Community Participation Manager

Waltham Forest saw a remarkable response from our communities during our pandemic. New groups we formed, voluntary sector organisations adapted formed and over 4000 resident volunteers came forward. The Council wants to ensure a new Communities function builds on the joint legacies of Waltham Forest’s Connected Communities Programme and our community response during the pandemic. You will lead to the establishment of even stronger community relationships with participation and engagement at its core.

You will be expected to lead the development and delivery of strategically important projects and programmes, working with change, comms and digital colleagues across the council and with partners. An example of a key programme of work is the implementation of our pioneering Citizen Assembly’s recommendations on ending hate incidences in the Waltham Forest.

The successful applicant will have a positive, can-do attitude and approach to supporting the council to deliver their priorities. 

You will have demonstrable experience of leadership and management skills – driving projects and programmes, leading through change, building networks and relationships and managing a small but highly skilled team to maximise their talents and ambitions.

You will have excellent written and oral communication skills, and the ability to work creatively and positively to find solutions to problems. You will be resilient, highly motivated and able to work with agility in a pressurised political environment. You will be confident, open and outgoing in order to build lasting relationships across the Council and externally. 

You will have experience of working in a strategic or leadership role working with the voluntary sector and community groups.  You will be experienced in working with politicians and senior leaders. You will have research, analysis, interpretation and evaluation experience, as well as of writing reports and briefings to a high standard is also an advantage.

If you are a committed leader, with drive and enthusiasm we would love to hear from you.

Waltham Forest

Waltham Forest is an ambitious Borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities and increase social cohesion.  As London’s first Borough of Culture, we are creating more opportunities to empower our residents and boost their life chances.

Our ambition is to ensure all of our residents can enjoy a good quality of life. We are working at pace to embed our Creating Futures corporate strategy and creating a new strategy considering the current pandemic with communities at the heart which will set the direction for the decade to come.  Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally-driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

We are looking for the right people to make this a reality and with the Council’s strong track record of providing a variety of career pathways, this is an exciting opportunity not to be missed. For an informal discussion about the role, please email Jonathan Lloyd, Head of Strategy and Design at Jonathan.Lloyd@walthamforest.gov.uk

Equal Opportunities

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population.

We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace.

The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives contained within the Waltham Forest Council Equality Plan 2012/2015:

• Promoting equality of opportunity.
• Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage
• Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels.
• Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all.
• Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.