Open City seeks Birmingham Education Programme Manager
Photo by Anson Cheng
Programme Manager (Birmingham)
Location: Remote working, Birmingham-based (must be able to facilitate/ support workshops in Birmingham)
Hours to work: 0.8 FTE, 4 days a week
Salary: £39, 739 p.a. pro rata
Reporting to: Education Director
Supervising: 2 x freelance facilitators (It’s My City Too!) and 1 x freelance course assistant (Accelerate)
Start date: December 2025
Contract type: Fixed term to end June 2026
This role requires some weekend working to support the delivery of workshops as part of the Accelerate programme; time off will be given in lieu.
Role Overview
The Programme Manager (Birmingham) will oversee the pilot year of Open City’s education programmes in Birmingham, including the delivery of Young City Makers (working with three primary schools), It’s My City Too! (working with one SEND school) and Accelerate, our programme for 16-18 year-olds.
The role involves the management of these education initiatives, using tried-and-tested delivery models that we are piloting in Birmingham for the first time. It includes direct facilitation with young people and also the coordination of built environment professionals, schools, teachers, Higher Education partners and students to deliver high-impact, engaging, and curriculum-aligned educational experiences related to architecture and the built environment.
The Programme Manager (Birmingham) will work closely with our London-based Education team to ensure the effective delivery of Open City’s programmes, ensuring they are high-quality, inclusive, and reach diverse communities. Their role supports the Education Team to embed a youth-led approach that places young people at the heart of ambitious and socially-purposeful projects.
Role Description
Programme delivery:
Young City Makers and It’s My City Too:
Work with the Head of Schools and Programme Manager to support the scheduling, planning, and logistics of Birmingham school programmes, ensuring that they are delivered on time, within budget, and to a high standard.
Act as the main point of contact for schools, managing logistical arrangements for the delivery of the programme.
Provide support to built environment volunteers to ensure that they can effectively facilitate the delivery of Young City Makers.
Support the management and delivery of resources and materials to schools as necessary.
Coordinate end-of-programme celebration events.
Accelerate:
Work with the Head of Accelerate to plan workshops, select venues and devise content.
Act as the main point of contact for 30 x students, managing attendance and offering pastoral support as needed.
Act as the lead facilitator for 5 x Saturday workshops for 16-18 year olds, exploring architecture and the built environment.
Work with Open City’s team and networks to book guest speakers and support staff; liaise with workshop hosts, guests and support staff in the run up to sessions.
Manage the purchase and delivery of materials for workshops.
Coordinate mentoring placements for young people at our partner practices.
Across programmes:
Budget management:
Work with colleagues to ensure that all costs are properly managed and recorded.
Safeguarding and risk management:
Carry out risk assessments to support the safe delivery of all programmes.
Ensure compliance with the requirements of working with schools, including safeguarding and the development of pathways to higher education providers.
Partnerships and relationship management:
Develop and nurture strong relationships with schools, teachers, and educational partners.
Work with Education Director and Development colleagues to identify and develop approaches to Birmingham-based funders and prospects.
Impact measurement and advocacy:
Support the collection of evaluation data from teachers, students and parents using Open City’s evaluation framework.
Capture and generate content that shares the impact of the programmes with a broad range of stakeholders; feed into the production of our end-of-year impact report.
Person Specification
Education and empowerment:
A commitment and passion for young people’s education and empowerment through the design of creative and dynamic forms of education (E)
Schools and built environment education experience:
Experience of delivering, facilitating and managing creative education programmes for children and young people (E)
Experience of working in partnership with schools, universities and other educational settings (E)
Experience of built environment, architecture or design education (D)
Strong communication and facilitation skills:
Ability to facilitate engaging workshops for a range of age groups (E)
Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of participants and stakeholders–from young people with Special Educational Needs to multinational corporations and supporters (E)
Excellent organisational skills:
An ability to plan, communicate effectively (within the team and externally) and work to deadlines (E)
Problem-solving:
An ability to respond to challenges as they arise and work creatively to find solutions (E)
Safeguarding
Knowledge of risk assessment and safeguarding best practice (D)
Charitable purpose:
Evidence of a commitment to the Open City mission to make cities more ‘open, accessible and equitable’ (E)
Our commitment to diversity
As part of our ambitions to improve equality and diversity, we welcome applications for this role from those who identify under any of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, which include race, age, disability, gender, religion or belief, and sexual orientation; and, from those who identify as being working class.
How to Apply:
If you are inspired by the work of Open City and would like to be considered for the role of Programme Manager (Birmingham), we would love to hear from you. Please note, this is a 0.8 FTE, fixed term role, starting December 2025 and finishing in June 2026. The successful candidate must have permission to work in the UK by the start of their employment.
Applicants are asked to submit a CV and cover letter, saved as a single .pdf with the title Open City Programme Manager Birmingham application_your initials.
Your CV should be no more than 2 sides of A4, and the cover letter should be a maximum of 500 words. The cover letter should briefly describe how your experience and achievements to date would make you a suitable candidate for this role – aligning specifically with the organisation’s mission and existing education programmes.
Applications should be submitted to recruitment@open-city.org.uk.
The closing date for applications is 17th November 2025 at 9am.
Please note – we do not wish to receive any contact from recruitment agencies regarding this vacancy.
Selection process
The recruitment process will be led by Education Director Zoe Dennington and colleagues, who will assess all applications received against the selection criteria and person specification to agree a shortlist of up to five candidates to be invited to interview.
Coordination support will be provided by Open City staff, who will acknowledge applications and provide updates and responses on behalf of the recruitment panel.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview, with questions structured around the person specification from the job description and their relevant experience.
Timeline
Advertisement published: 23nd October 2025
Closing date for applications: 17th November 2025 at 9am
Shortlisting for interview by: 20th November
Interviews: 27th November 2025
Please hold the interview date above in your diary. Let us know in your application if these dates are not possible, and we will contact you to arrange an alternative if your application is shortlisted.
Selection criteria
The person specification included in the job description will be used as the selection criteria
by the recruitment panel. You do not need to have experience in every area of the person specification, and transferable skills from career and lived experience will be taken into account. Specific training will be provided to support the effective delivery of the programmes.
Scoring will be: 3 – exceeds criteria; 2 meets criteria; 1 partially meets criteria; 0 does not meet criteria.