Coventry is the ninth biggest city in England and has ambitious plans to grow its economy, profile and quality of life.  Culture, sport, and events are at the heart of city life and our growing visitor economy.

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

The Culture, Sport, Events and Destination Service is part of the Council’s Regeneration and Economy Directorate. The team supports the development of the culture, creative economy, heritage, sport, events, and visitor economy sectors in the city – through partnerships, strategies, investment, and programmes. The team takes a lead role in securing external funding and overseeing local grants, contracts, and development programmes. We lead and oversee an ambitious cultural capital investment programme, commission a range of sports and physical activity programmes and deliver festivals and a wide range of events.

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do. 

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

The Programme Officer role is an exciting role within the Capital and Governance team as part of the Council’s Culture, Sport, Events and Destination Service.  Specifically, this role will report to the Strategic Programme Manager and the successful delivery of the Service’s capital projects and governance systems across the service.

The role will be varied, challenging, and rewarding, with the delivery of the City Centre Cultural Gateway, other service capital projects and the implementation of governance processes across the whole service. As a Programme Officer you will be a skilled Officer, an excellent communicator and have good knowledge of grants processes and systems. You will be part of the team delivering exciting capital projects which support the activities of the Culture, Sport and Events Service.

We are looking for an experienced programme officer, a great communicator. You will be a team player as the role and will need to work with colleagues across the council.  A natural self-starter, with a can-do attitude, organised, multi-task and can use own initiative. You will be part of a team who are responsible for the successful delivery of the Service’s capital projects and implementation of governance processes.

You should have:

• Experience of developing and delivering capital projects and programmes
• Comprehensive knowledge of grant management, processes and systems
• Experience of writing briefing notes, instructions and reports for different audiences
• Experience of meeting with a range of stakeholders
• Knowledge and experience of completing finance returns and claims
• Knowledge or experience of culture, sport, physical activity or wellbeing programmes

People from minority ethnic backgrounds are currently under-represented within the service, and as a result we would particularly like to encourage people from minority ethnic backgrounds to apply for this post. This does not prevent any other applicants with a protected characteristic or a non-protected characteristic from applying.

If this sounds like the perfect next step in your career, then we would love to hear from you.

Working Patterns and Posts

This is a full-time post, 37 hours per week, with a requirement to occasionally work flexibly in relation to hours, including unsociable hours, evenings, weekends and occasional overnight stays.  The role involves attending meetings and events in the Coventry area, with occasional travel within the region and nationally.

For an informal conversation about this challenging and rewarding role, please contact Charlotte Booth , Strategic Programme Manager, Culture, Sport & Events at Charlotte.booth@coventry.gov.uk or Fiona Mackenzie, Strategic Project Manager, Culture, Sport & Events at Fiona.mackenzie@coventry.gov.uk

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview dates: Tuesday 22nd October and Wednesday 23rd October 2024

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies