Community Development Manager

Community Development Manager

Based Aldershot

Monday to Friday, 0900-1730

My client, a residential property business with a focus on changing the rental experience, is seeking a community engagement/community development practitioner who has a track record of working with local communities. Experience could have been gained through a community development or neighbourhood management role in local government, housing, regeneration or the third sector. Familiarity with the local area is preferable. This critical hire will enable the development to become a flourishing and sustainable community, which supports local wellbeing, and is a thriving new part of Aldershot. This role ensures the community is well integrated with Aldershot's town centre and surrounding, established neighbourhoods, and to ensure that new community facilities and green spaces are widely used by everyone living and working in Aldershot.

The Role

• Communications and community/stakeholder relations - ensuring residents, local businesses and key stakeholders are well-informed about development milestones, news and community events & project, and opportunities to get involved in shaping decisions about new community facilities such as the Neighbourhood Centre.

• PR and Marketing Campaigns - Creating a sense of place, including the planning and delivering local communication campaigns about the project and works associated. Including use of social media, local press, events and the use of any other appropriate methods.

• Community engagement and development projects - working with residents, commercial tenants, existing local community organisations and key stakeholders, to develop and support innovative projects that create a strong sense of community and identity. This will involve outreach work to enable residents, community organisations and commercial tenants to put forward ideas and participate in developing proposals and projects.

• Interim-use strategy - an important part of the community engagement work will be working with residents and local stakeholders to develop an interim-use strategy and programme of temporary community projects to bring the community to life and make best use of the site throughout the development timetable.

• Community consultation - planning and managing initiatives to ensure that residents in surrounding communities and key local stakeholders are informed and involved in planning for future phases of development, such as the Neighbourhood Centre.

• Supporting community cohesion - supporting residents to develop community groups, social networks, events and local projects that will bring people together, in particular, activities and initiatives that will encourage connections with the Town Centre and surrounding neighbourhoods and will support a wide range of people to use the new community facilities and open spaces.

• Supporting community governance - working with the Estate Management team to ensure residents and commercial tenants are aware of the Estate Management Company, the website and Resident Portal. Supporting the Resident's Management Committee to help feed back to the main Estate Management Company board.

• Local partnership working - working closely with key local partners to identify opportunities to maximise the social and economic impacts and outcomes of development, in particular with Rushmoor Borough Council, the DIO, local schools including a local primary school, community and voluntary groups, partnership networking groups.

Responsibilities

• To work with internal and external stakeholders daily to deliver the aims of the development.

• To work with Development Manager to support the day-to-day running of the development.

• To deliver annual action plan for community engagement and development work, which reflects the priorities of the development team and responds to local needs.

• Ensuring good communication and stakeholder relationships; welcoming and supporting residents and commercial tenants; working with residents and local stakeholders to develop an innovative programme of interim-use and temporary community projects, which will build local connections and encourage people from all over Aldershot to use new community facilities and spaces; working with local stakeholders to understand local needs and priorities to shape planning and design of the Neighbourhood Centre and future phases of development.

  On-going responsibilities will include:

• Being residents main point of contact for the development.

• Continue good working relationships with key local stakeholders including Rushmoor Borough Council, ward councillors, neighbourhood police teams, local schools and community organisations, to keep them informed of community initiatives and identify opportunities to facilitate and develop joint projects.

• Regular updates of the website calendar of events, news and projects. Engage key community members for digital planning and create a network of content contributors for the website and social media.

Requirements

Community engagement and development

• Track record of working successfully with local communities on community engagement and development initiatives.

• Practical experience of using a wide range of engagement and outreach methods to identify and respond to local needs.

• Experience of working with a wide range of local stakeholders including residents' networks, community groups, businesses and local management organisations, public agencies and local government.

• Experience of developing and managing communications programmes including social media and websites.

• Track record of organising and hosting a range of events from small-scale meetings to social events and activities for the whole community, including events project management and budgeting.

Communication skills

• This role requires excellent inter-personal communication skills in particular the ability to build rapport, trust and confidence with a wide variety of people from different backgrounds and sensitivity to potential tensions and conflicts between different groups of people.

• Demonstrable skills and abilities to support and build local social networks and support others to be proactive.

• Experience of planning and delivering local communication campaigns including use of social media, local press, events and the use of any other appropriate methods.

• Experience of developing and managing communications programmes including newsletters, managing social media and using a CMS to for website updates. Planning skills, copywriting and attention to detail are essential.

Project management

• Practical experience of developing and delivering project plans on time and on budget.

• Experience of monitoring and reporting on projects.

• A track record of designing and delivering, or commissioning, community-based research projects.

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Please apply with your CV. A covering note sent to Hannah at hdalton@cobaltrecruitment.com will give a distinct advantage.