Project Manager – Northern Futures at Groundwork NE & Cumbria

Contract Type: Fixed term

Role Type: Employment

Hours: Full time

Application deadline: Tuesday, March 17, 2026 - 23:59

Based: Gateshead

Salary: £36,849 to 41,234 Per Annum

Salary Type: Salary Scale

Location: Regionwide

Role description: Manager

Job Title:                 Project Manager – Northern Futures

Salary:                     £36,849 - £41,234 per annum

Hours:                         37 hours per week 

Location:                    Lobley Hill (programmes operate across the North East of England) 

About us

Groundwork NE & Cumbria is a long‑established environmental and community charity with over 30 years of experience creating greener, healthier and more resilient places across the region. Our mission centres on Creating Better Places, Improving People’s Prospects, and Promoting Greener Living, helping communities thrive no matter the challenges they face. 

We deliver hundreds of locally‑led projects each year, including initiatives that support young people into education, training and employment, helping them overcome barriers, build life skills, and reach their full potential.

About the role 

Working closely with the Youth Programmes Manager, you will lead interdisciplinary teams to achieve performance, quality and compliance targets, ensuring the smooth and effective delivery of high‑quality services to beneficiaries. Using strong project management practice, you will motivate and enable your team, driving contract compliance and supporting continuous improvement.

This role focuses exclusively on the Northern Futures programme supporting 18–24‑year‑olds who are economically inactive and living with physical or mental health conditions, helping them gain meaningful work experience and receive personalised 1‑to‑1 support from Employment Coaches as they move towards employment, education or training.

You will also play a key role in developing the programme by identifying, applying for and managing smaller community‑focused projects that enhance support for participants and strengthen the wider impact of Northern Futures.

You will work solely on the Northern Futures programme, funded by North East Combined Authority 

This role is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure endorsed by the Disclosure and Barring Service.  

About you 

We’re looking for someone who:

- Has strong project management experience, ideally within employability, youth services, community development or similar sectors.

- Thrives in a fast-paced environment and is confident making decisions under pressure.

- Has excellent relationship-building, leadership and communication skills.

- Understands compliance, performance management and quality assurance.

- Can inspire and enable teams to deliver high-quality services.

- Brings a passion for supporting young people to overcome barriers and achieve their potential.

A full driving licence and the ability to work flexible hours when required would be beneficial.

For more information on the role, or for an informal discussion please contact Mary Blackwell (Youth Programme Manager) on 07930 330725 or mary.blackwell@groundwork.org.uk 

Want to apply?

Great.  All you need to do is complete the application form on our website

Project Manager – Northern Futures - Groundwork

All completed applications should be emailed to HR.NorthEast@groundwork.org.uk

Closing date:  Noon on Tuesday 17th March 2026

Make yourself at home:

We want you to be yourself at Groundwork and we value everything that makes you unique. We recognise and celebrate your difference and together we make Groundwork a special and great place to work. As a Disability Confident employer we offer a guaranteed interview to applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria for the role.  

At Groundwork we ensure that we provide a safe environment for adults, children and young people to take part in any activity or service that we organise. We are committed to creating a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk. Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and comprehensive process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all the people we appoint are suitable to work with our children, young people and adults 

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship – the successful applicant will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK in order to be offered an employment contract.

We reserve the right to close this advert at any time.