Development Manager

Part-time 21 hours a week 

12 month contract - with potential to extend

Wood Street Mission is a children’s charity based in the centre of Manchester. We support children and families living on low incomes by helping meet their day-to-day needs and improving children’s life chances. 

In 2015 we launched SmartStart Manchester & Salford, our flagship initiative to break the cycle of poverty, by distributing one million pounds worth of school clothes and kit over the next four years – enough to give every local child living below the poverty line a school uniform. Doing well at school is key to breaking the cycle of poverty but many families struggle to afford the costs of school and children can be bullied or fall foul of school regulations for wearing the wrong uniform. SmartStart helps families kit out their children for school so they can fit in and engage and grow up to fulfil their potential. 

We want to recruit a development manager to help us achieve our target, collect evidence on the impact of the project, and raise awareness about the importance of breaking the cycle of poverty. SmartStart generated significant media coverage at its launch and has the potential to make a tangible difference to the lives of thousands of children in Manchester and Salford. This is a great opportunity for an experienced development manager with knowledge of child poverty issues who is excited about the challenge of driving forward a unique initiative. 

SmartStart is a flagship project for Wood Street Mission which marks its 150th Anniversary as a charity in 2019.

Core responsibilties of the postholder include:

- Develop and manage relationships with suppliers of uniform and school goods to generate donations and good value procurement of goods

- Set up systems and processes to ensure the distribution of school goods throughout the school year meets need, is accessible, and target-driven.

- Organise an annual SmartStart back-to-school roadshow to distribute goods and extend access to education for low income families

- Build relationships with schools, referring agencies and families and coordinate a SmartStart steering group to inform service planning, delivery and impact research

- Gather information to demonstrate activities and impact in order to build evidence, ensure funding is focused on areas of most need, and engage in PR work 

To find out more about Wood Street Mission and apply for the post please go to our website by clicking the apply button. The closing date for receipt of applications is 5pm Friday 26 February. Interviews will be held on Friday 11 March.