Community Development Worker

Action Together; Manchester; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Assured membership

Employee assistance programme

Professional development

Cycle and tech loan schemes

Company pension scheme

Job summary

Action Together in Manchester seeks a friendly Community Development Worker to help run our Community and Family Hub, engaging families, volunteers and local partners. You will help deliver activities, support frontline services and develop new provisions with volunteers.

You will keep records, assist with bookings, and collaborate with teams to ensure inclusive, safeguarding-focused services for diverse communities.

Qualifications

• A sense of humour and an authentic, caring nature with plenty of initiative.
• Good organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Energy and adaptability to handle the unexpected.
• Confident talking to people from all walks of life and building warm relationships.
• Experience of face-to-face care/support/services/programmes.
• Ability to manage bookings, follow up enquiries and keep records.
• Clear written and verbal communication with the public, colleagues and partners.
• Proven experience in outreach or encouraging non-users to engage with services.
• Experience working with families/parents with children.
• Experience supporting adults or families with information, advice or forms.
• Experience gathering feedback and measuring activity impact.
• Experience running a community space or coordinating room bookings.

Responsibilities

• Help deliver welcoming community activities and services for adults and families.
• Deliver light touch forms/advice sessions.
• Develop new provision alongside volunteers.
• Engage with the community and local partners to widen activity at Manchester Settlement.
• Listen to community voices and shape centre activities.
• Support and encourage volunteers to contribute their skills.
• Build strong relationships with partners using our spaces.
• Increase partnerships to broaden services available from the hub.
• Be a welcoming presence and assist with day-to-day delivery.
• Keep records of activity, participation and feedback to show impact.

Skills

Sense of humour

Caring nature

Initiative

Organisational skills

People communication

Teamwork

Listening

Digital literacy

Problem solving

Community development

Equality & inclusion

Safeguarding knowledge

Outreach experience

Family/child work

Feedback collection

Venue management

Local support services knowledge

Tools

Email

Online calendars

Spreadsheets

Job description

We're looking for a brilliant, warm all-rounder who will thrive in our busy Community and Family Hub. Someone who enjoys building relationships, has good organisational skills and is happy to get involved wherever they are needed.

The Community Development Worker plays a vital role in making our community hub a vibrant, welcoming and well-used space, combining hands-on community centre service delivery with practical coordination. You'll engage with families( and their children) and community members, support volunteers and help deliver our frontline community activities. You'll also drive our wish to increase the range of activity provided by other organisations from our centre, support the day-to-day running of the centre and maintain strong relationships with local partners and organisations using our spaces.

You'll be an approachable presence around the centre, helping people feel welcome and supporting the groups and organisations delivering services here. You'll enjoy keeping track of practical arrangements, following up enquiries and working with colleagues to resolve everyday issues.

Your role will include:

• Helping deliver welcoming community activities and services with adults and families that respond to local needs.
• Delivering form filling / light touch advice sessions
• Developing new types of provision that you may run along side volunteers
• Getting out into the community, building relationships and encouraging more people to get involved with Manchester Settlement.
• Listening to community voices and helping local people shape what happens at the centre.
• Supporting and encouraging volunteers to contribute their skills, build confidence and get involved in delivering sessions
• Building strong relationships with partners and supporting organisations using our spaces.
• Increasing and improving partnerships with organisations that can deliver an increasing range services and activities from our community hub
• Being a welcoming presence around the centre and helping with the practicalities of day-to-day delivery.
• Keeping records of activity, participation and feedback to help demonstrate the difference our work makes.

Wednesdays and Thursdays will be important working days, when you'll provide regular support and cover for our community services. Access to a car is essential on Thursdays.

You'll need:

• A sense of humour
• An authentic, caring nature Plenty of initiative
• Good organisational skills and attention to detail
• Energy and the ability to roll with the unexpected
• Confidence talking to people from all walks of life
• A willingness to muck in, whatever the task
• Experience of working face to face with people in providing caring support/ services/programmes
• Able to build warm, trusting relationships with people from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures.
• A good listener who helps people share their ideas and get involved.
• Able to communicate clearly with the public, colleagues and partners, in person and in writing.
• Well organised: able to manage bookings, follow up enquiries, keep accurate records and prioritise in a busy setting.
• Confident using email, online calendars, spreadsheets and other digital tools.
• Able to use your initiative to solve everyday problems, working on your own and as part of a team.
• An understanding of community development: building on people's strengths and ideas.
• An understanding of the inequalities people in our community face, and a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• An understanding of safeguarding, confidentiality and professional boundaries, including when and how to report concerns.
• Experience of outreach or encouraging people who don't usually use services to get involved.
• Experience working with families/ parents alongside their children.
• Experience of supporting adults or families, including giving information, advice or help with forms.
• Experience of gathering feedback and recording the difference activities make.
• Experience of running a community space, co-ordinating room bookings or working with partner organisations.
• Knowledge of local support services, trauma-informed practice or food safety.

Other requirements

• Available to work on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with occasional evenings and weekends.
• A full UK driving licence and access to an insured vehicle on Thursdays to collect food supplies. If this is a barrier because of a disability, please talk to us about reasonable adjustments.
• An Enhanced DBS check and other safer recruitment checks (identity, right to work, employment history and references). We will arrange the DBS check.
• Closing Date: Monday 9th November 2026 at 12:00pm
• Closing Time: 9AM
• Employee Benefits: Membership of Health Assured - Employee Assistance Programme.Ongoing professional development.Cycle and tech loan schemes.Company pension scheme
• Working Pattern Details: 1 year fixed - with the potential for extension
  Monday - Friday
  Wednesdays and Thursdays will be important working days, when you'll provide regular support and cover for our community services. Access to a car is essential on Thursdays.
• Would You Consider A Job Share For The Role?: Yes