Outreach manager

Closing date for applications: Midday 1st June

Contract: Permanent

Hours: 0.6 FTE (3 days per week)

Location: Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA, with hybrid working and some UK travel

Reporting to: UK Network Director

Salary: £40,000 per annum pro rata

Lead national outreach and recruitment for a charity helping young people access free creative education opportunities across the UK. The National Saturday Club gives 13–16-year-olds across the country the opportunity to study subjects they love at their local university, college or cultural institution, for free. Offering dynamic creative learning programmes in eight subject areas – Art&Design, Craft&Making, Fashion&Business, Film&Screen, Performance&Theatre, Science&Engineering, Society&Change and Writing&Talking – the model works to develop young people’s skills, nurture their talents and encourage their creativity.

Role purpose

The Outreach Manager will lead Club member recruitment across the National Saturday Club network. Reporting to the UK Network Director, the role will work closely with delivery partners to increase participation, strengthen outreach practice, build strategic partnerships and support the long-term sustainability of Clubs. The role will develop strategic approaches and partnerships that improve access for young people facing the greatest barriers to opportunity, aligned with the charity’s mission to increase equity of access to free, high-quality extracurricular creative education. Building on learning from a previous DCMS-funded initiative, the Outreach Manager will combine strategic oversight, partnership development and operational leadership to strengthen recruitment nationally. Effective recruitment is central to widening participation, supporting both Club sustainability and long-term engagement for young people. With a UK-wide remit, the role will support partners to establish and sustain effective outreach and engagement practice aligned with sector best practice in widening participation and access. The postholder will manage a small outreach team, maintain a broad range of recruitment partnerships, and work closely with colleagues to ensure a coordinated approach to recruitment, advocacy and partner support.

Key responsibilities

• Strategic leadership and planning
  • Work with the UK Network Director and Director of Programmes and Communications to develop and deliver a national Club member recruitment approach
  • Use data, insights and partner feedback to identify risks, respond to low recruitment and develop targeted interventions
  • Contribute to organisational learning on recruitment, retention and programme sustainability
• Partner recruitment support
  • Oversee recruitment support across the delivery partner network
  • Meet partners to understand local recruitment challenges and agree tailored support
  • Support development of local recruitment pipelines
  • Attend National Saturday Club events and partner meetings as required
• Recruitment partnerships
  • Build and maintain partnerships with organisations including Local Careers and Enterprise Partnerships, Local and Combined Authorities, Multi Academy Trusts, home education networks, young carer networks, military family support networks and other relevant organisations
  • Identify new partnership opportunities to expand reach and diversify recruitment channels
• Team management
  • Line manage two freelance Outreach Coordinators (2 days per week each)
  • Provide direction, support and oversight to ensure delivery
  • Develop strategic responses to low recruitment at partner, regional or subject level
• Systems, data and communications
  • Ensure recruitment activity and partner engagement are accurately recorded in the CRM
  • Oversee timely distribution of recruitment materials to partners
  • Keep website and partner-facing recruitment information accurate and up to date
  • Work with Marketing and Communications to align messaging, support social media, connect partner marketing teams, and develop advocacy and ambassador approaches
• Advocacy and representation
  • Act as an advocate for the National Saturday Club at conferences, events and network meetings
  • Present the programme and its impact to external stakeholders
  • Contribute to internal and external discussions on widening participation, access and progression

Skills and experience

Essential

• Significant experience in outreach, recruitment or engagement in education, youth, cultural or community settings
• Experience building and managing cross-sector partnerships
• Strong understanding of widening participation and barriers faced by 13–16-year-olds
• Experience managing staff or freelancers
• Strong organisational and planning skills
• Confidence using data, CRM systems and reporting tools
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively

Desirable

• Experience with FE or HE institutions
• Experience with careers/education infrastructure (e.g. Careers Hubs or LCEPs)
• Experience representing an organisation at conferences or sector events
• Familiarity with national or place-based education policy contexts

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.