Resources and Programmes Officer - Culture in Manchester

Working hours: 35 hours per week (flexible / hybrid working) - occasional evening and weekend work with time off in lieu.

Contract type: Permanent

Closing date: 11.59pm, 19 April 2026

Interview method: in person

Right to work: Applicants must have existing right to work in the UK, as visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Council’s Culture Team in a permanent role, working on cultural grants and investments, partnerships, as well as events and communications for Manchester’s diverse and vibrant cultural sector. The Culture Team works to create the conditions for arts and culture to flourish in the city, for the benefit of all Manchester residents. This involves a busy work programme and collaboration with arts organisations, funding bodies, artists and communities on a diverse range of projects and partnerships.

We are looking for a candidate to join the Culture Team with a working knowledge of the cultural sector or creative industries and of the funding landscape for culture. You will be passionate about culture, its value and its impact. You will also have excellent communication skills and will be highly organised.

You will help to manage the Council’s funding resources, particularly our Cultural Strategic Investments and Cultural Partnership Grants programmes, with responsibility for monitoring processes and holding regular meetings with the cultural organisations we fund. You will also support an annual Cultural Impact Survey, which gives us powerful insights into what is happening in the city’s cultural life, as well as contribute to city strategies and plans, especially ‘Always, Everywhere: Manchester’s Cultural Ambition’ and our work to reduce carbon emissions.

The role includes arranging meetings, and events with and for cultural organisations, as well as helping manage the prestigious Manchester Culture Awards and providing communications support through press and social media releases.

In this role you will:

• Develop and manage monitoring processes and a schedule of review meetings, for organisations in the Council’s Cultural Partnership Grants and Strategic Cultural Investments portfolios.
• Support the delivery of the Council’s annual Cultural Impact Survey.
• Contribute to Manchester’s Cultural Strategy and development and delivery of the Culture Team’s Team and Zero Carbon Action Plan.
• Support the Council’s Manchester Culture Awards, with responsibility for individual work packages.
• Support the delivery of events related to the Council’s cultural investment portfolio.
• Provide communications support for Culture Team activities in relation to communication briefs, press releases and social media.
• Liaise between cultural organisations and the Council’s Communications team in relation to advertising offers and opportunities.

If you share our passion for culture and want to be part of a dedicated and hardworking team, we would love to hear from you.

We would love to hear from you if you have the following experience:

• Communication Skills: Strong communication skills, written and verbal with the ability to adapt to the audience and situation with ability to influence or persuade internal or external stakeholders.
• Analytical Skills: Ability to translate analyses into business cases which define potential benefits, options for achieving the benefits development of new or changed processes, and associated business risks.
• Planning and Organising: Ability to clearly prioritise work, set targets for self and others to meet demanding timescales.
• Project Management: Contributes to the project and programme planning process within a defined project management framework providing required information in a timely manner and identify emerging risks to the project or programme and reports these appropriately.
• Problem Solving and Decision Making: Is able to make effective decisions on a day-to-day basis, taking ownership of decisions, demonstrating sound judgement in escalating issues where necessary.
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to think creatively and provide innovative solutions to problems.
• ICT Skills: Skills to use ICT systems to obtain and analyse data and present it effectively through a variety of ICT channels.
• Research and Intelligence: Ability to conduct research using a variety of techniques, in order to gather evidence, evaluate and cascade to services and partners.
• Financial Management: Ability to plan, forecast and monitor expenditure against budgets, investigates variances and takes timely action to address deviations.

Technical skills include knowledge of and contribution to recent funding initiatives in local government and understanding of the national agenda on matters relating to a range of urban policy areas including arts & culture, smart cities and digital, energy, environment and climate change. Evidence of the ability to develop and implement programme and project management systems associated with funding programmes and projects locally, nationally, and internationally.

Knowledge of bidding for and managing funding from a range of funding bodies – local, national, regional, sub-regional and internationally.

Willingness to undertake occasional off site and out of normal office hours working.

At Manchester City Council, we’re dedicated to creating a workplace that truly reflects the diversity of the communities we serve. We actively welcome applications from people of all ages and backgrounds, particularly from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities, Disabled people and young people.

We guarantee assessments for applicants who meet the recruiting panels minimum shortlisting requirements for the role and identify with at least one of the criteria below:

• Members of the Armed Forces or veterans
• Current or former care leavers
• Have a disability or long-term condition

We’re a Disability Confident Employer, offering a workplace adjustment hub which provides specialist support, advice and guidance to ensure you have the adjustments needed to thrive at work.