Social Impact Manager

The Opportunity

You do not need to follow football or be a devoted fan to apply. However, we would like to recruit someone who has a good appreciation and understanding around the power of sport to change people lives for the better. Are you that someone who is motivated to use your skills and experience to help our Foundation to do just that.

Key to this exciting and dynamic new role will be your knowledge and understanding around how youth work and education-based programmes can provide rich opportunities for children and young people to develop and grow. Programmes which provide a learning environment which is fun, nurturing, engaging, safe and tailored to meet their needs.

As part of the Foundation Senior Management Team, you will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and management of the Foundation’s Education and Youth Work Departments. A key part of the role will be to line manage and support our Education and Youth Work Managers including our Education Officers and Extra Time Project Lead.

You will have excellent communication and people skills, with experience of building and managing multiple stakeholder relationships, as well as experience of managing, leading and developing small teams. Strong planning and organisational skills are also needed for you to succeed.

A proven record of design and delivery of innovative programs to meet service user needs, but also the needs and requirements of multiple grant funders is another key requirement. Linked to this, experience of producing ongoing progress and end of year social impact reports and management of £ budgets is required.

Lastly, and most important of all, we want someone who best reflects who we are as an organisation. If you share our values and have the relevant skills and experience for the role of Social Impact Manager, then we look forward to hearing from you.

Wider & General Objectives:

• Play your part in helping the Foundation to deliver and meet our strategic objectives.
• Build, nurture, and maintain healthy working relationships with key stakeholders in the local community, e.g. Head Teachers, Youth Work agencies, Social Sector partners and key funders.
• Contribute to the development of funding proposals/bids and provide help around measuring our social impact, more specifically meeting monitoring and evaluation reporting requirements of our funders.
• Develop and manage a range of Education and Youth Work programmes by collaborating with the local community and key stakeholders to identify needs and priorities.
• Manage operational costs, set, and agree operational budgets for both our Education and Youth Work Departments and monitor these throughout the year.
• Stay abreast of local and national strategic plans & objectives, levels of statutory funding and direction of travel for education and youth work at a national and local level.
• Create and spot opportunities for shared learning with relevant local and national partners, invest time around R&D and understanding of latest trends in education and youth work. 

What are we looking for?

Qualifications & Experience

• Qualified to degree level or with equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Experience of working in an education and/or youth work-based role & setting.
• Experience of line managing others (ideally +3 years) in a youth work, education or CSR based setting.
• A history of success in designing and building leading edge innovative social impact programs and initiatives.
• Experience of setting and management of annual budgets.
• High level of interpersonal, mentoring/coaching, strategic and project management-based skills.
• Experience of working within a senior management team environment.

Skills & Personal Qualities

• Passionate about delivery of customer service excellence, a clear focus on meeting and exceeding customer needs.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• The ability to negotiate with and influence people effectively at all levels of an organisation.
• Excellent project management skills: can prioritise effectively and ensure deadlines are met.
• Adopts a can-do attitude and solution-based approach to tackling any challenges.
• Embraces and enjoys working in a every changing and fluid working environment. Can adapt and be flexible to meet and suit business needs.
• Excellent IT skills, including Microsoft Office and has a willingness and an ability to learn new IT/web programmes.
• Ability to understand, from both a strategic and tactical perspective, the way in which behaviour, relationships, and communication impact across the Foundation.
• Ability to develop and effectively manage and maintain interpersonal relationships within and out-with the Foundation at all levels. 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We genuinely believe that by having a diverse workforce, we will be more productive, make better decisions and gain a better understanding of the community we serve.

At the Foundation we want inclusion to be an everyday reality. For this to be the case, we need all our teammates to play their part in bringing our commitments and values to life. We are looking for applicants who share our passion for inclusion and who will support our aim to transform lives.

We are looking for people with passion, grit, and integrity. You're encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn't precisely match the job specification. Your skills and passion will stand out, and set you apart, especially if your career has taken some extraordinary twists and turns. We welcome diverse perspectives and people who think rigorously and aren't afraid to challenge assumptions.

Each new Foundation employee is an opportunity for us to bring in a different perspective, and we are always eager to further diversify our organisation. We are committed to building an inclusive, supportive place for you to do the best and most rewarding work of your career.

We believe in supporting the members of our team to achieve their full potential and offer:

• 30 days annual leave per year plus Boxing Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.
• Flexible working hours.
• Health Assured Employee Assistance Programme.
• Free access for employees’ children to Football Development Department holiday and football programmes.
• Staff uniform (Macron Kit Allowance).
• On-site parking.
• Company pension scheme.
• Training and Development opportunities.

We appreciate the importance of good mental health and wellbeing amongst our team and strive to provide a working environment which supports people to achieve this.

“Spartans Community Foundation is a charity and social enterprise in North Edinburgh. We aspire to be a valued organisation that helps to improve the quality of people’s lives in a meaningful way, with love, compassion, and dignity at the heart of our approach. We are Here for Good.”

“We have a fantastic opportunity for an enthusiastic and committed Social Impact Manager to join our Senior Management Team here at the Foundation. Key to this exciting and dynamic new role will be your knowledge and understanding around how youth work and education-based programmes can provide rich opportunities for children and young people to develop and grow. Programmes which provide a learning environment which is fun, nurturing, engaging, safe and tailored to meet their needs.”

“As part of the Foundation Senior Management Team, you will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and management of the Foundation’s Education and Youth Work Departments. A key part of the role will be to line manage and support our Education and Youth Work Managers as well as developing new and innovative ideas to support the needs of our local community”.

“To apply, please send us a covering letter outlining why you believe you are suitable for the role and why you would like to be considered along with an up-to-date CV. Please note, applications without a covering letter will not be progressed.

All applications should be sent via e-mail by the closing date of 5pm on Thursday 3rd of October 2024. The Foundation is an Equal Opportunities Employer, with all offers subject to references and an enhanced DBS check.”