Meet the team | Manchester Community Central

Image	Mike Wild (he/him) Chief Executive My role is to lead Macc, developing the role we play in the life of our city. I keep a watch on policy issues, speak up on behalf of our diverse, passionate and fantastic local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector and I am always working to build creative, collaborative relationships with a wide range of partners. I support our Trustees in ensuring Macc leads by example, lives by our values and, along with the rest of the VCSE sector, makes a real difference for all the communities of Manchester.
	Martin Preston (he/him) Deputy Chief Executive I am responsible for maintaining and developing Macc’s service portfolio including capacity building, volunteering, policy and influence work with local voluntary and community sector groups. Working closely with the Chief Executive, I help to maintain an overview of service planning, income generation, performance and quality processes and the monitoring of results and impact.

Office Team
	Angela Hampson (she/her) Finance Manager As a member of the Management Team, my role is to manage the finances across all areas of Macc's work covering everything from funding income to invoices and payroll. I provide regular reports for the Treasurer and the Board of Trustees and liaise with our auditors to complete our annual statement of accounts and audit.
	Pauline Clark (she/her) Office and Facilities Worker In my role, I oversee the running of the room hire and back office facilities. I buy resources for the office from a paper clip to a piece of furniture, or refreshments for the meeting rooms. Overseeing the day to day running of the reception area and Macc phone lines ensuring a warm welcome at the first point of contact with Macc. I undertake HR and some finance duties. Ensuring the office is in good order for staff to work in and also when visitors come to meet staff. Working closely with the Finance Manager and Deputy Chief Executive with regards to income generation for the organisation.
Image	Oliver Cranfield (he/him) Grants Development Worker As well as being involved with monitoring Macc’s voluntary, community and social enterprise sector support activities, I administer the grants programmes that we make available locally. We are currently distributing various funding from Manchester City Council and the Eric Wright Charitable Trust. Previously we have done so on behalf of Manchester Health and Care Commissioning, Sport England and 10GM. There are also Migrant Destitution Fund GM, Real Change MCR and our own Spirit of Manchester grants, which are all supported through public fundraising.

Policy and Influence Team
	Zara Hakobyan (she/her) Policy and Influence Manager Hello! I am Zara, the Policy and Influence Team Manager at Macc. With my background in researching human rights issues and managing projects within the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector, particularly in tackling food insecurity and health inequalities, my priority is to create a sustainable environment for positive change. From my experience collaborating with frontline organisations throughout Manchester, providing both emergency and ongoing support to local residents, I am strongly aware of the challenges within the VCSE sector. As Policy and Influence Manager, I am dedicated to bringing my skills and knowledge into the role to address both current and emerging needs of the diverse communities that make up Manchester. I am confident, that by working together to amplify the voices of our community, we can promote inclusive policies that prioritise fairness, transparency and consistency, and have a meaningful impact on the sector.
	Jessica Draper (she/her) GMOPN and Policy and Influence Trainee I hold a multi-departmental role across GMOPN, Policy and Influence, and 10GM. Within GMOPN, I help facilitate the Health and Social working group and associated research projects on health inequalities, as well as working within Mature Minds Matter. Within Policy and Influence, I work within a variety of social projects, including the Climate Action working group, the Menopause and Menstruation project, the Disability Collaborative group, Community Explorers Programme, and the Sanctuary Seekers group. Within 10GM, I work with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) on the Manchester Social Economy Alliance (MSEA) to help enact the E26 legislation.
	Emily McKinnell (she/her) Policy and Influence Development Worker Hi I’m Milly, a Policy and Influence worker at Macc. My work at Macc involves facilitating the GM Sanctuary Seekers Community Response Group meetings, and our Community Explorers meetings, and providing general admin support to the wider P&I team.
	Josephine McMeeking (she/her) Policy and Influence Development Worker Hi I'm Josie, a policy and influence worker at Macc. I work to support an inclusive social economy in Manchester. My role involves convening the Manchester Social Economy Alliance and assisting VCSE organisations in implementing the real living wage. I am deeply committed to gender equality and work with the Women's Homelessness Involvement Group within the Manchester Homelessness Partnership.

