JOB DESCRIPTION
Job title: Amplify NI Programme Lead (Part Time, 21 hours per week)
Salary: £40, 000 – £45, 000 pro rata (£24,000 - £27,000 part-time equivalent, 3 days a week)
Area: Northern Ireland
Line manager: Director of Places
Purpose of role
The Programme Lead will develop and manage the Young Foundation’s local team and programmes of work in Northern Ireland, including our major Amplify NI programme. They will do this as part of our vibrant and open UK wide Places team that develops the ideas, tools and methodologies used by The Young Foundation to support places based change around the world. The post holder will be expected to undertake business development and fundraising to sustain and grow our activity. Our style of work is collaborative, and this post-holder will be expected to lead, support and evaluate our local team in collaboration with thematic and sectorial experts within the Young Foundation as well as our partner organisations and communities in Northern Ireland and beyond.
Background, methodology and principal tasks
Inspired by Michael Young and his life-changing work pioneering new innovative projects and ideas, The Young Foundation lives on in his memory, exploring how we can harness the power of social innovation to tackle inequality. Our team of researchers and innovation specialists work all over the UK with local communities, civic society and public and private institutions to empower people to use social innovation as a tool for positive social change.
Amplify NI is our major long term initiative to help tackle inequality in Northern Ireland. It has been devloped over the last three years and is now funded to September 2019 thanks to the Big Lottery Fund. Through it we are bring people and organisations across Northern Ireland together to build fairer communities where everyone can thrive. We believe everyone can make a difference and that positive change is most likely to happen when people from all walks of life are able to take action together. We are working with local communities and organisations from all sectors to:
• Understand local experiences of inequality
• Shapoe new naratives of the future people want
• Grow the inovative projects, campaigns and collaborations needed to make change happen
• Build networks of people working and learning together
Amplify NI is working across Northern Ireland with a focus on Belfast, Derry/Londonderry and Enniskillen.
The Programme Lead will coordinate Amplify NI with the support of our local team in Northern Ireland and our wider experts from across the UK. A key part of our project model has been the combination of local outreach workers and researchers working collaboratively with local people, networks and organisations, and bringing expertise in how to enable and support innovative social change. Our quartet of social innovation outreach workers have carried out the research on the ground, built up our networks and organised our events, suported by our wider experts from across the UK.
Research in communities takes time and requires trust. Our approach has been to tread carefully and listen deeply. We wanted to give people from all walks of life the chance to tell their story and put forward their ideas for change. To date we have had conversations with over 1000 people, ranging from short conversations to group chats and detailed interviews. We have endeavoured to include as wide a range as possible - bringing in the voices of people of all ages, a mix of gender, people from rural and urban communities, public, private and voluntary sector representatives, minority and special interest groups, along with people from a spectrum of political and religious affiliations.
By using mixed research methods such as immersive ethnographic research (listening to people and observing them in their own environment) alongside creative participatory engagement we have been able to paint a rich and detailed picture of life in Northern Ireland. A key part of our approach has been to understand the positive values and aspirations that are widely shared, alongside the problems and challenges. We have adapted our research approach to suit the people we are spending time with (such as kitchen chats, storytelling sessions and community walks alongside more conventional discussion groups and interviews).
The narratives that have emerged from the research tell the stories of each place. They add depth and resonance to our understanding of each locality and the aspirations that are held within each area. But, most of all, they allow us to set out a shared vision for the way we would like our communities to look and feel in the future. They also tell us which are the local priorities for social innovation to act. After all, in the words of one of our research participants - if we change the story that we tell ourselves then it leaves everything open to possibilities. Following this methodology, the Project Lead will guarantee the coordination between research activities and the co-creation and acceleration of new innovations.
One of the most exciting parts of our story so far has been discovering the creative and ambitious people who have the commitment and drive to transform their communities. Their project ideas are situated in the local context and resonate with the hopes and values of the communities all around them. On our journey so far we have given support to more than 40 projects. In order to continue and scale this process, The Project Lead will lead the delivery of our "accelerator" support programme to ensure that innovations with potential are given the full opportunity to thrive. This accelerator has been designed to help innovators deliver structured, high-impact and financially robust interventions which tackle the root causes of inequality. Through each cohort we support groups to develop their ideas, build the capacity of their team, refine their vision and accelerate their growth through targeted funding and support. We are establishing a network of committed individuals to share and exchange inspiration, skills and resources and we are offering accelerator programmes to support people with socially innovative ideas. We believe that to challenge inequality you must transfer greater power and control to those who best understand the needs and potential of their communities, so they can be the leaders of positive transformation
Venture creation and development plays a central role at the Young Foundation and the Amplify NI Programme Lead´s responsibility is to apply the combination of entrepreneurial verve, technical expertise and facilitation and advisory skills needed to take ideas from inception to scale – whether delivering structured incubation and acceleration programmes with cohorts of other social entrepreneurs or providing bespoke consultancy.
Duties of the role
Delivery of Amplify NI programme
· Developing and leading The Young Foundation’s programmes of work in Northern Ireland, including our Amplify NI programme (with responsibility for project and financial management).
· Providing expert leadership and advice on the development of social innovations to tackle the root causes of social inequality in Northern Ireland and beyond, and responsible for delivery of the Accelerator support programme.
