our team to create, develop, test and implement a calendar of Basecamp events including third-party challenge events, Basecamp events and bespoke corporate adventure challenges. This calendar will support the building of both our new corporate partnerships programme, an innovative new take on traditional corporate fundraising as well as getting our brand-new Basecamp Community off the ground, our own version of an individual giving initiative.

This includes:

• Undertaking prospect research to identify corporate partners who we can build long-lasting, meaningful relationships with.

• Identifying key networking opportunities to help us raise our profile in West Yorkshire.

• Supporting us to develop our pitch to prospective corporate partners, creating bespoke partnerships which demonstrate our ethos, culture and impact.  

• Supporting the development of our new Basecamp Community initiative, creating the necessary comms and finding interactive ways to get members involved and feel a part of the community.

•  Supporting the implementation of systems and protocols that will allow us to effectively manage logistics, budgeting, risk assessments, and delivery on the ground, establishing new supplier partnerships in the process.

• Developing relationships with flagship event providers, maximising engagement with creative and far-reaching communication initiatives and providing supportive inspiring stewarding journeys for all involved.

• Working collaboratively across fundraising and comms ensuring we maximise the effectiveness of each event and that they are supporting our other fundraising initiatives.

Person Specification

The postholder will play a key role in the development and delivery of both programme and charity events. They will be a brilliant ‘all-rounder’ who can go from speaking to a group of 30 children in a muddy field, to being comfortable behind a laptop researching potential corporate partners, to feeling confident in creative meetings where our ideas become a reality.  We are looking for someone with a strong creative drive, excellent communication and interpersonal skills and the natural ability to use initiative. Whilst ticking the experience requirement boxes is important to us, we will always take a holistic view of your application and consider transferable experience.

• Demonstrated experience working with disadvantaged or vulnerable young people with empathy and compassion

• Proven understanding of the issues impacting young people today, including socioeconomic challenges, and mental health considerations

• Sound understanding of safeguarding and commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people

• Experience coordinating, supporting or delivering programmes for young people

• Ability to take initiative to turn plans from scratch into successful events

• Willingness to contribute creatively to organisational development and bring fresh ideas

• Strong research skills, identifying partners who align with our ethos and culture

• Willingness to engage in community and corporate outreach

• Understanding of marketing, communication and social media and using various social networks to promote and build brands

• Ability to manage and prioritise multiple events seamlessly, quickly and easily moving between higher level strategic issues to on the ground delivery details

• Strong ‘relationship builder’ who is able to connect with young people, parents, teachers, and various external partners

• Confident hosting and talking to groups, and setting a positive, encouraging tone

• Flexible approach with the ability to adapt to a variety of settings, from office environments to outdoor residentials

• Strong problem-solving skills, especially in high-energy or challenging settings, with a positive mindset

• Resilience and a good sense of humour, suited to working in a dynamic and sometimes unpredictable environment

• High-level organisational skills

• Strong eye for detail and ability to multitask/notice multiple things going on at once and effectively deal with them

• Effective written and verbal communication skills, with an emphasis on creating professional yet personable written materials

• Proficiency in standard office software (e.g., Microsoft Office or Google Workspace) and database management, ideally some knowledge/experience of basic graphic design software such as Canva

Personal Qualities

Relationally-led: You’ll take a person-centred approach demonstrating empathy and patience that makes people feel seen, valued and respected.

Enthusiasm: You’ll be passionate about the work we do as a charity through both hands-on and office-based work and are excited to be a part of its journey and growth

Dynamic: You’ll be able to adapt to a variety of settings, from office environments to the outdoors, with the ability to notice multiple things going on at once and take initiative when things change.

Detail-oriented: You’ll have a keen eye for detail to ensure safety, quality, and consistency in our delivery, able to solve problems in high-energy or challenging settings with a positive mindset.

Creative: You’ll enjoy contributing creatively to organisational development, bringing fresh ideas whilst adopting a ‘think big’ attitude

Genuine love for the outdoors: You’ll innately understand the power of outdoor adventure, and how it stretches people to believe they are capable of so much more

Other requirements

• Willing to work flexible hours and work in outdoor environments/take part in outdoor activities

• A full driving licence and access to your own vehicle

• A satisfactory enhanced DBS check

• Satisfactory references