Capacity Building Team
	Sarah Whitelegg (she/her) Capacity Building Manager My role is to make sure that voluntary and community groups in Manchester know where they can access useful support and guidance to strengthen and develop their organisations. This can range from helping very new groups, to choosing the right structure and understanding good governance, to providing funding support, planning, policy development and asset transfer. I manage and support the Capacity Building Team to provide this help through our open training programme, bespoke training, communications and tailored one-to-one support for groups across the city and I manage the development and delivery of additional specific capacity building projects.
	Aneeqa Javed (she/her) Acting Collaboration Manager / Organisational Development Worker My role involves delivering training and supporting groups, with things such as; choosing the right structure and registration with the Charity Commission and Companies House, understanding good governance, funding support, business and strategic planning and policy development. Alongside my ODW role, I am currently job sharing with Zainab as, Acting Collaboration Team Manager. I support members of the team to collaborate and develop cross-sector partnerships, through practical projects such the Manchester Homelessness Partnership, Manchester's Violence Reduction Alliance, Migrant Destitution Fund and Business Partnerships.
	Jane Long (she/her) Organisational Development Worker I'm an Organisational Development Worker for the Capacity Building Team at Macc. My role is to help groups with a number of things which include helping to find funding, writing stronger applications for funding, guidance on governance and helping groups to register with the Charity Commission and Companies House. Also delivering training on funding your project, bid writing, choosing a structure, monitoring and evaluation and trustee roles and responsibilities.
	Helen Moore Start (she/her) Organisational Development Worker I'm an Organisational Development Worker for the Capacity Building Team at Macc, providing groups in Manchester with a range of support from structural and strategic development, to funding plans, policy development and monitoring and evaluation. Along with other development workers my role includes delivering training to local groups on funding your project, bid writing, choosing a structure, monitoring and evaluation and trustee roles and responsibilities. My background and are expertise lie in coordinating with volunteers, supporting refugee and migrant led groups, research and monitoring and evaluation. I am passionate about working with Manchester’s VCSE groups and helping them thrive.
	Ugonna Onyenankeya (he/him) Organisational Development Worker Trainee As a Trainee Organisational Development Worker for the Capacity Building Team at Macc, I support groups in navigating the intricacies of organisational growth. My responsibilities include assisting with funding searches, enhancing grant applications, providing guidance on governance, and aiding groups in their registration processes with the Charity Commission and Companies House. Additionally, I contribute to training sessions on project funding, bid writing, governance structure choices, monitoring and evaluation, and trustee roles and responsibilities.
	Katy Storey (she/her) VCSE Workforce Development Worker As Macc’s VSCE Workforce Development Worker, my role is to increase the support for our voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector workforce. This involves working on a wide variety of projects targeting: equality, diversity and inclusion; recruitment; cultivating talent; HR support; leadership development; and workforce wellbeing. I work closely with the 10GM project team as part of a new programme to support and develop capacity, capability and employment standards across the paid and voluntary VCSE workforce in GM. As such, I focus on workforce development both internally within Macc and externally throughout the sector.

Volunteering Team
	Jack Puller (he/him) Volunteering and Active Communities Manager My role is to oversee the delivery of Macc’s Active Communities Strategy by leading, supporting and collaborating on work, services and other projects to grow the range of opportunities for people to be active citizens in Manchester. I also manage Volunteer Centre Manchester, to ensure that its ongoing delivery and development is dynamic and responsive; for people that live, work and study in or visit Manchester, and for groups and organisations that involve volunteers.
	Alex Bluck Foster (she/they) Volunteering Development Worker Hi! I’m Alex, a Volunteering Development Worker here at Macc. My job is to promote volunteering across Manchester in lots of different ways. In the Volunteer Centre, I help people find volunteering that is right for them – through putting volunteering opportunities on our website and providing tailored support to people through phone calls or one-to-one meetings. I also help organisations find the volunteers they need. I advertise their roles on our website, give training on best-practice when involving volunteers, and facilitate networks where voluntary organisations can meet and discuss common issues. Overall, I am really passionate about the transformative effect that giving your time for free can have on our society, and love encouraging people to do so across Greater Manchester.
	Anushka Swannell (she/her), Volunteering Development Worker As a volunteer development worker, I support and promote volunteering across Manchester in a few different ways. Firstly, we help find volunteering roles for people based on their needs, aspirations and skills. This tailored support is delivered online, in person and over the phone. Secondly, I support organisations to develop and find volunteers that fit the role they are looking for. Additionally, as volunteer development workers it is important that we are always finding new, innovative ways to promote inclusive volunteering that is for everyone. I have also been doing a lot of work and research on identifying the gap in student volunteering in Greater Manchester, this has helped me work as a team to steer the conversation on how Manchester can really encourage and support our students. Ultimately, the heart and the best aspect of the job is helping the community of Manchester to find the best ways to use their free time and how no one is left behind in volunteering.

Older People's Network
Image	Liz Jones (she/her) Greater Manchester Older People’s Network Development Manager My role is to support the Greater Manchester Older People’s Network (GMOPN) to champion the voice of older people within policy, strategy and communities in Greater Manchester. The GMOPN is part of Ambition for Ageing, a programme designed to support older people who are experiencing loneliness and social isolation. I organise and deliver large-scale events on key policy areas such as health and transport, facilitate workshops and produce event reports and manifestos. I support our Action Group to achieve change by spreading the key messages and recommendations that have come from our consultations and workshops. I am supporting the network to grow and develop by implementing a training programme and offering various participation, consultation and partnership-working opportunities.
	John Mulvenna (he/him) Greater Manchester Older People's Equalities Panel Development Worker I have facilitated the Older People’s Equality Panel since the beginning of 2022. It has been really enjoyable to be involved in the recruitment of the panel and work closely with members, local communities and partner organisations to ensure that the voices of older people are joined to other voices seeking to reduce inequality across the region. Working closely with the GMOPN, I support the panel to ensure better representation of the varied experiences of older people, liaising with GM Ageing Hub and other GM Combined Authority organisations, the Integrated Care Partnership, local authorities and community groups so that the panel can increase their influence on decision-making and policy development.
Image	Sandra Bellamy (she/her) Greater Manchester Older People’s Network Administration Worker My role includes providing administrative support to the Greater Manchester Older People’s Network. I help to produce the GMOPN Newsletter, look after our twitter account and I’m here to answer any enquiries you have about the network. I also provide support to the GMOPN meetings.
	Sophie Webb (she/her) Greater Manchester Older People’s Network Mental Health Worker My role is to develop the Greater Manchester Older People's Mental Health Network, which will ensure the voice of older people with lived experience of mental health are involved in the co-production and re-design of mental health services across Greater Manchester, as part of the Community Mental Health Transformation. We will be joining up existing groups and networks also, to create a stronger voice for older people across Greater Manchester.

