Programme Manager, Youth & Universities

Job Purpose: Lead delivery of a national climate action programme (BELIEVE in Climate Action), managing cross‑sector partnerships, stakeholder engagement and programme operations. Oversee youth‑led initiatives and knowledge exchange, while also supporting university teams to deliver the ParliaMentors programme and strengthen student leadership and civic engagement.

Contract: 4.2 years (fixed term contract, linked to the BELIEVE project, ending in September 2030). Location: primarily hybrid/remote, open to candidates anywhere in the UK. The project is based in England, so the role will involve regular travel to locations across England, including London. Hours: 1 FTE (0.8 FTE can be considered). Reporting to: Senior Programme Manager, Youth & Universities. Start date: 3rd August 2026.

About the role: We are seeking an experienced and strategic Programme Manager to lead delivery of Believe in Climate Action (BELIEVE), an ambitious national initiative at the intersection of climate action, youth leadership and community engagement (3 days per week). This role will also support the delivery of the UN Award winning ParliaMentors project, providing mentoring, training and leadership development opportunities to students across the country, and maintaining strong relationships with University partners (2 days per week).

This is a unique opportunity to lead a complex, high‑impact programme that connects schools, communities, young people, researchers and policymakers, shaping a more inclusive and effective model of climate action across England. You would be joining a team that has been running impactful projects for 19 years, which centres the voices, needs and potential of young people to bring about change.

The BELIEVE project: BELIEVE in Climate Action (BELIEVE) is an ambitious and innovative national programme led by the Faith & Belief Forum in partnership with the Cambridge Interfaith Programme. Together, we are building a bold new model for climate action, one that connects grassroots communities, young leaders, researchers and policymakers through collaboration, co‑learning and shared purpose. This is a unique opportunity for an experienced Project Manager to lead a pioneering, cross‑sector initiative that is reshaping how climate action happens in England.

BELIEVE operates at the intersection of community engagement, youth leadership and policy influence, requiring strategic oversight, strong partnership management and the ability to navigate complexity across local, regional and national contexts. BELIEVE is also a platform for sector leadership. It offers the opportunity to influence how climate engagement is understood and delivered, particularly by centring voices often excluded from mainstream climate discourse, including young people and those from diverse faith and belief backgrounds.

About the Faith & Belief Forum: For nearly 30 years, the Faith & Belief Forum has worked to build connected communities, a society that celebrates diversity, and to tackle faith and belief based hate, discrimination, division and polarisation. We are a dynamic organisation, who puts the voices of our beneficiaries at the forefront. We work in schools to build connection, understanding and empathy, in universities to build confidence, skills and connection in the next generation of interfaith leaders, and in communities to celebrate the role that faith plays in society, and pilot new, innovative approaches to tackling hate and division at the local level.

Our team is diverse, talented, sensitive, and creative. We value building meaningful connection amongst ourselves, and with our partners and stakeholders. We believe that a central solution to tackling division, polarisation and hate is connection, that is both expertly facilitated and heartfelt. In our projects this takes place through education, dialogue, social action projects, mentoring, training and development, public engagement events, and community led responses to local issues.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the strategic and operational delivery of BELIEVE across its three interlinked workstreams.
• Ensure effective planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of a multi‑year national programme.
• Manage programme timelines, budgets, reporting and risk.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with cross‑sector stakeholders, including schools, community organisations, funders, academic partners and policymakers.
• Act as a senior point of contact for programme partners, ensuring alignment, accountability and collaboration.
• Convene and facilitate high‑level stakeholder spaces, including national workshops and knowledge‑exchange forums.

Team & youth leadership oversight:

• Line manage the BELIEVE project Coordinator, ensuring timely and high quality delivery of workplans, supporting their development and training, managing any performance issues, and helping them to grow and thrive.
• Oversee delivery of the youth leadership strand, including internship programmes and youth‑led climate action projects.

Strategy, learning & influence:

• Design internal evaluation frameworks and processes, in collaboration with University of Cambridge academics.
• Translate research, learning and evaluation into programme development, communications and external influence.
• Contribute to shaping national conversations on inclusive climate action.
• Responsible for delivery, and ensuring programme outputs (reports, toolkits, events, digital platforms) are high‑quality and impactful.

Manage 2 teams of ParliaMentors students:

• Support delivery of the ParliaMentors programme, including facilitating workshops, having meetings with students, organising the logistics for various events throughout the year.
• Mentor and support two teams of students at two universities as they work together to deliver a social action project.
• Contribute to communications for the programme on social media, LinkedIn, and newsletters.
• Support with delivering trainings for university staff.

Person Specification:

• Significant experience managing complex, multi‑partner programmes (ideally national or multi‑regional).
• Demonstrable expertise in stakeholder engagement at a senior level, including building and maintaining strong partnerships across sectors.
• Strong track record of delivering complex programmes on time and within budget.
• Confidence and proven experience in line management (this role will line manage 1 Project Coordinator, and oversee an internship programme of up to 8 paid interns per year).
• Strong financial management skills, and experience managing large budgets (this role will be responsible for financial management of the BELIEVE project, and reporting to funders).
• Strong experience and understanding of Safeguarding, in charities and/or school settings.
• Excellent project management skills, experienced in using project management tools.
• Excellent relationship management and influencing skills.
• Strategic thinking combined with strong operational delivery.
• Ability to navigate complexity and work across different sectors and perspectives.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience in climate action, sustainability or environmental programmes.
• Understanding of faith, belief and/or intercultural engagement.
• Experience working with research partners or translating evidence into practice.

How to Apply: Please submit a cover letter detailing what motivated you to apply for the role, and how you meet the person specification.

Benefits include:

• Opportunity to work mainly remotely from home, with occasional travel to London and other locations across England required for schools, events, and activities.
• Generous annual leave from 25 days (pro rata) plus UK bank holidays, increasing with length of service and including a birthday day off after three years.
• 2 days paid volunteer leave (pro rata).
• Generous pension scheme to help you save for the future.
• Interfaith and intercultural learning opportunities.
• Access to internal learning sessions on topics relevant to our sector.
• Team events / away days / annual retreat.
• Supportive and inclusive work environment with a focus on staff wellbeing.

Who we encourage to apply: We value sensitivity to the issues at the heart of our work and a strong commitment to The Faith & Belief Forum’s goals. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences. We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic communities, as well as from faith or belief communities currently underrepresented in our organisation, including Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Zoroastrian communities. We warmly welcome applicants of all ages and experiences who share our vision and values, and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace, regardless of protected or unprotected characteristics, including but not limited to gender, disability, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. We recognise that valuable experience can be gained through work, study, volunteering, or community involvement. Unfortunately, we can only consider applications from individuals who have the unrestricted right to work in the UK, as we are unable to offer visa sponsorship. Applicants must also already be resident and based in the UK at the time of application.