SmartStart Development Manager Job Pack
3 February 2016
Dear applicant,
Thank you for your interest in the role of SmartStartdevelopment manager at Wood Street Mission.
Wood Street Mission is aregistered children’s charity based in the centre of Manchester. We support children and families living on low incomes by helping meet their day-to-day needs and improving children’s life chances. In 2015 we launched SmartStart Manchester & Salford, our flagship initiative to break the cycle of poverty, by distributing one million pounds worth of school clothes and kit over the next four years – enough to give every local child living below the poverty line a school uniform. We want to recruit a business development manager to help us achieve our target, collect evidence on the impact of the project, and raise awareness about the importance of breaking the cycle of poverty.If you have relevant experience, knowledge of child poverty issues, and are excited about the challenge of drivingforward this unique project,we want to hear from you.
Please email your completed application and monitoring form to . The closing date for receipt of applications is 5pm on Friday 26 February 2016and interviews held at our central Manchester office on Friday 11 March 2016.
If you are interested in an informal discussion about the role please contact me on 0161 834 3140.
Good luck with your application.
Yours sincerely
Roseanne Sweeney
Chief Executive
Wood Street Mission
Development Manager
12 month contract - with potential to extend
Part-time 21 hours a week
Salary £32K per annum pro rata
About SmartStart Manchester & Salford
SmartStart Manchester & Salford is an innovative project aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty. The project aims to distribute one million pounds worth of school clothes and kit to local families over the next four years – enough to give every child living below the poverty line a school uniform. Doing well at school is key to breaking the cycle of poverty but many families struggle to afford the costs of school and children can be bullied or fall foul of school regulations for wearing the wrong uniform. SmartStarthelps families kit out their children for school so they canfit inand engage in school and grow up to fulfil their potential. Launched in 2015, the project provided uniform for 1750 children in time for the new school year and has distributed £100,000 worth of uniform, sports kit and stationery to date. It is a flagship project for Wood Street Mission which will mark its 150th anniversary, as a charity,in 2019.
About Wood Street Mission
Wood Street Mission is a registered children’s charity which supports children and families living in poverty in Manchester and Salford by alleviating the day-to-day impact of poverty and improving children’s life chances. We do this by distributing everyday necessities like children’s clothes, bedding and baby equipment, toys and books which are important for children’s well-being and development, and providing food during school holidays. We promote engagement in education by helping out with the costs of school and running book clubs during holidays and half-term breaks to promote reading and literacy to children and their parents. Manchester and Salford have some of the highest rates of child poverty in the country and we help about 3000 families and 7000 children every year.
About the Post
We are looking for someone who is committed to our agenda, highly organised and target-driven to drive the project forward and ensure SmartStartcontinues to develop and grow in order to make a difference over the next four years. Working with a small, committed team in our central Manchester office, the post holder will be responsible for building relationships with suppliers of schoolwear and goods to generate donations and good value procurement of goods, gather information on the needs of low income families in relation to school costs and kit,liaise with families, schools and other stakeholders about the impact of our project,and develop and manage the monitoring systems needed to demonstrate this impact.
This is a great opportunity for an experienced business development manager with knowledge of the education sector who is committed to improving the life chances of local children.
SmartStartDevelopment Manager
Responsible to Chief Executive
Core Responsibilities
(1)Develop and manage relationships with suppliers of uniform and school goods to generate donations and good value procurement of goods
(2)Set up systems and processes to ensure the distribution of school goods throughout the school year meets need, is accessible, and target-driven.
(3)Organise an annual SmartStart back-to-school roadshow to distribute goods and extend access to education for low income families
(4)Build relationships with schools, referring agencies and families and coordinate a SmartStart steering group to inform service planning, delivery and impact research
(5)Gather information to demonstrate activities and impact in order to build evidence, ensure funding is focused on areas of most need, and engage in PR work
Job Description
- Set up systems to ensure the smooth and effectivedistribution of school goods to families throughout the year in line with agreed targets
- Identify and build relationships with school wear suppliers in order to generate donations of goods and facilitate cost effective purchases of school goods
- Plan and organise an annual SmartStart roadshow with school wear suppliers and other suppliers of educational services useful to low income families
- Set up and coordinate a SmartStart steering group with key stakeholders to share information, inform project development and its impact, identify areas of unmet need
- Build relationships with families and children using the project, referring agencies, schools, educationalists, schoolwear suppliers and SmartStart sponsors
- Keep up to date with policy and practice developments on relevant issues including educational attainment, pupil premium and costs of going to school
- Develop and implement strong monitoring systems to gather key quantitative and qualitative data on agreed objectives and targets
- Identify and build a bank of case studies and data which demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of the project for fundraising and marketing purposes
- Promote SmartStart to suppliers as well as current and potential supporters
Person Specification
Experience:
Proven experience of developing new business and working to targets
A strong project management background in a relevant area
Experience in sales/negotiation
Skills:
Excellent communication and presentation skills
Good interpersonal skills and ability to manage relationships with a broad range of stakeholders
Ability to research information and identify key policy/practice issues
Able to set up and implement strong monitoring systems
Highly organised and excellent attention to detail
IT proficient including Word, Excel, Outlook
Knowledge:
Strong awareness of family poverty issues
Knowledge of the charity sector
Knowledge of the education sector
Other:
A self-starter and can work on own initiative
Able to work outside of normal office hours occasionally.