Collaboration Team
	Millie Brown (she/her) Collaboration Team Manager My role is to support collaboration and cross-sector partnership working, through practical projects such the Manchester Homelessness Partnership and Manchester's Violence Reduction Alliance. I manage the Collaboration Team, who also lead on developing partnerships with businesses (alongside the Volunteer Centre’s work on employee volunteering). My aim is to disrupt organisational silos; explore new forms of cross-sector partnership and community-led approaches; and connect with people who are developing different ways of working and thinking.
	Zainab Hashmi-Sattar (she/her) Acting Collaboration Manager I am currently job sharing the role of Acting Collaboration Manager with Aneeqa. My part of the role involves managing the Systems Leadership project with GM Moving, which is all about creating a network of people from different levels and places, working collaboratively around a shared vision to create change. I also manage our Collaboration Worker Trainee, and support our team to build a range of cross-sector collaborations across Manchester and within Macc. Alongside this role, I support Macc’s anti-racism work, and I will be working on a project looking at how we can better use data to ensure we are supporting Manchester’s VCSE sector.
	Val Bayliss-Brideaux (she/her), Network and Communications Worker – Manchester Homelessness Partnership My role is to facilitate and support communication and collective working between network members, as well as to connect the partnership with external organisations and individuals, to work together towards the aims of the Manchester Homelessness Charter. I’m keen to meet with people working in the sector across the city, and build on the involvement of organisations and people with lived experience of homelessness in the partnership. For further information visit our Manchester Homelessness Partnership website
	Omairia Bibi (she/her) Collaboration Team Trainee I am the Collaboration worker trainee at Macc and I provide general admin support to the Collaboration team, support Business partnerships, attend GM Sanctuary Seekers Community Response Group meetings and spend 50% of my time on facilitating and helping to organise the Greater Manchester Systems Leadership programme, in partnership with GreaterSport.
	Chris Moorhouse (he/him) Collaboration Worker I am part of the Collaboration Team at Macc. I have 6 years’ experience working in the VCSE sector working across different communities and localities. As part of my role for Macc, I will be working in partnership with the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (VRU). The VRU leads and supports a number of initiatives across Greater Manchester, that aim to prevent violence. For any more information regarding the VRU project please visit: https://gmvru.co.uk/
	Richard Phillips (he/him) Business Partnerships Lead My job is to help support the VCSE network in Manchester to work together with businesses in a mutually beneficial way whether this is related to income, use of in-kind donations such as knowledge expertise and resources, or in other ways.
	Will Wheeler (he/him) Migrant Destitution Fund Partnerships Lead The Greater Manchester Migrant Destitution Fund (MDF) supports people who are forced into destitution because of their immigration status. As Partnership Lead for MDF, I am involved in the operational management of the fund’s grants programme, as well as driving forward the fund’s long-term goals – enabling organisations working with people who are destitute to network, connect and problem solve in our response to destitution across the city region; building an evidence base about destitution across Greater Manchester and providing a platform for those facing destitution to speak out; and advocating for our long-term strategic goals to end destitution.
Membership Team
	Cheryl McAlister (she/her) Membership Team Manager My role is to develop, support and grow Macc membership ensuring it is responsive to members’ needs. With a focus on managing member relationships, I look to explore opportunities to connect and collaborate with members to build our membership into a supportive network. Overseeing the work of the membership team, we support our colleagues with the delivery of Macc events, communications and gathering of feedback whilst recognising and highlighting the amazing work of the sector.
	Jo d'Orville (she/her) Media and Marketing Worker My role is to help develop the growth of media skills among Macc members and local groups in order to support community media and storytelling efforts. I provide assistance in film production, editing, photography and content creation, all of which are tailored to meet the unique requirements of each organisation. Additionally, I collaborate closely with the Macc team to contribute to content production initiatives and marketing strategies.
	Michelle Foster (she/her) Communications Lead My role includes regularly updating the Manchester Community Central website and producing the weekly email bulletin. I also answer the telephone information line and respond to email enquiries.
	Conor Peart (he/him) Membership Worker My role involves communicating directly with existing and prospective members to understand how they can better connect with Macc and each other. I also keep an eye out for training opportunities in the VCSE sector in order to promote them both internally and externally.