Purpose of the role
This is a genuine development opportunity for someone at an early stage of their career. You'll be part of a team working to strengthen Manchester's voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, supporting projects that help communities to thrive, have a voice, and shape the decisions that affect them.
The role involves administrative and project support work, but it's designed to be more than that:
You'll attend meetings and events, get to know the organisations and communities Manchester Community Central works with and contribute to how we communicate and share what we learn.
We want you to leave this role with new skills, broader knowledge and a stronger sense of where you want to go next.
The specific projects you'll support will be confirmed on appointment and will reflect Manchester Community Central's current priorities. You'll have a named line manager and access to Manchester Community Central's Support and Accountability offer to help you grow and develop throughout your time with us.
We welcome applications from people who are new to the sector. You don't need prior experience of community development or public policy — what matters is curiosity, commitment, good organisational skills and a genuine interest in Manchester's communities.
Salary: £25,573 per year
Hours: 35 hours per week — flexi-time system with core hours 10am–3pm
Location: St Thomas Centre, Manchester, with working from home flexibility
Contract: Fixed term to March 2029
Reporting to: [To be confirmed on appointment]
Deadline: Rolling recruitment. Applications received by 6 October 2026 will be reviewed together as the first round.
We're looking for someone who's curious, organised and genuinely interested in making a difference in Manchester's communities. You don't need a long CV or years of experience – this role is designed for someone at the start of their career who wants to learn, develop and contribute to work that matters.
Day to day, you'll be supporting projects and programmes across Manchester Community Central, helping organise meetings and events, keeping records accurate, writing up notes and helping teams communicate their work. That side of the role is important – and doing it well matters – but we also want someone who'll bring more than task completion: someone who pays attention, asks questions and is interested in understanding the bigger picture of what we're trying to achieve.
You'll be working with a wide range of people – community organisations, public bodies, colleagues across Manchester Community Central – so being a good communicator and a natural team player will help. You don't need to be an expert but you do need to be the kind of person who takes pride in doing things properly and is willing to keep learning.
We care about inclusion in how we work and in who we work with. We're looking for someone who's open-minded and comfortable engaging with people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences and who understands why that matters.
This role will suit someone who sees it as a genuine opportunity, not just a job. We'll invest in your development, give you real exposure to the breadth of our work, and support you to build skills and knowledge that will serve you well in whatever comes next.
How to apply
If you’re excited by this role and believe you can bring to it the skills and passion we’re looking for, we’d love to hear from you! Here’s how our recruitment process works:
1: Application Form
Attached with this pack is a short application form in which we ask you for some basic details and a few questions about your skills, knowledge and relevant experience. There is also an equalities monitoring form with simple questions and a privacy statement which we ask you to confirm you have read. Once you’ve completed the form, please email it to: rabia@macc.org.uk
We acknowledge all applications by email (or post if email is not available) within 2 working days of receipt. If you don’t receive an acknowledgement, please contact us as soon as possible: if you haven’t heard from us, we may not have received your application.
2: Rolling Recruitment
We have a number of vacancies of this kind at present, so we will be running a rolling recruitment process. This means that instead of a single closing date, we will review applications in rounds as they come in.
Applications received by 6 October 2026 will be reviewed together as the first round. Interviews for this first round are scheduled for 23 October 2026. If we do not appoint from this round, we will keep the vacancy open and review further applications every 10 working days thereafter.