Outreach and Engagement Manager
| Company: | Common Purpose |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £30,000 to £34,000 a year, pro rata |
| Hours: | Full-time |
| Location: | Manchester |
| Working pattern: | Field-based |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Posting date: | 13 Oct 2026 |
| Closing date: | 7 Nov 2026 |
Summary
Location: Home-based in the UK - Manchester or Leeds - with regular travel across the UK and occasional international travel as required.
Salary: £30,000-£34,000 per annum, depending on experience (pro rata for 0.8 FTE)
Contract: Fixed Term until July 2028, full-time or 0.8 FTE
Working pattern: We offer a fully flexible working environment.
Annual leave: 25 days of annual leave per annum, plus 3 additional days over Christmas.
Additional benefits: Comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
The role
We are looking for an experienced Outreach & Engagement Manager to play a key role in growing Common Purpose’s work with diverse young people and university students.
This is a hands-on, outward-facing role. You will be responsible for finding and engaging the young people, partners, organizations and contributors we need to make our programmes happen - from working with youth organizations to identifying young people who could benefit from an opportunity, to persuading an organization or senior leader to contribute their time and perspective to a programme.
Our programmes take young people and students beyond their usual environment, exposing them to different places, people and perspectives. Participants learn by encountering real situations, exploring different perspectives, reflecting on what they have experienced and considering what it means for their own lives and futures.
A significant part of your role will be looking outwards and making things happen. You will identify the organizations, communities and individuals who can bring the right perspectives and experiences to a programme, approach them and secure their involvement. You will build relationships with youth organizations, universities and other partners and work through those relationships to reach and recruit young people and students for relevant opportunities.
This requires more than being a good relationship builder. You will need to be proactive and persistent: able to identify who we need to reach, make a compelling case for getting involved, follow up and turn an initial conversation into a commitment.
You will be equally comfortable approaching a youth organization you have never worked with, engaging a group of young people or persuading a senior leader to give their time to a programme.
The role will also involve working directly with groups of young people and students. Experience of bringing young people together, engaging groups or creating inclusive spaces for participation would be particularly valuable. Over time, we would like you to develop as a Common Purpose facilitator, independently facilitating elements of our programmes both in person and online. Previous facilitation experience would be an advantage, but we can support the right person to develop this capability.
You will work as part of a small, dedicated, home-based team alongside programme, learning and partnership colleagues, working collaboratively to create and deliver high-quality Next Generation programmes.
What you’ll be doing
Finding the right people and organizations for our programmes – researching organizations, communities, leaders and other individuals who can bring relevant and diverse perspectives, experiences and opportunities to our learning.
Securing contributors and partners – making proactive approaches, communicating the purpose and value of getting involved, following up and securing commitments from people and organizations to contribute to our programmes.
Creating experiential learning opportunities – identifying and securing organizational visits, place-based experiences and engagement with communities that expose participants to different environments, people and perspectives.
Briefing and supporting contributors – working with contributors so they understand the purpose of their involvement and can create meaningful learning rather than simply providing a presentation or organizational introduction.
Convening and engaging groups of young people / students – creating inclusive environments in which young people and students feel welcome, able to participate and confident engaging with others from different backgrounds and experiences.
Developing as a Common Purpose facilitator – building the skills and confidence to facilitate elements of our programmes independently, both in person and online, with support and development from experienced colleagues.
Reaching and recruiting young people – working with youth organizations, universities and other partners to identify and engage young people and students who could benefit from our programmes and converting interest into participation.
Building a strong network of youth and education partners – identifying and developing relationships with organizations that can help us reach diverse groups of young people and create opportunities for them to participate in our work.
Working collaboratively on programme delivery – working with programme and partnership colleagues to understand what each programme needs and ensuring the right participants, contributors and experiences are in place.
Contributing to programme development and improvement – bringing insight from young people, partners, contributors and external networks into the continued development of our Next Generation programmes.
Representing Common Purpose – building trusted relationships with young people, clients, contributors and partners while maintaining Common Purpose’s independence and values.