Community Development Manager
Job Title: Community Development Manager – Colchester
Salary: £37,400
Responsible to: Essex Pedal Power Programme Manager
Location: Colchester
Hours of Work: 36 ½ hours per week. Flexible working will be required and for the right candidate.
Job sharing may be considered for the right candidate/s
Contract Fixed term until December 2025
Introduction to The Active Wellbeing Society and Essex Pedal Power
The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS) is a community benefit society and cooperative working to develop healthy, happy communities living active and connected lives.
Our vision is for a society where people have the autonomy, capacity, resources and skills to become the architects of their own destiny; where our individual wellbeing is recognised as being bound up in our collective responsibility to and dependency on each other; and where all of us feel empowered as agents of social change to make a difference – whether at an individual level or more widely.
By working collaboratively with communities we aim to bring about sustainable change on a social, environmental and economic level; to do the social knitting required to create stronger and more resilient communities and to support communities to identify, mitigate and remove the barriers that prevent them from living active and connected lives.
Essex Pedal Power is a flagship programme led by Essex County Council and Active Essex to support more people in deprived areas to cycle by removing the main barriers to cycling. This post is part funded by the Sport England Local Delivery Pilot (LDP) for Essex. You will be responsible for coordinating the development and delivery of the Colchester Essex Pedal Power along with developing wider TAWS projects in Colchester.
You may like to watch this introductory video which showcases the positive work of The Active Wellbeing Society: TAWS Launch October 2018 - YouTube
About the Role
In this strategic post as the Community Development Manager for Colchester you will lead and develop our Essex Pedal Power programme and work to develop your input into the business strategy across Colchester. You will play a vital role to ensure that the organisation’s contractual obligations and goals are achieved by collaborating with communities and partner organisations in the design and delivery of interventions to promote active citizenship. You will co-produce with local communities, weaving in physical activity interventions in order to achieve sustainable outcomes by bringing people together to be better connected and networked.
You will need to work collaboratively and influence effectively across multiple agendas, to maintain an overview of engagement and impact whilst seeking to maximise opportunities for partnership development. We are looking for an individual that demonstrates clear leadership and the ability to influence and persuade across multiple disciplines and arenas.
You will report directly to the Essex Pedal Power Programme Manager and manage a team including a Project Lead, Community Connector and Bike Mechanic.
Main duties
1. To plan, develop and deliver high quality programmes, projects and interventions and ensuring all are in line with the overall strategy and objectives of the organisation and that they meet contractual obligations.
2. Manage the operational delivery and development of a range of funded programmes including the Essex Pedal Power programme with a focus on collaborating with communities and partner organisations in the design and delivery to promote active citizenship and physical activity.
3. Manage and monitor the budget with finance representatives from TAWS and Active Essex and support the relationship management with existing funders and the identification of potential new funders.
4. Devise, understand and use asset-based community development approaches to community development and work with your team/communities to understand priorities and co-design initiatives. Ensure that delivery mitigates or removes the barriers to participation.
5. To evaluate impact and outcomes of projects to provide organisational learning and feedback for funders and stakeholders.
6. Keep abreast of new and emergent thinking across wellbeing, community development and tackling inequalities as well as innovation and leadership in field of work.
7. Responsible for building strong relationships and developing working partnerships across a wide range of local stakeholders.
8. Represent The Active Wellbeing Society across a variety of forums and stakeholder meetings.
9. Co-produce the project with the local communities and locally trusted organisations and ensure continuous engagement and communication to ensure that eligible citizens receive a good quality experience.
10. Play a key role in the monitoring and evaluation plan, through collecting, analysing and sharing data (quantitative and qualitative) working with the Active Essex Evaluation Researcher for Essex Pedal Power and with TAWS Data & Insight team.
11. Produce oral and written reports on engagement level, activity delivery and the development of new programmes / projects.
12. Carry out all other duties as maybe reasonably assigned from time to time and with the level of this Job Description.
Knowledge, skills and experience
1. Project management experience, including design and development, planning, resource allocation, time, budget, risk management and evaluation of impact and outcomes.
2. Experience of line-managing and developing teams to deliver against programme objectives and to achieve their full potential, preferably in the field of community development
3. Adaptability, Collaboration and Leadership skills, with the confidence and skill to influence and persuade others across multiple disciplines and arenas.
4. Experience encouraging diverse communities to come together - building trust and participation.
5. Previous community engagement and development experience
6. A knowledge of environmental impacts and implications.
7. Experience of working with a range of stakeholders with the ability to influence and persuade others
8. Experience of working proactively, working on own initiative and as part of a team in a dynamic, fast paced and challenging environment.
9. Ability to prioritise work under pressure and adapt to new models of working
10. Ability to work autonomously and collaboratively
11. Ability to apply data and insight to community planning, delivery, and development
12. Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage your time effectively
13. Excellent written and verbal communication, and relationship management skills with a track record of establishing and developing strong partnerships with external organisations including statutory, charity and voluntary.
14. In Depth area knowledge and connections
15. Competent IT skills (including Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook)
16. Excellent customer services skills
17. Excellent team working ability
18. Experience in tracking spend to a budget
Benefits
We offer our team members a comprehensive staff benefits package to include:
- Nest Pension – 8% employer contribution - 3% employee contribution.
- Health Cash Plan – giving you discounts on everyday healthcare such as dental, optical, physio, prescriptions & more.
- Employee Assistance Programme (counselling and DRs on call 24hrs a day)
- Death in Service – x4 your salary paid to beneficiary.
- Annual Leave – 25 days FTE (increasing to 29 days with service) plus 5 wellbeing days
- Flexible working
- Hybrid working options
- Fantastic volunteering opportunities within The Active Wellbeing Society every month
Application details
When submitting your application, please submit a Cover Letter and CV addressing the experience you have had relevant to the 'Main Duties' and the 'Knowledge & Skills' sections of the advert, but as a minimum please address how you meet the following criteria which will be weighted highly in the first sift of shortlisting:
- In depth area knowledge and connections (Essential)
- Excellent relationship and communication skills (Essential)
- Experience of community development and/or working with communities (Essential)
- Experience of working with a range of stakeholders with the ability to influence others (Essential)
- Demonstrates clear leadership and the ability to influence and persuade across multiple disciplines and arenas. (Essential)
Closing Date: 23rd June - midnight
Interview Date: Friday 28th June
Due to the high numbers of applications we receive for our job vacancies, we may close application windows early, so we would encourage you to submit your application ASAP.
We will provide all applicants with an outcome on your application, this will usually be within 1 week of the application window closing.
Successful applicants will be required to be DBS checked prior to starting.
Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we, in recruiting for our team we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring. The Active Wellbeing Society is committed to being an equal opportunity employer, we recruit based upon capability and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. At The Active Wellbeing Society, we are searching for people who share the passion for what we do with different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences, collectively making a difference.
If there is anything we can do to assist you in your application or preparations to be interviewed for one of our job vacancies, please let us know and we can ensure you have a positive and comfortable experience.
Thank you for your interest in working for The Active Wellbeing Society, we look forward to receiving your application.
Size: 101 - 500
