L&D Programme Coordinator
Who are we?
We are Manchester Students’ Union, the biggest SU in the country, supporting over 48,000 students throughout their time at university. We help to make student life the best it can be by supporting students to campaign for change, creating opportunities to meet new people, providing employment opportunities, providing advice and support and being a safe place on campus.
We are a values-centred organisation that employs around 90 permanent, full-time members of staff. We recruit a wide range of roles throughout the year within all our departments from our Commercial team operating Manchester Academy Venues, 13 Media, Bar 532 & Kitchen and Corridor Coffee to our Student Activities, Student Engagement, Marketing and Communications, Finance, HR and Facilities teams. Our team of around 400 part-time, studying staff are instrumental in providing to support to all departments as well as leading major projects like Student Angels. When you join UMSU, you’ll be immersed in an environment that empowers staff to make great things happen and we're always on the lookout for innovative, passionate, and proactive people to join us.
Our values are really important to us and shape the work that we do every day. As part of our recruitment process, we want you to demonstrate how your experiences, behaviours and skills align with our values. You can find more detailed explanations of our values on our website.
About the role
Help shape the next generation of student leaders by equipping them with the confidence, skills and mindset to navigate difference, foster belonging and lead meaningful conversations across our diverse student community.
We're looking for an enthusiastic and proactive L&D Programme Coordinator to join our People Team and lead the delivery of an exciting new Constructive Dialogue Leadership Development Programme. This flagship initiative will support student leaders to engage respectfully across different beliefs, identities and lived experiences while building essential leadership skills for life, work and citizenship.
As Programme Coordinator, you will play a central role in designing, delivering and evaluating a pilot programme that will engage up to 150 student leaders during its first year. Working alongside colleagues, students, University partners and external facilitators, you will help create an innovative learning experience that strengthens inclusive leadership, communication, critical thinking and conflict navigation skills.
About Us
As one of the UK's largest Students' Unions, we exist to empower students to shape their university experience, build communities and develop the skills they need to thrive. Our People Team is responsible for creating impactful development opportunities for students and staff, helping individuals grow their confidence, capability and leadership potential.
About the Role
The Programme Coordinator will coordinate all aspects of programme delivery, from participant recruitment and communications through to workshop coordination, evaluation and impact reporting. You will support the delivery of training, leadership development workshops and peer learning opportunities while ensuring students have an engaging and inclusive experience throughout the programme.
Alongside the Constructive Dialogue programme, the Programme Coordinator will contribute to the wider work of the People Team, supporting initiatives such as graduate development programmes, leadership development opportunities and development programmes for student staff.
We're looking for someone who can bring:
- Experience coordinating projects, programmes, events or development activities.
- Strong organisational and project management skills.
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
- Confidence working with diverse groups and creating inclusive environments.
- Experience gathering feedback, evaluating activity and producing reports.
- A genuine interest in student development, leadership and community building.
- The ability to work collaboratively while taking ownership of key areas of responsibility.
Experience within higher education, students' unions, volunteering, youth work, learning and development, facilitation or leadership development would be advantageous but is not essential.
What We Offer
Job Title: L&D Programme Coordinator
Salary: £25,360-£27,553
Contract: Fixed-term internship/project role (12 months from start date)
Location: Usually located at the main Students’ Union Building, with an option to work some hours remotely
Hours: 35 hours per week
Eligibility: Open to applicants with relevant skills and experience who are eligible to work in the UK and are a recent graduate i.e. graduated from a UK University between June 2025 and October 2026.
This is a fantastic opportunity for a motivated Programme Coordinator to shape a new and innovative leadership development programme from the ground up, generate meaningful impact for students and contribute to building a more connected and inclusive campus community.
If you're passionate about developing people, creating positive learning experiences and helping students build the skills to lead across difference, we'd love to hear from you.
Please read the full role profile before applying, as well as our guide to recruitment.
Our Reward Package
You'll get access to our reward package which you can see here.
Recruitment Guide
We have a guide that explains our full recruitment process. We recommend reading through this before beginning an application.
If you are invited to interview with us, we will share our interview questions in advance so you can prepare your responses. We’re more interested in hearing about your experiences and ideas than in testing your memory, and so we want you to feel as prepared as possible.
AI Use
GenAI tools, like ChatGPT, are revolutionising how we approach a whole host of tasks at work. As a future-focused employer, we believe in embracing, not banning, these tools. However, as with all tech, some ways of using it are better than others. You can use GenAI to refine and articulate your ideas. It’s a tool to help structure your thoughts and improve clarity, not to replace your unique voice and experiences. Please don’t just copy and paste what AI tells you to write.
We recommend you read our guide on how to approach the use of AI within our recruitment process:
Inclusivity and Accessibility
We are committed to equality of opportunity, and we work hard to ensure we appoint based on skill and values.
We particularly encourage applications from Disabled or Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African candidates as these groups are currently underrepresented in our staff team.
If you have any accessibility requirements or require adjustments to support you to apply to work with us, please get in touch. We can offer reasonable adjustments at all stages of our recruitment process.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. Under this scheme, we aim to offer an interview to candidates who declare a disability and meet the minimum essential criteria for the role. Minimum criteria are marked with an asterisk on the person specification. However, during periods of exceptionally high application volumes or peak recruitment times (i.e. July, August and September), it may not always be possible to guarantee an interview for every eligible candidate. In such cases, we will take steps to ensure that the process remains fair, consistent, and inclusive.
Recruitment Timeline
Applications opened: 13/10/2026
Applications close: 30/10/2026 23:59
Interviews: 16/11/2026
Role Commencing: 30/11/2026
We may close applications early if we receive a high volume of applications. We recommend that you apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Once the vacancy has closed, we’re unable to accept late applications to ensure a fair process for all candidates.
Once you have submitted your application, you will not be able to make any further changes. Please ensure you are happy with your responses before submitting.
Contact
People Team:
You can contact the People Team with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.
Email: jobs.su@manchester.ac.uk
Phone: 0161 306 3279
Hiring Manager:
You can contact the hiring manager with any questions regarding this vacancy or our recruitment process.
Email: ellen.sharkey@manchester.ac.uk