Senior engagement advisor jobs in Manchester

Purpose of the Role

The Director of External Affairs and Growth is an SLT role responsible for leveraging the voice and power of the eoa's network to influence and accelerate the growth of the employee owned sector.

The role leads the eoa’s external affairs, policy and insights, marcomms and events, shaping the external environment for employee ownership and securing the funding and commercial income needed to support sustainable sector growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead external affairs strategy, building the relationships and influence needed to shape policy, remove barriers and expand EO.
• Build strategic relationships and secure grant funding and commercial partnerships, generating income to support advocacy, events and sector growth initiatives, including the UK EO Growth Strategy.
• Oversee our policy and insights work, engaging key stakeholders to co-produce content that influences EO practice and policy and strengthens the eoa’s voice in public affairs.
• Oversee the delivery of a mar-comms strategy that delivers commercial objectives and positions the eoa as the leading authority on EO.
• Oversee our events programmes, ensuring they drive knowledge-sharing, sector development
• and commercial sustainability.
• Represent the eoa at industry forums, policy roundtables and public affairs events,
• championing the employee ownership model.
• Collaborate with the Director of Membership and Operations to align advocacy and external
• engagement with member needs and priorities.
• Lead and develop high-performing teams, fostering innovation and delivering measurable impact across income generation, advocacy, policy, events and mar-comms activities

Knowledge, Experience, and Attributes

• Proven expertise in external affairs, advocacy, or policy leadership, ideally within a business, trade body, or membership association.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with experience influencing government, media, and corporate partners.
• Demonstrated ability to drive sectoral or policy change, leading successful advocacy initiatives.
• Strong commercial acumen, with experience in sponsorship acquisition, revenue generation, grant funding and developing financially sustainable initiatives.
• Exceptional strategic communication and storytelling skills, able to engage and mobilise diverse audiences.
• Experience in event programming, ensuring high engagement and sector impact.
• Passion for employee ownership and economic models that promote shared prosperity.
• Innovative, creative, and proactive in problem-solving and strategy execution.
• A confident and transparent leader who fosters collaboration and inclusivity.
• Self-aware with emotional intelligence, resilience, and integrity.

What Constitutes Success in This Role?

Success in this role means having a positive impact on the growth of the employee-owned sector, strengthening the eoa’s influence and increasing the adoption of “great EO”. Stronger stakeholder relationships, greater advocacy impact and improved commercial sustainability through a diverse mix of grant funding, sponsorships and strategic partnerships will also be key indicators of success.

Key outcomes for the role 

• Outcome - Growth of the employee ownership sector
  • Measure - Increased number of EO businesses, heightened sector awareness

• Outcome - Strengthened corporate engagement
  • Measure - Growth in strategic partnerships, corporate and government engagement

• Outcome - Strong Commercial Sustainability
  • Measure - Increased sponsorship revenue, secured long-term commercial partnerships

• Outcome -Increased policy influence
  • Measure - Policy recommendations adopted, increased government engagement

• Outcome - Enhanced sector insight and intelligence
  • Measure - Utilisation of high quality data and insights for regular sector related content outputs

• Outcome - Development and adoption of best practice
  • Measure - Creation, adoption and promotion of best practice across the EO network.

• Outcome - Successful events programmes
  • Measure - Increased participation, sponsorship growth, positive feedback.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit:

• A two-page CV
• And one of either:
  • Cover letter setting out your motivation, approach, and what you will bring to the role
  • Video (maximum 10 minutes) setting out your motivation, approach, and what you will bring to the role

Applications should be submitted before 9:00am 17 August 2026. We will close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. If you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Interviews will be in two stages. The first stage will be a virtual interview via teams on
26 August. For those who successfully move to stage 2 there will be an in-person
discussion w.c. 31 August.

The eoa welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly those
who are under-represented. We recruit based on values, skills, and contribution to our
purpose.

• Location: Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. This is a locally focused delivery role, working on a hybrid basis: mostly from home, with on-site presence in Stockport and Wigan as required. Some international travel is expected. You must have the right to work in the United Kingdom and be based within regular traveling distance of Greater Manchester.

• Reports to: Lead - Place-Based Resilience

• Direct reports: None 

• Contract: Fixed term until December 2028, with potential for extension subject to funding. Delivered through Employer of Record arrangements. Full-time, 40 hours per week. 

• Compensation: £40,000 to £45,000 per annum, indicative salary on an employed basis. The final package will depend on the engagement arrangement confirmed in the United Kingdom.

• Closing date: 3 September 2026, 10.00 CET. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. 

About R-Cities 

The Resilient Cities Network (R-Cities) supports over 100 cities across more than 40 countries, helping them withstand, adapt, and thrive amid 21st-century challenges. Building on over a decade of work begun with The Rockefeller Foundation, R-Cities partners with governments, communities, and funders to address acute shocks and chronic stresses, delivering programs that strengthen climate resilience, equity, public health, and sustainability. It operates through a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a Netherlands-based Stichting. 

About the Place-Based Resilience Team 

The Place-Based Resilience team delivers R-Cities' Resilience for Communities (R4C) program at neighborhood scale, working with communities, cities, and funders across North America, Greater Manchester, and Malaysia. The team combines structured resilience assessment with community-led design, and translates what works in one place into practice elsewhere. 

The role 

You run day-to-day delivery of the R4C Greater Manchester program. You own the program's operational spine: plans, trackers, records, and the monitoring and evaluation data that evidences impact to funders. You also lead discrete workstreams including workshop facilitation, events, corporate volunteering with Zurich, and support to local implementation partners. 

