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- Tasks: Lead participation programmes to empower people with lived experience of cancer in decision-making.
- Company: Join Macmillan, a leading charity dedicated to supporting those affected by cancer.
- Benefits: Enjoy 25 days holiday, flexible working, and access to 120+ learning opportunities.
- Why this job: Make a real impact by shaping solutions for cancer patients while working in a supportive culture.
- Qualifications: Experience in participation tools, co-design methodologies, and strong communication skills required.
- Other info: We encourage applications from diverse backgrounds to promote equity and inclusion.
The predicted salary is between 36000 - 60000 £ per year.
Contract type: Fixed term contract (12 months)
Full time: 34.5 hours per week, we are open to a conversation about how you work these hours
Location: Hybrid between home and our London, Glasgow or Shipley offices (approx. once a quarter in the office)
About us
At Macmillan you\’ll find talented people working together to do whatever it takes to support people living with cancer. We\’re going all out to find even better ways to help even more people who need our support. Our values are at the heart of who we are and everything we do, inspiring our thinking and guiding our actions.
Our new organisational strategy sets out how we’ll fight even harder to make every pound raised count for even more. With your help, we’ll transform cancer care for good.
About the role
Are you passionate about designing meaningful participation programmes and embedding lived experience into partnerships, investments, and innovation? Do you thrive when leading co‑design work that shapes solutions for diverse groups and strengthens organisational impact? If so, this role could be a great fit for you.
As a Participation Manager, you will partner with colleagues to ensure our products, services and innovations are shaped by people living with cancer and responsive to their needs. You will champion equity by design, ensuring participation opportunities are inclusive, accessible, and representative of diverse lived experience.
This fixed‑term role will support our work on impact investments. You will be responsible for clearly defining Macmillan’s co‑design offer for impact investment portfolio companies. This includes building the foundations, tools and repeatable processes required to deliver outcomes-focused participation activity at scale. You will also scope and shape key projects with portfolio companies – moving into delivery where possible.
Working closely within the Communities and Participation team, you will leverage existing lived experience networks, insights and community partnerships. You will design and facilitate participatory activity to support us in achieving our strategic ambition of centring lived experience in all we do. This will include developing participatory networks and supporting portfolio companies to refine and strengthen their work. This is a strategic and hands‑on role, building new frameworks while also delivering practical participation support.
Above all, you will embody Macmillan’s values by acting with heart, strength, and ambition as you support Macmillan’s journey towards sharing more power with communities and people living with cancer.
About you
The successful candidate will demonstrate the following skills and experience:
- Excellent understanding of participation tools and approaches.
- Excellent understanding of equity by design.
- Deep understanding and experience of applying co-production and co-design methodologies with people and across organisations.
- Understanding of impact investments (desirable)
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the capacity to draw insight and make recommendations based on the needs, challenges and opportunities within different business functions.
- Experience of business partnering and building strong, collaborative stakeholder relationships.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and the confidence to influence decisions.
- Experience of working on a portfolio of projects.
- Experience of working within a change context and supporting a learning culture.
In return, we offer a range of benefits including:
- 25 days holiday plus flexible bank holiday options, increasing by 1 day every year of service up to 30 days
- Pension matched up to 7.5%
- 120+ learning and development offers, with access to external professional qualifications
- Flexible working patterns, such as compressed hours, flexibility to work earlier or later around our core working hours of 10am-4pm
- Holiday buying and selling scheme, life insurance, free wills, retail discounts and much more
Recruitment process
Interview dates: Virtual interviews will be held on 15th and 16th April
To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed.
So we can support you to be at your best during the application or interview process, please contact Macmillan TA Team TATeam@macmillan.org.uk for advice and reasonable adjustments.
We welcome applications from everyone who meet the criteria and strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under‑represented at Macmillan. Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee representation body, ‘Our Voice’ and 8 Employee Network groups help us promote fairness and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people.
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Participation Manager employer: Macmillan Cancer Support
Contact Detail:
Macmillan Cancer Support Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Participation Manager
✨Tip Number 1
Familiarise yourself with Macmillan's mission and values. Understanding their commitment to putting lived experience at the heart of their work will help you align your approach and demonstrate how your passion for participation can contribute to their goals.
✨Tip Number 2
Network with professionals in the field of participation and co-production. Engaging with others who have experience in similar roles can provide insights into best practices and may even lead to valuable connections within Macmillan.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare to discuss specific examples of your past work in designing participation programmes. Highlighting your analytical skills and problem-solving abilities will showcase your capacity to understand and address the needs of diverse groups.
✨Tip Number 4
Research current trends and challenges in the cancer care sector, particularly around participation and equity. Being knowledgeable about these topics will allow you to engage in meaningful conversations during interviews and demonstrate your commitment to the role.
We think you need these skills to ace Participation Manager
Some tips for your application 🫡
Understand the Role: Read the job description thoroughly to grasp the key responsibilities and skills required for the Participation Manager position. Tailor your application to highlight how your experience aligns with these requirements.
Showcase Relevant Experience: In your CV and cover letter, emphasise your experience with participation tools, co-production methodologies, and any relevant projects you've led. Use specific examples to demonstrate your impact in previous roles.
Highlight Communication Skills: Since the role requires excellent communication and interpersonal skills, provide examples of how you've successfully influenced decisions or built strong stakeholder relationships in past positions.
Emphasise Inclusivity: Discuss your understanding of equity by design and how you have ensured inclusivity in your previous work. This is crucial for the role, so make sure to illustrate your commitment to diverse lived experiences.
How to prepare for a job interview at Macmillan Cancer Support
✨Understand the Role Deeply
Make sure you have a solid grasp of what a Participation Manager does. Familiarise yourself with participation tools and co-production methodologies, as well as Macmillan's mission and values. This will help you articulate how your experience aligns with their needs.
✨Showcase Your Collaborative Skills
Since this role involves partnering with various teams, be prepared to discuss examples of how you've built strong relationships in previous roles. Highlight your ability to influence decisions and work collaboratively to achieve common goals.
✨Demonstrate Your Analytical Thinking
Prepare to discuss how you've used analytical skills to identify challenges and opportunities in past projects. Be ready to provide specific examples of how your insights led to successful outcomes, especially in a change context.
✨Emphasise Inclusivity and Accessibility
Given the focus on equity by design, be sure to talk about your understanding of inclusivity in participation programmes. Share experiences where you ensured diverse groups were represented and had meaningful input in decision-making processes.