Programme and Partnerships Officer in Manchester

Location: Manchester (Hybrid Working)

Contract: Fixed-Term to April 2028

Reporting to: Head of Charity

Salary: c.£28,500.00 plus benefits per annum.

Closing Date: 9th July 2026

Are you passionate about making a real difference for young people?

About RISE UP

We are a dynamic charity dedicated to empowering young people aged 16-30 who face barriers to employment. Through mentorship, guidance, and meaningful connections to opportunity, we equip young people with the skills, confidence, and support they need to achieve their career aspirations and progress into sustainable employment, education, or training.

Our vision is a future where every young person is empowered by their potential and able to build a sustainable career without limitation.

Role Overview

The Programme and Partnerships Officer role is focused on coordinating the effective delivery of programmes that support young people to progress into employment, education, training, and other positive outcomes. This includes leading targeted recruitment activity, working closely with referral partners and community organisations to reach eligible young people.

By building strong relationships with employers, training providers, and community organisations, the Programme and Partnerships Officer helps create meaningful progression opportunities for participants. This includes coordinating employer engagement through leverage from the employee steering group, facilitating pathways into work-related opportunities, and ensuring a positive experience for both young people and partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Programme Coordination: Support the delivery of key programmes, ensuring young people receive high quality support, opportunities to progress into employment, education, training, or other positive outcomes.
• Outreach and Recruitment: Lead targeted outreach and recruitment activities to engage eligible young people, working closely with referral partners, community organisations, and stakeholders to maximise participation and reach.
• Participant Support: Work closely with other team members to ensure programme participants receive personalised support.
• Youth Advisory Board (YAB): Have oversight of the YAB, ensuring regular meetings, reimbursement with vouchers for attendees and co-ordinating governance and activity of YAB as advised by the Head of Charity.
• Employer Steering Group: Work closely with the employer steering group to coordinate programme progression pathways and opportunities.
• Employer Engagement: Work alongside the Work Placement Officer, engage employers to provide progression pathways and opportunities, ensuring a positive experience and meaningful outcomes.
• Partner Collaboration: Build and maintain effective relationships to support programme delivery, participant engagement, and progression outcomes.
• Mentoring Programme: Coordinate the charity's internal mentoring programme, including mentor recruitment, onboarding, training, matching, engagement, and ongoing monitoring.
• Record Keeping: Maintain accurate records of participant engagement, mentoring activity, partner interactions, and programme outcomes using designated tracking and case management systems.
• Impact Reporting: Support the collection and recording of evaluation and impact data, including participant feedback, case studies, progression outcomes, and partnership activity to support reporting and continuous improvement.
• Collaborative Working: Work collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation to ensure the effective delivery of programmes and achievement of organisational objectives, as well as with external stakeholders.
• Safeguarding and Policy: Adhere to organisational safeguarding, health and safety, data protection, equality, diversity, inclusion, and confidentiality policies.
• Representation: Represent RISE UP professionally and positively at external meetings, networking events, programme activities, partnership forums, and stakeholder events where required.

About You

Essential Experience:

• Passionate about combatting youth unemployment and creating opportunities that support young people's progression into employment, education, or training.
• Understanding of the barriers faced by young people and the support required to help them achieve positive outcomes.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and relationship building skills, with the ability to engage effectively with young people and stakeholders.
• Experience building and maintaining positive relationships with external parties i.e., other organisations, employers, community groups, colleges and training providers.
• Good organisational skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple projects, manage competing priorities, and meet deadlines.
• Experience maintaining accurate records and using systems, databases, or other tracking systems.
• Confident in public speaking, networking, and representing an organisation professionally to a range of audiences.
• Proactive, adaptable, and solutions focused, with the ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion, and safeguarding.

Desirable Experience:

• Knowledge of employability skills, career pathways, and the challenges facing young people in today's labour market.
• Experience coordinating programmes, projects, events, mentoring schemes, or similar initiatives.
• Experience in youth work, programme delivery, partnership management, education, or a related field.
• Experience delivering workshops, training sessions, presentations, or group activities.
• Knowledge of local employment, training, education, and progression opportunities.
• Experience supporting young people facing multiple or complex barriers.
• Experience working with employer networks, partnership groups, or multi-agency stakeholders.
• Experience collecting and reporting on programme outcomes, monitoring data, or impact measures.

What we offer

• A permanent hybrid role based in Manchester (M1 1JA).
• A modern workspace in a character building at Sevendale House, with gym access.
• 25 days annual leave plus statutory holidays.
• Access to wide-ranging training and development opportunities.
• Plus 10% benefits after probation.

We encourage applications from people with lived experience of youth unemployment to ensure that our services are shaped by those who understand them best. If you share our vision to unlock the potential of young people, we would be delighted to receive your application.

Further Information

Applications may close early if suitable candidates are identified and the position is filled. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis prior to the closing date.