Progress Together is a dynamic not-for-profit start-up seeking a Head of Membership and Programmes. You’ll be a member of Progress Together’s senior management team working closely with the Chief Executive Officer. You will build an in-depth knowledge of the 30+ members, develop the organisation’s value proposition and be responsible for attracting, onboarding and retaining members. You will oversee a small team comprised of a Marketing and Communications Manager, Programme Manager and Programme Officer.
Salary: £50k-£60k depending on experience.
Permanent Contract
Reporting to – Chief Executive Officer
Direct reports – Marketing and Communications Manager, Programme Manager.
Working hours – Five days a week, hybrid (travel required to several weekly meetings / events in London and ad hoc travel to other UK cities).
Location: Remote with meeting room space available in London or Bristol for team collaboration. One day a week desk space available in London.
About Progress Together
Financial Services has the highest class pay gap of all sectors. Evidence shows that employees from non-professional backgrounds progress 25% slower than peers, with no link to job performance. Employer’s social mobility efforts have largely focused on outreach and access at junior levels, with little attention to progression and retention. This is despite evidence showing that 89% of senior managers are from professional backgrounds, compared to 47% at junior levels and 52% of UK CEOs economy wide. Employees report they are wasting energy conforming to dominant cultures, impacting productivity.
To level the playing field, we need to create a financial services sector in the United Kingdom in which everyone working in it, from all socio-economic backgrounds, are both enabled and have equal opportunity to achieve their full potential. Therefore, building on the work of a Government commissioned Taskforce, which ran until November 2022, we have created an important new membership body, Progress Together, which was formally launched on 20th May 2022 by the Lord Mayor of London and the City Minister.
Our measure of success will be greater socio-economic diversity at senior levels across our membership (UK financial services companies). Leading to better business outcomes; increased productivity, greater innovation, improved decision making through diversity of thought, better consumer outcomes, and being a sector where talented people choose to work.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead membership acquisition and retention including through;
- Programme development in collaboration with Founding Partners (corporate sponsors), subject matter experts, external suppliers and senior stakeholders. Provide expert strategic direction re; programme of workshops, resources and data benchmarking offer.
- Support the Programme Manager to implement a programme that adds value to current members and attracts new members.
- Lead the process for robust programme evaluation and reporting upwards. This includes proactively monitoring progress, resolving issues and initiating appropriate corrective action.
- Manage programme resources, create cross-functional teams (including volunteers from member companies) and recruit new staff/secondees to the team where necessary.
- Manage risks and budgets and report upwards including presentations to the Founding Partners (corporate sponsors).
- Provide strategic direction to Marketing and Communications Manager re; ‘internal’ communication with Founding Partners, Board Members, current members, and ‘external’ communications with potential members, Supporters, Media.
- Attend and/or present at events delivered by Supporters, including early morning and evening events as required.
- Contribute to the overall strategic direction of Progress Together, proposing ideas in relation to funding and membership opportunities.
Personal Specification
- Five years’ experience as a Head of Programmes or Head of Memberships/Accounts, or equivalent role managing multiple senior level stakeholders and initiatives.
- Influential and persuasive with the ability to encourage change within member firms.
- Proactive and enthusiastic with collaborative interpersonal skills.
- Strategic thinker with the ability to identify complex problems and proactively take steps to address them.
- Attention to detail, including the ability to scrutinise benchmarking data provided by an external data partner and quality assure outputs.
- Outstanding written communication skills.
- Strong verbal communication skills, including experience of presenting at large events / workshops.
- Ability to use initiative and work independently.
- Experience of managing and supporting staff.
- Target driven, tenacious and self-motivated.
- Strong experience of MS Office (inc Excel) and CRM systems.
- Knowledge of or interest in social mobility or diversity and inclusion.
Applications
Please send a CV and covering letter of no more than two sides of A4, explaining your background and interest in the position. Your covering letter should describe the skills you would bring to Progress Together how your experience meets the job description; and why you are interested in the work of Progress Together.
Please send your application to Sophie Hulm, CEO of Progress Together at Sophie@ProgressTogether.co.uk with the subject line “Head of Memberships and Programme Application”.
Questions about the role should be directed to Sophie Hulm on the address above.
The deadline is 9am Wednesday 8th February.
What’s in it for you?
- Flexible and remote working.
- Pension Scheme
- 25 days annual leave pro rata
- An opportunity and a voice to be part of a founding membership body that will shape the Financial Services industry in the UK by diversifying both the pool of talent and senior leaders in the UK.
TO APPLY: Please send your CV to sophie@progresstogether.co.uk