R4C Greater Manchester is currently delivered with local implementation partners at two demonstrator sites, Edgeley in Stockport with An Actions Common CIC and Higher Folds in Wigan with HF Works, alongside institutional partners including the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Stockport and Wigan Councils. The program is expanding to two new communities this year. It is funded by the Z Zurich Foundation and is supported by Zurich UK. The challenge is holding delivery, partner capability, and funder evidence together across four sites as the program moves into its second phase. 

How the role is set up today 

The program is entering Phase 2 following the close of Phase 1. The Lead - Place-Based Resilience currently carries direct delivery responsibility for Greater Manchester alongside portfolio leadership. You take on day-to-day delivery, with scope to broaden as that transition progresses. 

What you will do 

Program delivery and coordination (25%) 

You own: 

• Program plans, delivery trackers, milestones, and action logs across both sites, kept current and accurate. 

• Delivery against agreed deadlines, with risks to timelines identified and escalated early. 

• Program meetings, including scheduling, agendas, papers, minutes, and follow-up. 

• Program files, records, and shared systems including Airtable, maintained so that knowledge does not sit with individuals. 

You contribute to: 

• Program planning and phase design, owned by the Lead - Place-Based Resilience. 

Local implementation partners (20%) 

You own: 

• The day-to-day operational relationship with local implementation partners at both sites. 

• Partner delivery against agreed specifications and timelines, including the practical and administrative running of partner working. 

• Support to partners in developing funding bids and applications that sustain and grow their work. 

You contribute to: 

• Senior partner and institutional relationships, owned by the Lead - Place-Based Resilience. 

• Partner capability building across the wider portfolio. 

Monitoring, evaluation, and funder reporting (20%) 

You own: 

• Operational coordination of monitoring and evaluation data across the program, including partner data returns. 

• The quality, completeness, and timeliness of data against the program's measurement frameworks. 

• Assembly of funder reports, including inputs, deadlines, and supporting documentation. 

You contribute to: 

• Funder relationships and reporting narrative, owned by the Lead - Place-Based Resilience. 

• Evaluation design and measurement approach across the portfolio. 

Facilitation, events, and corporate engagement (20%) 

You own: 

• Design, delivery, and follow-up of workshops and community sessions. 

• Program events end to end, including logistics, coordination, and delivery on the day. 

• Corporate volunteering sessions with Zurich, designed with partners at the demonstrator sites. 

You contribute to: 

• Community engagement across the Stockport and Wigan sites. 

Policy, knowledge, and fundraising (15%) 

You own: 

• Discrete workstreams and improvement initiatives assigned to the role, taken forward with limited supervision. 

You contribute to: 

• Policy and knowledge products at local, regional, national, and global levels, including research, drafting, and production. 

• Fundraising for the program and the wider portfolio, including proposals and supporting materials. 

• Desk research and analysis feeding facilitation, workshops, events, and the dissemination of practice. 

What you bring 

This role suits someone who can hold a program together operationally and also run a room, with credibility in front of communities, partners, and corporate volunteers. You communicate clearly in writing and in person, work independently and take ownership of your workstreams, and prioritize well across competing demands. You bring a creative, problem-solving mindset and an appetite to grow into wider responsibility, and you are comfortable in a fast-paced, distributed organization. 

Essential: 

• At least three years of program or project management experience, delivering complex work to time and quality. 

• At least two years of experience coordinating funded or (sub)contracted delivery partners against agreed specifications. 

• Facilitation experience, including designing and leading workshops or community sessions. 

• Experience collecting or coordinating monitoring and evaluation data. 

• Experience producing written reports for funders or senior stakeholders. 

• Based within regular traveling distance of Greater Manchester, with the flexibility to work on site in Stockport and Wigan as the delivery schedule requires, averaging around one day per week. 

• Right to work in the United Kingdom. 

Valued: 

• Experience planning and running events end to end, including logistics and delivery on the day. 

• Experience working with Greater Manchester's communities, institutions, or delivery landscape. 

• Experience delivering community development, regeneration, resilience, climate, public sector, or international development programs. 

• Experience supporting funding bids or fundraising. 

• Experience with funder reporting or grant compliance. 

• Experience contributing to policy or knowledge products. 

• Proficiency with project or tracking tools such as Airtable. 

Additional information 

Given the global nature of the organization, this role calls for flexibility to work across time zones with colleagues, advisors, and partners, and may involve occasional international travel to support audits, team collaboration, and partner engagement. R-Cities offers a competitive, location-adjusted package commensurate with qualifications, experience, and local market conditions. Employees are engaged through local employment arrangements and receive the statutory benefits applicable in their country of employment, alongside additional benefits supporting wellbeing, professional development, and flexible remote working. 

How to apply 

Interested candidates are invited to submit a CV outlining relevant experience, together with a cover letter explaining their interest in the role and how their experience aligns with the position and R-Cities' mission. 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and we encourage candidates to apply early. The deadline for applications is 3 September 2026, 10.00 CET. Shortlisted candidates can expect a multi-stage selection process, which may include interviews with members of the leadership team, a practical exercise or case study, and reference checks. 

Equal Opportunity Employer 

R-Cities is committed to equitable and inclusive recruitment practices. We encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and lived experiences, and we strive to create a fair and respectful selection process for all applicants. 

R-Cities provides equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religious creed, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation, ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or state in which we operate.