Senior Programme Manager (contract)

Job Description

Senior Programme Manager (Contract) - Magic Me

Location: Bethnal Green, E2, East London
Salary: £46,000 per annum, pro rata (equivalent to £27,600 for 3 days per week)
Contract Duration: 12 Months (November 2025 - October 2026)
Working Hours: 3 days per week (21 hours)
Reporting to: Creative Director (Co-CEO)

About Magic Me

At Magic Me, we envision a world without ageism, where everyone can express their creativity and reach their full potential. Our mission is to inspire change – for individuals, communities, and systems – through impactful art, fostering connections between . For over three decades, we've pioneered intergenerational arts practices, creating innovative projects in the vibrant borough of Tower Hamlets, east London, and leading the way in creative care home work across London and Essex. Our work transcends social boundaries, addresses isolation, and builds valuable community connections.

The Role

This is an exceptional 12-month contract opportunity for a Senior Programme Manager passionate about driving impactful change and fostering intergenerational connections within an evolving, inclusive organisation. You will be instrumental in ensuring the seamless continuity and high-quality delivery of our respected intergenerational and care home arts programme during a period of organisational evolution. This is an exciting moment to contribute significantly to our mission under new co-CEO leadership.

You are an experienced programme leader, comfortable taking comprehensive ownership of an artistic programme that includes multiple projects across diverse contexts. Driven by a strong passion for co-creation, you bring significant expertise from senior project management or producer roles within the participatory/community arts sector. You excel at cultivating strong, authentic relationships with community and non-arts organisations, artists, and participants, ensuring collaborative and effective delivery. With a proven track record in socially engaged practice and direct line management, you are adept at navigating changing environments and possess excellent communication skills that build and maintain vital connections. Your dedication to Magic Me's mission and the transformative power of intergenerational arts is clearly evident.

Key Responsibilities

As Senior Programme Manager, you will be responsible for:

Programme Oversight & Leadership:

• Providing oversight of the full year creative programme, ensuring high-quality delivery and effective integration of individual projects.
• Collaborating with the Creative Director on the design and management of the overall programme budget.
• Managing staff and artist capacity, ensuring appropriate support during peak delivery times.
• Coordinating the overall programme timeline and maintaining the balance of creative output and artforms.
• Directly guiding project ideas from conceptualisation to planning, ready for handover to Project Managers.
• Developing project pilots into longer-term plans and partnerships.

Team Leadership & Mentorship:

• Supporting the introduction of Magic Me's new organisational structure and ensuring clear ways of working.
• Line-managing two Project Managers, fostering a supportive environment, leading performance reviews, and prioritising their development.
• Collaborating with the Creative Director to ensure robust succession plans for the programme team.
• Providing direct mentorship to a designated Project Manager, focusing on project practice and delivering the internal succession plan for the SPM role.

Project Practice & Frameworks:

• Taking responsibility for implementing effective ways of working and improvements within the Programme Team.
• Supporting the development and ensuring effective operation within Magic Me's Project Management Framework.
• Overseeing and undertaking appropriate evaluation of Magic Me projects, adhering to the ACE Impact & Insight framework.

Partnership & Artist Relationships:

• Holding and nurturing key partner and artist relationships.
• In collaboration with the Creative Director, making decisions regarding artist involvement in projects.
• Undertaking networking, research, and engagement to identify and establish potential arts and non-arts partners and participants.

See our person specification within the job pack for further details. 

Our Offer & Benefits

• Salary: Top of band 3: £46,000 per annum, pro rata (equivalent to £27,600 for 3 days per week).
• ​Holiday: 25 days and bank holidays (pro-rata) + days between Christmas & New Year. We are also trialling an additional week of leave during August 2024 and 2025, which may be offered in 2026 if successful.
• Other benefits: 3% pension contribution, flexible working negotiable, hybrid working negotiable, weekly 1:1 wellbeing meetings, £300 personal development budget.

We actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including those from minoritised communities and disabled candidates, as we strive to build a team that reflects the rich tapestry of the communities we serve. We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates who identify as men, who are D/deaf or Disabled, or those from the Bengali community - all of whom are currently underrepresented on our team.

Why Join Magic Me Now?

This is a truly exciting moment to join Magic Me as we embark on our next stage of evolution, transitioning to a dynamic Co-CEO model. This Senior Programme Manager role is absolutely essential in supporting this transition, particularly by nurturing our programme team and contributing to our internal succession plans. You'll be stepping into a diverse and impactful programme, ranging from creating award-winning films like Her Story, Our Inspiration and engaging intergenerational projects with local communities and schools such as Creative Mix, to pioneering initiatives like Spark which trains care home staff in leading sensory-based arts activities. In 2026, you'll also be involved in a flagship exhibition project with Wellcome, showcasing our unique approach to a wide audience. Your work will be vital in shaping our future: in 2025/26, we will be drafting a new three-year strategy, and the projects and insights from this role will directly influence those plans.

How to Apply

If you're passionate about our mission and ready to take on this exciting role, we'd love to hear from you! For an informal chat about the position, feel free to reach out to us directly.

Applications are open until 9 am on September 3rd.

Interview Process:

• First-stage interviews (online): Thursday, 11th September.
• Second-stage interviews (in person at our Pott Street base): Thursday, 18th September (candidates will be asked to prepare a task).
• Outcome notification: By Friday, 19th September.
• Planned start date: Monday, 3rd November.