Program Manager

Brent Giving • Full-time • London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom • from £35k / year • 5d ago

About Brent Giving

Brent Giving is a bold new place-based giving initiative with big ambitions for the borough. We are bringing together residents, grassroots organisations, local funders, and institutions to invest in community-led solutions and ideas. Our mission is simple: to give power, funding and support to local people so they can shape their own communities.

We’re proud to be part of developing a new era for Brent. Supported by a group of committed organisations such as The Football Association, Quintain and South Kilburn Trust (amongst others), we are going to build Brent’s innovation, investment and community power and join the wider London Giving Movement. Over the next year, we will be delivering our first Participatory Grantmaking (PGM) programme in three of Brent’s most vibrant and resilient neighbourhoods – Harlesden, South Kilburn and Stonebridge – with the aim of building a borough-wide model rooted in fairness, equity, and community leadership.

Supported by a dynamic Steering Group including The FA, Quintain, South Kilburn Trust, Sovereign Network Group, Harlesden Neighbourhood Forum and others. This is a brilliant opportunity to join Brent Giving at the ground level and help shape local grantmaking and community collaboration in London.

About the Role

We’re looking for a confident and values-driven Programme Manager to help us deliver Brent Giving’s first-ever Participatory Grantmaking (PGM) programme. You’ll lead the delivery across Harlesden, South Kilburn and Stonebridge, working closely with local residents, community organisations and key partners to ensure funding is decided by the people who know their communities best.

This is a hands-on delivery role. You’ll be responsible for supporting resident-led panels, helping local people to apply for funding, coordinating community engagement activities, and making sure the programme is run in an inclusive, accessible and safe way. You’ll need to feel comfortable facilitating meetings, managing small budgets for events and activities, and ensuring safeguarding is built into every part of the work.

You’ll work alongside our Director, and you’ll be coordinating part-time Community Organisers in each of the delivery areas. You’ll also work closely with our hosting partner Social Change Nest, who provide operational and back-office support, and with our Steering Group of local stakeholders.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys being close to the ground, working directly with communities, and building something new from the start. You’ll need to be proactive, organised and a great relationship builder. Most importantly, you’ll believe in the power of community leadership and want to help create a fairer future for Brent.

Travel across the borough is a key part of this role. You must have your own means of transport and be comfortable moving between Harlesden, South Kilburn, Stonebridge and other areas as the programme grows.

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Key Responsibilities

Programme Delivery

Plan, execute and lead on the day-to-day delivery of our Participatory Grantmaking programme in Harlesden, South Kilburn and Stonebridge
Recruit, support and coordinate local residents to join and lead funding panels
Make the grant application process accessible and supportive for local people
Oversee application timelines and coordinate with our back-office partner on operations and grant management
Support and liaise with part-time Community Organisers working in each neighbourhood

Community Engagement and Communications

Be a friendly, trusted point of contact for residents, applicants and grassroots groups
Organise inclusive meetings and events to raise awareness, gather feedback and celebrate wins
Promote Brent Giving’s work through social media, newsletters, flyers and local networks
Capture and share stories, images and updates from the ground to showcase the impact of community-led giving
Help raise the profile of our community campaigns – such as online surveys and photo competitions

Monitoring and Learning

Support the collection of data and feedback from applicants and funding panels
Contribute to reflection sessions and learning reports that help us improve our model
Use local insight and learning to shape future planning and practice

Growth and Development

Work closely with the Director to explore new areas and opportunities for expansion
Share local knowledge and insight to guide our engagement and fundraising strategies
Champion a people-led, locally-rooted approach in all areas of our work

About You

Essential Skills, Knowledge and Experience

You must either live in Brent or have a strong, lived connection to the borough.
Deep understanding of Brent’s communities, including their strengths, challenges and local networks
Experience delivering participatory grantmaking or similar community-led processes, including recruiting residents and supporting them through decision-making
Confident facilitator, able to lead inclusive community meetings, workshops or panel sessions where everyone feels welcome and able to contribute
Strong project management skills, including organising events, supporting community members through funding applications, and managing small budgets
Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage and build trust across diverse groups, both in person and in writing
Confident using digital tools such as email, Google Drive, basic data trackers and social media to support delivery and communication
Good working knowledge of safeguarding principles, with experience applying safeguarding in community or programme delivery settings
Comfortable working independently, Self-motivated, highly organised and able to manage competing priorities independently while working as part of a small, collaborative team
Must have your own means of transport and be able to travel easily across Harlesden, Stonebridge, South Kilburn and wider Brent
A clear commitment to community power, equity and grassroots-led change
An understanding of the messy, interconnected world of social change, institutions and grant giving at a community level.

Desirable Skills and Experience

Direct experience delivering participatory grantmaking or similar processes where residents were actively involved in decision-making.
Knowledge of basic monitoring and evaluation tools to gather feedback and measure impact
Experience creating communications such as newsletters, community updates or social posts using software such as Brevo.
Experience working in a start-up or early-stage project where flexibility and problem-solving were important

Personal Attributes

Passionate about community leadership and putting decision-making in the hands of local people- almost to the point of being radical about it
Approachable and good at building relationships with people from all backgrounds
Resilient, self-driven, reliable and proactive when facing challenges
Values inclusion, fairness and people-led change at every level
Brings creativity, warmth and energy to a small and ambitious team

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Deadline 28th May - 12pm

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