Senior Communities and Skills Manager | Design Council | London
Contract type: Permanent
Salary Band: Professional (Manager)
Salary range: £40,000 - £45,000
About this role
Our role as national strategic advisor for design is to champion the value of design and create the enabling conditions in which the design sector can achieve that value. Our current mission, Design for Planet, aims to support the 1.97m strong UK design community to design with the welfare of the planet at its heart.
At the centre of our work is a network of 450+ Design Council Ambassadors and Experts, – leading design experts based across the UK who help us advocate for the design sector, help produce thought-leadership; work with us to deliver our design programmes; and share their collective intelligence to create new tools and resources on best and next design practice with the wider design community.
This is a unique opportunity to curate, shape and lead a new engagement and knowledge-sharing strategy with some of the best designers in the country. This role will be responsible for building and managing our expert and ambassador networks; supporting them to advocate for and help create new knowledge around Design for Planet; and convening a regular community of practice workshops, talks, roundtables and events.
In addition, they will be responsible for managing the creation of digital content and learning formats for our new skills and innovation hub. They will commission and produce learning content and thought leadership in a range of formats such as films, podcasts, social media stories, essays, toolkits and resource libraries, to help up-skills designers in new practices, methods and contextual issues that relate to designing for planet.
The ideal candidate will be an exceptional relationship builder, community manager and collaborator. You will have a strong sense of how to translate new design practices, skills, tools and methods into accessible learning content in a range of formats and media. You will need an understanding of design, but might be from a related background such as curating, design history, community engagement or learning. You will need excellent communication and facilitation skills.
Does this sound like you?
Expert Knowledge and Qualifications
Academic or professional qualifications in a relevant discipline, or equivalent experience in community management, informal learning, and/or design.
Experience
Extensive professional experience working in community management, community engagement, delivering learning programmes, working in a membership organisation or similar.
Experience of producing learning content in a range of formats and media (e.g. blogs, learning papers, toolkits, workshops, resources).
Experience of curating and delivering events and workshops both in-person and online, and of facilitating talks, roundtables and events with a focus on design skills and learning.
Experience of using digital media to produce and deliver learning content and events.
Experience of working with different stakeholders and building relationships with senior leaders within and beyond an organisation.
Skills
Exceptional interpersonal skills, including the ability to negotiate with and build relationships with senior leaders in the design and a diverse range of practitioners.
Ability to quickly draw together, synthesise and distil a range of information into accessible and engaging learning content.
Ability to create toolkits, and also translate new insights into engaging and informative digital content.
Excellent communication and facilitation skills both written and verbal, with a demonstrable ability at being able to present insights in an engaging, concise and compelling way.
Strong networking, influencing and diplomacy skills used to raise the profile of the Design Council and our Ambassadors and Expert Network.
Ability to work collaboratively - building creative consensus, understanding diverse perspectives, and consulting and involving others internally and externally
Passionate and curious about contemporary design practices, tools and methods and sharing those with a wide range of audiences.
Good IT skills, including experience working with CRM and an advanced user of all Microsoft Platforms. Confidence in using programmes such as InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere Pro and in audio-recording desirable but not essential.
Be committed to championing our organisational values through their work: inspiring possibility, boundless curiosity, and powerful together.
Behaviours
Boundless Curiosity. Curious about engaging with a breath of designers to advocate our Design for Planet mission.
Inspire Possibility. Passionate about engaging and sharing design knowledge from the wider design environment.
Powerful Together. Inclusive and collaborative and supportive of others across the organisation.
How to apply
Submit your CV (at least 1 page, but no longer than 4 pages), a covering letter (at least 1 page, no longer than 2 pages), and links to at least 2 reports where you have been lead-author via the link.
The Design Council is fully committed to being a diverse and inclusive organisation. We welcome applications from everyone who meets the criteria. If you need any additional support, please do send an early alert to our email address below.
Further questions can be directed to Ishbel Allotey, HR Manager at the following email address: recruitment@designcouncil.org.uk but please note that submissions must be made via the link above.