· Ensuring the development of effective strategy and actions to engage people from all communities and all walks of life in working together to understand and overcome inequality, using the tools of ethnography, participatory research, community engagement, movement building and social innovation.
· Cultivating and generating new opportunities and funding that support The Young Foundation’s mission to help create a more equal and just society, where each individual can be fulfilled in their own terms.
· Building strong relationships, collaborations and partnerships between The Young Foundation and people and organisations who share our objectives across Northern Ireland and beyond
· Shaping and developing staff and multi-disciplinary project teams, including our team in Northern Ireland.
· Making a significant contribution to thought leadership within and outside The Young Foundation.
· Ensuring that our work reflects and brings in the best ideas and people nationally and internationally.
· Maintaining excellent relationships with the funders of our Northern Ireland programmes and that all reporting and delivery requirements are met
· Leading on tenders and pitches to potential clients and funders.
· Developing publications, events and social media work.
· Any other duties are required by the line manager in line with the grade of the post.
Policy and business development
· Keep abreast of policy and practice debates in social innovation, and maintain Young Foundation participation in social innovation networks. Promote our role in place making.
· Proactively manage donor relations. Ensure plans are agreed with each, and incorporated into the YF Operational Plan. Prepare reports for funders in good time.
· Maintain all administrative systems related to Amplify NI, utilising the support of the local team.
· Work with the Director of Places and Research to draw lessons from programmes, confirm a rolling improvement plan, and formulate recommendations for the development, sustainability and growth of programmes.
· Work with the Directors to monitor issues and opportunities in social innovation that have a bearing on current work or raise ideas about new interventions.
· Work with colleagues to develop new initiatives, for example, conducting research, ideating, consulting stakeholders, developing proposals and budgets and mobilising funds – be responsible for fully funding venture activity sustainably.
· From time to time, undertake consulting.
Management
· Be the accountable person for Amplify NI programme, project managing initiatives to meet its objectives and promote wider social change. Use a detailed Operational Plan to guide planning and reporting, including key objectives, activities, KPIs, risks, communications, donor management and reporting, and sustainability planning. Review this and a Task Finish list monthly with your project managers.
· Manage agreed budgets and review monthly management accounts for them.
Young Foundation
While you will bring specialist knowledge and skills, all staff at the Young Foundation are employed to develop innovation with the potential to reduce structural inequalities. We work flexibly with matrix management, and where our time isn’t fully utilised, this means being adaptable and supporting other strands of work or organisational needs.
Senior managers are given considerable independence and responsibility for leading work. As such, they are expected to be authoritative and respected in their field, have excellent project management skills and work with a high degree of accountability and 360 degree communication.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential
We are looking for individuals with a passion for tackling inequality, an inquisitive mind, detail oriented and strong interpersonal skills.
In particular we are looking for someone with the skills and experience needed to help people turn innovative ideas into impactful social ventures, projects, campaigns and collaborations. Someone with the confidence and credibility needed to support social entrepreneurs and activists and who brings experience of deploying the range of methods needed to help them make positive social change.
You will also have a deep enthusiasm for and commitment to place-making, and the development of good practice in ways that meet the needs of social innovation. You will share the programme’s core values and be committed to working in a way that reflects this, being willing to challenge the norms, behaviors and structures that are causing and perpetuating inequalities and striving to amplify unheard or marginalised voices. You will have a strong belief in communities’ ability to lead and make change and will always aim to work in an open and collaborative way.
You will be financially literate with the ability to build financial models that are both complex in their ability to reflect multiple income streams, beneficiaries and scenarios yet straightforward in their accessibility to be used by social entrepreneurs in their everyday financial planning.
You will have extensive experience of implementing social innovation initiatives. You will have experience of leading the delivery of business development programmes and understand good practice in the design and delivery of learning programmes. You will be considered very strong in these aspects of the role. You will have advised social innovations in a wide range of sectors/issues and with a wide range of business models, including public service delivery.
Social innovation is a people focused sector and you should be equally comfortable working with people as with financial models.
You will have excellent and proven project and stakeholder management skills and be able to write and speak credibly and persuasively for the diverse range of audiences we work with.
A track record of raising funds from trusts and foundations, governments and other sources, bidding successfully for tenders.
The post holder will work openly and accountably, and instil trust and confidence in their work.
This is a place-based programme and therefore the post holder must be a resident of Northern Ireland and have the right to work in the UK.
Desirable
Successful candidates are highly likely to have operational or other direct experience of starting, running and growing social innovations, the practicalities and challenges of working in small, fast-changing organisations and with entrepreneurs.
They will also demonstrate interest in and knowledge of the social issues the ventures they have worked with seek to address – we believe added value comes from understanding the problems and markets ventures work in.
Familiarity with social impact assessment debates and methods, and applied experience of designing or implementing impact measurement and improvement, building evidence of effectiveness.
The ideal candidates will demonstrate they have developed their knowledge and expertise in the context of working with a recognised and high quality provider.
How to apply
Deadline for applications is 9am on the 20th July.
Please send your CV and covering letter to and use the job title of the post you are applying for in the subject line of your email. Your covering letter should include information about your reason for applying and a summary of what you believe you would bring to the role.
Interviews for short-listed applicants will take place in Belfast on Monday 25th July.
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July 2016