Walworth Living Room Programme Manager

The Walworth Living Room Programme Manager is a new role at Pembroke House. We want to build a space that can operate like a living room for the local community: that is public and yet familiar, and that can inspire new relationships between residents and partners in Walworth – a crucial new model of social infrastructure in an area of the city where places to gather are becoming more scarce (see the whole background below).

You will be responsible for bringing the Walworth Living Room back to life after the pandemic, leading the transition out of an emergency food distribution hub and opening a community space that contains a large open-access social space, lively community cafe, activities, community and public services, and rentable work/activity spaces.

Working under the supervision of the Director of Programmes, you will develop and lead the team who will be responsible for building the working model of the Walworth Living Room, ensuring that it meets its aspirations safely and sustainably.

This is an opportunity to play a key role at Pembroke House during an exciting and challenging period of development for the organisation. The post would suit candidates who are experienced in the community sector or those from other sectors looking for a unique opportunity to bring their skills into a neighbourhood setting. Whatever your background you must be willing to work flexibly with the community and let your best-laid plans and assumptions be challenged along the way.

Pembroke House actively seeks and encourages applications from candidates from diverse backgrounds. We encourage applications from eligible candidates from a BAME background and from people who live locally.

Please go to https://www.pembrokehouse.org.uk/jobs/ for more information and to apply.

The person we appoint to this role will be convinced that there are incredible things that can be unleashed when people are given the opportunity to connect as equals – whether that’s over a cup of tea and some cake, or a shared neighbourhood project. You’ll be steadfast in your belief that we need more places that can act like Living Rooms for the community, and you will be eager to play a central role in building this programme. You will also believe strongly in the potential of food to bring joy to people and situations, to celebrate life and connection, and to soften difficult situations and conversations.

You will bring a breadth of experience to the role that may well be in fields beyond the traditional community sector – maybe that’s in food, the arts, health or even urban design – but whatever your background, you will be eager to bring this experience to bear on a project that is rooted in Walworth as we recover from the pandemic.

You will bring an inquisitive mind and a real passion for getting stuck in. You won’t be too proud to pick up a mop at the end of the day but you’ll also know that we need to put the right systems in place to make a public building work smoothly and safely over the longer-term.

You will be a generous leader, who is able to bring out the best in the people around you to meet your shared ambitions. You will be passionate about learning and be willing to listen just as much as you talk. You’ll want to zoom into the real detail of staff plans and budget spreadsheets and then to zoom out and explore the significance of places like the Walworth Living Room in wider debates and public policy.

Above all, you will be able to really drive things forward, adapting flexibly to changes to the context and content of particular plans along the way, while managing to deliver your core goals effectively and efficiently. You will be used to working in environments with complex and competing demands on your time, and you’ll be able to keep a clear focus on what really needs to be done – and when – in order to take a project to the next level and bring key people along with you.

Please go to https://www.pembrokehouse.org.uk/jobs/ for more information and to apply.

Pembroke House is a centre for social action and residential community in Walworth, south-east London. We were founded in 1885, by students from Pembroke College, Cambridge, as one of the first settlement houses. Shocked by growing poverty and inequality, the pioneers of the settlement movement sought a new approach: taking up residence to live, work and solve problems alongside local communities. The solutions they developed have had a profound impact, including inspiring the architects of the modern welfare state.

Pembroke House is one of the only settlements to retain its founding elements: residency, halls for community activities and chapel (now the separate Parish Church of St Christopher’s, Walworth that shares our building). For over 130 years, we’ve been working to bridge traditional divides and unite people – whatever their background or walk of life – in building a better Walworth.

Please go to https://www.pembrokehouse.org.uk/jobs/ for more information and to apply.