Programme, Policy & Partnerships Manager

Organisation: Multicultural Apprenticeship and Skills Alliance (MASA)

Location: Birmingham head office base, with regular travel across England

Salary: £35,000 - £42,000 depending on experience

Contract: Permanent, Full-time

Reports to: Founder and CEO

About MASA

The Multicultural Apprenticeship and Skills Alliance (MASA) is a national movement focused on improving equity, diversity, inclusion and social mobility across apprenticeships, employability and skills. We work with employers, training providers, colleges, community organisations and sector leaders to influence practice, shape thinking, build stronger pathways into opportunity and ensure underrepresented communities are better served by the system.

About the role

We are looking for an ambitious, outward-facing leader who can build partnerships, shape influence, spot opportunities and help grow MASA's reach, reputation and impact nationally.

This is not a passive role. We need someone who is comfortable selling, influencing, representing us externally and creating momentum. Someone who can build trusted relationships across employers, policymakers, providers, community organisations and civic stakeholders, while also helping deliver high-quality programmes and visible outcomes.

You will need to be confident in commercial conversations, credible in public-facing environments, and comfortable navigating policy, thought leadership, public affairs and community-led engagement. You should understand how to build an ecosystem around a mission - connecting people, institutions, opportunities, ideas and influence in a way that grows MASA's reach and relevance.

This role is for someone with a growth mindset who can spot openings, bring opportunities in, shape strategic partnerships, create smart KPIs, and get out into the market and make things happen.

Core focus of the role

Drive partnership growth and business development

Support and strengthen MASA's policy, public affairs and thought leadership presence

Represent MASA confidently across events, meetings, forums and stakeholder spaces

Build meaningful community-led and sector-led relationships that expand our ecosystem

Help design and deliver programmes that create value and impact

Bring structure, performance measures and commercial discipline to growth activity

Key responsibilities:

Programme delivery

Lead and support the planning and delivery of MASA programmes, campaigns, forums and events

Ensure delivery is well organised, high quality and aligned to strategic goals

Coordinate stakeholders, timelines, outputs and follow-up actions

Capture insight, outcomes and feedback to inform future activity and demonstrate value

Policy, thought leadership and public affairs

Support MASA's voice and visibility across policy, public affairs and influence spaces linked to apprenticeships, skills, employability, equity and social mobility

Contribute to thought leadership activity by helping shape themes, roundtables, events, campaigns and strategic conversations

Identify opportunities for MASA to be in the right rooms, with the right people, saying the right things

Represent MASA externally with credibility, warmth and confidence

Partnerships, growth and commercial development

Build, manage and grow relationships with employers, training providers, colleges, community organisations, sector bodies and strategic stakeholders

Identify, open and progress new partnership, patron, sponsorship and commercial opportunities

Lead consultative sales conversations with confidence, translating MASA's work into a compelling value proposition

Create and manage a live pipeline of prospects, opportunities, warm leads and strategic conversations

Support patron retention and growth by ensuring relationships are active, valuable and well managed

Bring in opportunities that strengthen MASA's profile, influence, income and delivery reach

Community engagement and ecosystem building

Build strong, trusted relationships with multicultural communities, grassroots organisations, educators, employer networks and local and national stakeholders

Develop a joined-up ecosystem around MASA that connects employers, communities, providers, policymakers and delivery partners

Ensure MASA's engagement approach is community-led, relevant and rooted in trust

Help create pathways that lead to real opportunities for underrepresented individuals and communities

Performance, insight and KPIs

Develop and track smart KPIs linked to partnerships, growth, engagement, influence and impact

Create practical systems to monitor pipeline activity, stakeholder engagement, conversions and delivery outcomes

Use insight and performance data to sharpen focus, improve execution and support reporting to leadership

Bring discipline and visibility to growth activity, not just energy

What success looks like

You have quickly built strong relationships with MASA's key stakeholders, patrons and partners

You have established a credible external presence and are representing MASA confidently in the market

You have built an active pipeline of partnership, patron and growth opportunities

You have introduced a clearer structure for tracking opportunities, relationships and follow-up

You are contributing ideas, momentum and external energy from the outset

In your first 6 months:

You have helped secure a strong pipeline of new partnerships, patrons, collaborations or commercial opportunities

MASA has grown a stronger external presence across policy, public affairs, thought leadership and stakeholder spaces

Community-led engagement is more visible and core to the business, we are better connected and more strategically aligned

MASA's programmes and partnerships are commercially viable, better joined up, more measurable and more impactful

Clear KPIs and tracking systems are in place to support growth, delivery and accountability

You are recognised internally as well with your peers as someone who brings energy, credibility, strategic thinking and results

Who we are looking for:

We are looking for someone who combines commercial instinct with credibility and purpose.

You may come from skills, employability, education, membership, partnerships, community engagement, public affairs, social impact or business development. What matters most is that you know how to build relationships, create opportunities, carry a brand well, and turn activity into growth.

You will be comfortable moving between senior stakeholder engagement, external representation, programme delivery, sales conversations, community-based relationship building and practical follow-through.

You will not be waiting for a perfect brief. You will be proactive, self-directed and energised by building.

You will bring

Strong experience in partnerships, business development, external engagement or growth-focused roles

Confidence in selling, influencing and leading consultative commercial conversations

A strong understanding of one or more of the following sectors: skills, apprenticeships, employability, education, social impact or community engagement

The ability to represent an organisation confidently with senior leaders, employers, policymakers, community stakeholders and partners

Experience of building strategic relationships and turning them into tangible outcomes

A good grasp of policy, public affairs or stakeholder influence, particularly where it connects to education, skills, inclusion or employability

Experience of community-led engagement and an understanding of how trust and credibility are built across diverse communities

Strong organisational skills and the ability to create structure, focus and follow-through

Confidence in developing practical KPIs, tracking progress and using performance measures intelligently

A self-starting, growth-driven mindset with the confidence to get out there and make things happen

Particularly valuable

Understanding of the apprenticeships landscape and the wider skills and employability system

Experience in thought leadership, convening, campaigns, stakeholder forums or policy engagement

Experience using LinkedIn and external platforms to build profile, generate opportunities and strengthen influence

Existing networks across employers, providers, community organisations, local government or sector bodies

Lived experience or strong professional experience working with multicultural and underrepresented communities

What will make someone stand out

They are commercially sharp and mission-aligned

They are comfortable in rooms with senior people and credible in community spaces

They understand both influence and execution

They can build ecosystems, not just contacts

They bring opportunities rather than waiting for them

They are confident enough to lead externally and grounded enough to deliver internally

They have the energy, judgement and drive to go out and really build something

What makes this role exciting

This is a chance to help shape a growing national movement with real ambition. The role offers autonomy, visibility and room to build. You will help strengthen MASA's profile, expand its partnerships, influence key conversations and create opportunities that have real impact on underrepresented communities across England.

Working arrangements

Birmingham head office base, with flexibility to work from home where appropriate

Regular travel across England, typically 1-2 days per week depending on partnership and programme activity

Travel expenses covered

Occasional evening and weekend work for events, networking and external visibility