Connected Communities Programme Manager

Job Title: Connected Communities Programme Manager

Based: Hybrid. Approximately 20% working from home, 80% field and office-based work. Head office in Aberdare with satellite provision across the area of benefit (which is Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil)

Hours: FULL TIME – 37 hours per week (how these hours are split between Monday – Friday can be decided between the post holder & line manager, and dependant on the demands of the service)

Salary: £32,800pa

Responsible to: Charity Development Lead

Responsible For:

• Information, Advice and Assistance Team (3 x staff)
  
  
• Central Support Team (2 x staff)
  
  
• EngAGE Team (2 x staff)
  
  
• Volunteer Coordinator (1 x staff)
  
  
• Reaching Out Coordinator (1 x staff)
  
  Key Contacts: ACM staff and volunteers at all levels, external partners and specifically funders and stakeholders, appointed HR Partner.
  
  Overview
  
  Our Connected Communities Programme is an exciting integrated approach to improving the lives of older people through engagement, connectivity and action. Connected Communities combines our passion for engaging people in our work, our expertise as an advice provider and our commitment to the value of volunteering. The Programme includes a range of community-based services and support which help people out of poverty, keep them safe from cyber threat, reduce their feelings of loneliness and isolation and help them navigate some of the most difficult times in their life. The Connected Communities Programme aims to provide older people with the confidence, knowledge and support they need to make informed choices, uphold their rights and to engage as active citizens.
  
  Job Purpose
  
  The Connected Communities Programme Manager role will be responsible for the operational management and strategic growth of the following activities:
  
  
• Sustainable Volunteering
  
  
• Befriending (Reaching Out Project)
  
  
• Information Advice and Assistance
  
  
• Engagement and Co-production (EngAGE Project)
  
  
• Central Administrative Support Team
  
  These are considered as ‘core’ charitable functions and provide the foundation for everything else the charity delivers.
  
  Your role will be to ensure services are delivered to the highest quality standard and in line with our contractual obligations to funders. You will ensure we have appropriate, efficient and meaningful methods of monitoring and evaluating the services we provide, so they demonstrate impact and add value to the lives of those we support. You will also be responsible for embedding a culture of continuous improvement and learning, always striving to do better for both your team and service beneficiaries.
  
  You will be part of the operational management team and will be expected to work in a positive, collaborative manner that contributes to strategic growth and furthers the development of Age Connects Morgannwg.
  
  Working with our Charity Development Lead, you will identify opportunities for service development, diversification and growth. All staff are expected to play an active role in the charity’s fundraising efforts.
  
  Your Objectives:
  
  Service Development: Lead, manage and develop a high quality, dynamic and accessible programme of work that reaches those in greatest need, works collaboratively with partner agencies and is proud to be the ‘go to’ provider of support and engaging opportunities for people aged 50+ living in our area of benefit. Work with colleagues to advance our mission of digital transformation within the advice service by identifying and embracing new methods of digital delivery.
  
  Leadership and Management: Lead, manage and develop a highly effective, competent, and skilled team that is customer focused, compassionate and solution driven. Demonstrate and embed the charity’s core values of listening, learning, and caring in all that you do and work collaboratively with others to foster a culture of autonomy, accountability, and growth.
  
  Quality Assurance: Working through your team, achieve consistently high levels of satisfaction and positive outcomes for the people we support, ensuring all quality accreditations are achieved and maintained. Lead, develop and embed a culture of continuous improvement, demonstrated by a commitment to personal growth and development through learning and curiosity. Maintain the Advice Quality Standard (or equivalent).
  
  Data Management: Ensure the charity is compliant with all relevant data protection and privacy laws, that personal data is handled sensitively and is only used for the purpose it is acquired. Ensure the charity is using data to further its objectives, improve services and identify opportunities. Acting as the organisational lead for the Advice Quality Standard (AQS) and administrative functions, you will also act as the case management system (currently Charity Log) ‘super-user’. You will be expected to undertake meaningful management reporting, analysis of data and team performance with a view to using this analysis to improve, adapt and flex the service to meet customer needs and fill gaps in service.
  
  Our Expectations
  
  Deliver the goods: Your service area will be funded by several difference sources, with a variety of monitoring requirements. We will expect you to put systems and processes in place to ensure you deliver what our funders expect and deliver it well. This will include managing your service budget, producing outcome-based reporting, and understanding where the gaps are (so you can find ways of filling them by securing funding to develop new services, or influencing others to do it). You will also need to report all of this to the Charity’s Board of Trustees, so good written skills are essential.
  
  Put older people first: Your team are the shop window of the charity. When older people contact us for help, your team members are often the first people they see or talk to on the phone. Older people are our business, they are central to all that we do, so understanding the issues they face is essential. It is also important we respect their voice, we uphold their rights, and we give them a voice when they feel they are not being listened to. Your role is to ensure that your team understands the diversity of the communities we serve and responds positively to unfamiliar scenarios or challenging situations. We believe strongly in the ‘make every contact count’ model.
  
  Work positively with others: Your team are part of a much wider network of community organisations and charities operating across our patch. We cannot be all things to all people, so we need to work collaboratively with those that specialise in other fields. Working on ‘no wrong door’ and ‘tell us once’ principles, your role will be to ensure we have effective relationships, referral pathways and where possible the digital connectivity to other organisations. To achieve this, an understanding of partnership working, co-production and collaboration with others, is essential.
  
  Recognise the potential of our people: We are proud to work with and develop opportunities for volunteers – without them, we couldn’t do a lot of what we do (or want to do!). They give their time freely and bring a wide range of skills, experience, and knowledge to the charity. Your team includes paid staff and volunteers so it’s essential you are committed to nurturing a culture where our volunteers and staff s are seen as team assets, and that they are encouraged to develop themselves personally, through the work they do. You will be expected to deliver the charity’s Volunteering Strategy and play a lead role in achieving the Investing in Volunteering Standard.
  
  As a team player, you will also be willing to undertake any other duties as may reasonably be required by your Line Manager and other senior leaders in the charity, as well as working with others across the charity and referring older people within our service provision.
  
  Person Specification:
  
  Organisational responsibilities
  
  
• Uphold and promote the charity’s values of listening, learning and caring
  
  
• Work within ACM policies and procedures, at all times.
  
  
• Attend training, supervision and team meetings
  
  The cost of which will be paid by Age Connects Morgannwg.
  
  All staff/volunteers working for Age Connects Morgannwg are expected to respond appropriately to any concerns that they may have regarding the abuse/inappropriate treatment of vulnerable adults. The protection of vulnerable adults is always a core responsibility.
  
  The above is a broad definition of the job responsibilities. It does not consider every aspect of the job which the jobholder may be required to perform. Flexibility is essential since the jobholder’s working hours will be determined by the requirements of the business.
  
  Please note: A full, valid driving licence is required for this position.
  
  Why Work For Us?
  
  
• Hybrid working
  
  
• Family friendly employer
  
  
• Mileage allowance
  
  
• Discount at Cynon Linc
  
  
• Access to independent financial advice
  
  
• Workplace wellbeing scheme
  
  
• Employee assistance programme
  
  The closing date for applications is midnight, Monday 12 May 2025