Head of Programmes

First Give

First Give was founded in 2014 to inspire, equip and motivate young people to make a difference to the causes they care about. As we approach our second decade, it is an exciting time to join the charity. Our vision is of a more generous society where all people are willing and able to give their time, money and skills to causes that they care about.

We are currently developing a new strategy which by which we aim to have reached a million young people by 2034. We intend to do this by developing new programmes and activities that will support us to achieve our mission: to create opportunities for young people to be inspired and empowered to give their time, money or skills to charities and causes that matter to them. Our existing programmes are delivered in partnership with schools across England and Wales, ensuring that as many young people as possible, regardless of their background have the opportunity to take part.

Our values at First Give inform who we are and what we do. We are:

• Altruistic
• Inspiring
• Empowering
• Collaborative
• Professional

Head of Programmes role

The Head of Programmes will oversee all elements of programme design, development and delivery at First Give. They will lead the Programmes Team, including line management of two Programme Managers, ensuring high quality delivery of all First Give programmes

Contract: Full time, permanent

Salary: £43,000 (+£2,000 London weighting if applicable)

Location: This role will be hybrid, with 2-3 days a week based in our office in Central London (West Hampstead). Regular travel across England and Wales will be required.

Reporting to: Director

Direct Reports: 2-3 Programme Managers and Facilitator Officer

Key responsibilities

Programme Delivery

• Lead the Programmes Team to ensure all First Give partner schools are supported to deliver outstanding First Give programmes
• Oversee and monitor delivery of First Give programmes at partner schools, including planning and tracking programme delivery against the charity’s ambitious targets and deadlines and ensuring First Give is resourced to deliver planned programmes (programme resources, personnel and budget)
• Lead on procurement and provision of First Give programme resources
• Provide regular updates for the Director on programme delivery and performance across all partner schools
• Manage escalated objections or issues raised by partner schools and other relevant stakeholders
• Support the Programmes Team to recruit, train and support a team of freelance facilitators to ensure all First Give schools receive excellent quality sessions and events at their school
• Ensure retention of existing partner school relationships year on year to organisational target

Programme Development and Improvement

• Ensure First Give Teacher Hub and all Programme resources are up to date, accessible and high quality
• Lead on annual programme resource improvement process for all programmes
• Lead on the development of new programmes at First Give in line with organisational strategy (including First Give Primary, First Give Step Up and First Give One Day)

Monitoring & Evaluation

• Develop and implement a robust Evaluation Plan to ensure First Give is consistently able to report on the impact and efficiency of its programmes
• Coordinate the collection and utilisation of data and insights on programme delivery and impact to implement improvements to programming
• Provide impact data in an easily accessible format for use by the Director, Deputy Director and others for fundraising, reporting and other communications

Programmes Team Leadership

• Develop and cultivate a positive, hard-working and happy team culture in line with First Give brand identity
• Manage complaints and/or performance management issues effectively to ensure success of individuals and the wider team
• Line manage the Programme Managers, ensuring development opportunities

Youth Voice

• Work with the Director to develop a new approach for First Give to encourage, engage and amplify young people’s voices in the development of our work
• Create meaningful opportunities for young people to influence and engage with our work and impact

Safeguarding

• Act as First Give’s Deputy Designated Safeguarding Officer, ensuring compliance with our safeguarding procedures and processes and working to develop a culture of safeguarding within the organisation

The job description gives an outline of key duties and is not intended to be an exhaustive list. The post holder may be asked to take on other relevant responsibilities as reasonably requested by their line manager.

Safer recruitment

Safer recruitment and safeguarding is of paramount importance to us, as an organisation that works with and for young people. The successful candidate will be made a conditional offer subject to two references (one of which must be your most recent employer) and any offer of employment will be subject to a DBS check.

Person Specification

Essential

• Passionate about young people and their potential to drive social change
• Excellent project management skills
• Experienced line manager and team leader with excellent people management skills, including coaching and motivating others
• Experience developing strong relationships with remote and external stakeholders
• Experience of working in the secondary education sector/with teachers
• Experience designing and developing high quality programmes for delivery in a school environment
• Experience recruiting and managing volunteers and/or freelancers
• Excellent attention to detail and high standards
• Strong objection handler with customers/clients
• Ability to build rapport with senior leaders in the education sector
• A strong understanding of monitoring and evaluation techniques
• A demonstrably proactive worker, able to work well alone and as part of a team
• Understanding of safeguarding processes and good practice

Desirable

• Experience of remote line management
• Experience of working in a remote, decentralised team
• Experience of using Salesforce

Why work for First Give?

First Give provides many benefits and prides itself on how it treats its staff. Our benefits include:

• Three additional days between Christmas and New Year given to staff gratis. An additional day off for your birthday in addition to your annual leave allowance. Annual leave allowance increases year on year after 3 years with First Give.
• Access to Health Assured (health and wellbeing) Employee Assistance Programme.
• As you will use your personal mobile for work, First Give provides a phone allowance to contribute towards your mobile costs.
• Training and professional development budget, with regular training offered through the Pears Foundation.
• Laptops are provided on a ‘paid for through service’ arrangement and become the employees after three years of service.
• Multiple team socials throughout the year.

The students we work with come from a diverse range of backgrounds, and so do we. We want to ensure that we are recruiting, retaining and promoting a diverse mix of colleagues. We want to foster a diverse and inclusive culture, to empower our teams to achieve our vision drawing on the broadest possible range of experiences. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates from minoritised groups currently underrepresented on our executive team, particularly black and minority ethnic and disabled candidates.

Application process
Please fill out the Microsoft form by clicking the Apply Now button which includes a statement of how you fulfil the specification above, and why you want this role at First Give. We would also request that you fill out our equality & diversity monitoring form (this will not be linked to your application). 

1. Application closes: Monday 23rd September, 9am
2. Interviews: Thursday 3rd October
3. Start date: Monday 18th November or as soon as possible after this date