Outreach Programme Leader

Mayflower; Southampton; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Mayflower invites applications for an Outreach Programme Leader to join our Participation team, leading an engaging arts outreach programme and building relationships with local communities. The role focuses on co-constructed projects and ensuring the community voice remains central throughout delivery.

Regular travel around the local area is required, including visits to New Forest, Gosport and the Isle of Wight.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years' experience delivering multi-partner projects in arts or community settings.
• Proven ability to build and maintain diverse community partnerships.
• Experience of co-constructed project design with communities.
• Strong knowledge of Southampton’s community landscape.
• Experience recruiting and supporting freelance teams.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain relationships with community groups facing barriers to arts engagement.
• Deliver a varied, arts-based engagement programme and co-constructed projects.
• Oversee Community First Nights to improve regular access to live theatre.
• Line manage the Participation Assistant.

Skills

Project management

Community engagement

Budget management

Reporting

Stakeholder relationships

Line management

Job description

We have an exciting opportunity for an individual to join our busy, friendly Participation team, leading our Outreach programme. The Outreach Programme Leader will be responsible for building and maintaining relationships with our local communities, with a focus on those who face barriers to arts engagement. You will use a co-constructed project approach to ensure our community’s voice is at the centre of our Outreach programme. This role will involve regular travel across the local area, including some travel to our local Priority Places; New Forest, Gosport and Isle of Wight.

The role will be offered based on a permanent, full-time contract and will include regular weekends and evenings.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Building and maintaining relationships with a variety of community groups who face barriers to arts engagement
• Delivering a varied arts-based engagement programme, including a vibrant community focused visual arts programme and co-constructed arts projects
• Overseeing the running of our Community First Nights scheme to help communities regularly access live theatre
• Line management of the Participation Assistant

Our ideal applicant will have:

Essential qualities:

• At least 2 years' experience of project managing multi-partner projects in an arts or community setting, including budget management and reporting
• Successful track record in leading, building and maintaining relationships with a variety of community groups, developing groups from first point of contact to long term partners.
• Experience of co-constructed project design with communities, with an understanding of the challenges faced by small scale or grassroots organisations operating within the charity, arts or VCSE sectors.
• Strong knowledge of Southampton’s community landscape.
• Experience of recruiting, leading and supporting freelance teams.
• Experience of Line Management

Desirable qualities:

• Experience in facilitating arts-based workshops.
• Training in inclusive practice models.
• Knowledge of the arts and community landscape in our local Priority Places (Isle of Wight, New Forest and Gosport).
• Experience of working in arts venue settings.

Mayflower is committed to safeguarding - protecting young people and adults with needs for care and support. As such, any roles involving any type of regulated activity with young people and adults with needs for care and support are subject to a safer recruitment process, including Enhanced DBS clearance before taking up the role along with the collection of references. We ensure that we have a range of policies and procedures in place which promote safeguarding, diversity & inclusion and safer working practice across Mayflower.

We understand that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to assist with their application. If you do, we kindly encourage you to keep the following in mind:

• Let your personality shine through: AI-generated responses can sometimes feel generic or impersonal. Your application is a chance to showcase your unique experiences, skills, and enthusiasm—make sure your voice comes through clearly.
• Show your genuine interest: A personal touch can make a big difference. Applications that reflect your own words and motivations often stand out more and help us get to know you better.
• Be accurate and honest: It’s important that all information you provide is truthful and genuinely reflects your background and experience.
• Prepare for the next steps: If your application relies heavily on AI, it may be harder to speak confidently about your experiences during interviews. We want you to feel prepared and authentic throughout the process.

We are committed to ensuring a fair process for all candidates. For more details, please see our Diversity and Inclusion statement on our website’s jobs and opportunities page on the link above.

If you require any assistance or have any additional requirements to complete your application with the recruitment process, please contact the People & Culture Team at or on 02380 711800 ext. 0. You can also contact us with any further questions you may have.

Interviews will be held week commencing: 5th November 2026

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role.