Programme Innovation Lead - EY Foundation - 12 months - London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow

Role Profile: With over a decade of programme delivery expertise the EY Foundation is now increasing its focus on testing new ways to develop employability skills and careers knowledge to support young people from a low-income background to prepare for and succeed in - the workplaces of the future. This new position will be at the heart of developing and delivering a series of innovative and high impact training sessions for young people aged 11-19. The evidence base this generates will be used to evolve our own programmes and support our advocacy for the action needed to help all young people thrive in the workplace.

Job Title: Programme Innovation Lead

Application Deadline: 29/08/2025

Job Type: FTC 12 months

Location: London Birmingham Manchester or Glasgow

Introduction to EY Foundation

The EY Foundation is a charity established in 2014 to help young people from a low-income background to develop the skills needed to succeed in the workplace. We were founded by EY the professional services firm who continue to be our primary funder.

Our ambition is that all young people eligible for Free School Meals have an employment and earnings potential equitable to other young people in the UK. We do this through a deep understanding of both sides of the labour market bringing together employers and young work in collaboration with a wide range of organisations to deliver employability skills programmes scalable digital interventions and by leveraging our convening power to influence systemic change.

We work in regions across the country with team members based in four hubs in London Manchester Glasgow and Birmingham. We operate a hybrid working model where staff work in the office at least one day per week however depending on the nature of your role or specific business needs you may be required to attend the office or events more than once a week.

As an independent charity we raise income through corporate partners traditional fundraising and grants.

EY Foundation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful applicants will need to undertake an Enhanced DBS check via the Disclosure and Barring service where appropriate.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

At the EY Foundation diversity equity inclusion and belonging are at the heart of everything we do. We believe in the transformative power of embracing differences and creating a culture where everyone feels valued respected and empowered to be their authentic selves.

We are committed to fostering an environment that celebrates diversity in all its forms ensuring that everyone regardless of background identity or experience feels safe accepted and that they truly belong. Our dedication to diversity equity inclusion and belonging means continuously learning improving and challenging ourselves to build a workplace where every individual can thrive.

We are an Equal Opportunities Employer and are proud to be a diverse and inclusive organisation. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds identities and experiences. If you share our commitment to creating a culture of belonging and inclusion we encourage you to join us and help to make a difference.

Your role as Programme Innovation Lead

Were thrilled to offer an exciting opportunity for a Programme Innovation Lead at the EY Foundation. Join ourProgrammes Teamand make a national impact across the this role you will lead on programme innovations predominantly through our Employability Workshop provision. The successful candidate will report directly to our Head of Programme Operations.

In this role youll design and deliver new innovative workshops for young people that will help enhance their employability skills and careers knowledge. You will work closely with other teams across the organisation to embed insights generated from their work into impactful sessions for young people. This role is for an initial 12 month period as part of a pilot project.

The successful candidate will demonstrate a strong commitment to social mobility diversity and inclusion.

Within the Foundation we adopt flexible roles that reflect the dynamic nature of our charity and enable our people to learn develop and grow their skills and open up career opportunities. This is part of our investment in you. This role profile provides an outline of what will be involved in your role rather than an exhaustive list of duties. Both you and this role will naturally evolve.

The role will include several key responsibilities but are not limited to:

• Work closely with the wider team to bring external trends research and innovation practices into the design and delivery of workshops.
• Design and deliver a series of innovative workshops for young people that will enhance their employability skills and careers knowledge.
• Facilitate ideation and co-design workshops with internal and external stakeholders.
• Support colleagues to build innovation mindsets and practices.
• Evaluate the impact of these new workshops to create a bank of evidence that demonstrates the most effective solutions.

Your skills knowledge experience and qualification

What you will bring to the Foundation is your demonstrable skills experience and knowledge in the following areas:

Required:

Skills

• Creativity within curriculum design and development.
• Ability to apply innovation methods such as testing ideas early (prototyping) making improvements (iteration) and involving users in shaping design.
• Excellent facilitation skills with the ability to lead workshops and engage stakeholders in co-design.
• Demonstrable ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment with competing priorities.
• Excellent project management skills including managing people/volunteers and resources.
• Ability to foster positive relationships with a range of people.
• Delivering excellent customer service to internal or external customers or service users.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Collaboration and flexibility in your team working whilst also being able to work with minimum supervision.
• Highly organised individual who plays close attention to detail accuracy and quality.
• Ability to influence and challenge constructively to drive innovation.

Knowledge

• Professional or technical knowledge in programme design and delivery within a relevant sector (education employment support youth development social impact)
• Awareness of best practices in programme innovation (including the use of technology) co-design and test-and-learn knowledge of issues and opportunities facing young people from low income backgrounds getting into work
• Knowledge of evaluation methods and an ability to interpret data and draw insights
• Good understanding of the Careers education landscape within the UK

Experience

• Working in programme design in a delivery-focused organisation
• Proven track record of leading complex or new initiatives from concept to pilot and implementation.
• Embedding learning reflection or iteration into programme development.
• Delivering against a portfolio of projects/tasks effectively

• Experience in running complex projects with diverse stakeholder involvement

Desirable:

Experience

• Experience of working with or in third sector organisations that support young people

Recruitment process

Our recruitment process is designed to identify the best candidates through a comprehensive evaluation of their skills motivation and potential. The process includes:

The first stage interview will be based on:

• Competency-Based Interview Questions:We will assess your technical and professional competencies relevant to the role.
• Motivational Interview Questions:We aim to understand your drive passion and alignment with our organisations values and mission.
• Scenario-Based Questions:You will be asked to respond to hypothetical situations to demonstrate your problem-solving abilities and decision-making skills.

The second stage interview will be based on:

• Presentation Development:Candidates will be required to develop and present a topic related to the role showcasing their communication and presentation skills.

Our organisation is committed to providing an inclusive and accessible experience for all candidates. If you require any adjustments or support during the recruitment selection or onboarding process please dont hesitate to reach out to us.

Key dates

• First round interviews: 02/09/2025
• Second round interviews: 11/09/2025