Regional Programme Lead - North East England in Cramlington, Hartlepool, Newcastle upon Tyne

Location: Hybrid role working in North East England (primarily home-based with significant regional travel). Base region: Tees Valley and Tyne & Wear. Coverage: This is a home-based role that requires regular weekly travel to schools and colleges across the North East. You will be expected to work extensively throughout Tees Valley and Tyne & Wear, with specific current activity hubs in Cramlington, Walkergate, Hartlepool, Stanley and Redcar. Regional location throughout the North East will change according to programme demand. Applicants must hold a full, clean driving licence and have the ability and willingness to travel regularly across the region.

About The Girls’ Network: The Girls' Network is a national charity with a mission to inspire and empower girls from the least advantaged communities by connecting them with a network of professional women role models and volunteer mentors. We believe no girl should have her future limited by her gender, ethnicity, background, or parental income. Our vision is a future where all girls are supported to realise their ambitions, discover their self-worth, and shape their own futures. We partner with secondary schools and colleges across multiple regions in England, including London, Merseyside, Portsmouth, Southampton, Sussex, Tees Valley, Tyne & Wear and the West Midlands. We match girls aged 14–19 with trained volunteer mentors for one-to-one support. In addition to this core mentoring, workshops, and access to an Ambassador Community that provides continued opportunities for development, career support, and connection.

Role Summary: The Regional Programme Lead is responsible for delivering The Girls’ Network’s suite of programmes in schools and colleges, including facilitating engaging and impactful workshops for girls aged 14–19 from disadvantaged backgrounds. The post-holder also leads on the recruitment, induction, training, matching, supervision and support of volunteers and will appropriately match mentors with young people. You will steer local partnerships and oversee programme administration to ensure the smooth and effective delivery of our mission. This role combines hands-on programme delivery with operational coordination, ensuring that The Girls’ Network’s regional programmes achieve their intended outcomes and contribute to national KPI achievement.

Person Specification:

• Essential: Applicants must hold a full, clean driving licence and have the ability and willingness to travel regularly across the region.
• Understanding of equal opportunities and inclusion in youth work.
• A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, with an understanding of its application in youth work in the charity and/or education sector.
• A genuine understanding and passion for addressing the challenges faced by girls and young women from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Experience and/or willingness to learn delivering high quality workshops or training sessions to groups of young people, aged 14-19.
• Proven ability to build and independently manage multiple relationships with key stakeholders, including young people, volunteers, education providers and local partner organisations.
• Excellent organisational, prioritisation and time-management skills, with a proven ability to meet deadlines in a target-driven environment.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage diverse audiences.
• Experience of developing resources for programmatic delivery, including volunteer training and workshops for young people.
• Project or programme coordination experience, with the ability to manage conflicting priorities effectively.
• Target-oriented, with experience of achieving KPIs and contributing to performance monitoring.
• Practical knowledge and experience of safeguarding and child protection working practices.
• Competence in using digital tools, including Salesforce or other CRM platforms, with attention to accuracy and the ability to maintain high-quality records for monitoring and evaluation purposes.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage deadlines, adapt to change, and work effectively both independently and as part of a geographically dispersed team.
• Commitment to The Girls’ Network mission and keeping young people at the centre of all work.
• Ability to travel and work flexibly, including occasional evenings and weekends.

• Desirable: Experience working in a charity, youth, or education setting.
• Experience of working with young people from diverse backgrounds.
• Experience of safer recruitment in volunteering.
• A mentoring or coaching qualification, or equivalent experience.
• Experience working remotely, demonstrating initiative and the ability to work proactively with minimal supervision.
• Flexible and adaptable approach, with an understanding of the time and resource limitations typical in small organisations.
• Specific knowledge of mentoring programmes and/or youth/education services.

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. If you believe you have relevant experience and the potential to thrive in this role, we encourage you to apply, even if you do not meet every single criterion listed.

How to apply: Please apply as soon as possible. You will be asked to complete your application by submitting your CV and answering a few application questions. Appointees are subject to a DBS check. You must have the right to work in the UK to apply. The deadline to submit your application is Wednesday 8th July at 9AM. Please note that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. We therefore encourage interested candidates to apply as soon as possible.

Diversity at our core: The Girls' Network is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating discrimination. In line with the Equality Act 2010, if you require any reasonable adjustments to support you with any stage of this recruitment process, please contact the Recruitment Team.

Our Benefits: 27 holiday days per year, plus public holidays (pro-rata for part-time staff). Option to purchase up to 5 additional days of annual leave every year. Gifted birthday leave. 3 days volunteering leave per year. Extended and comprehensive sick pay policy. Enhanced Family Leave pay policy. Pension scheme. Annual professional development fund to help you grow. 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme for wellbeing support. Benefit from flexible, remote working options with home office equipment. A dedicated Girls’ Network buddy, available beyond the induction period for ongoing support.