Greater Manchester Project Manager

The Orchard Project is recruiting a Greater Manchester Project Manager to continue our successful programme of community orchard work in and around Greater Manchester!

The successful applicant will support local community groups to plant and care for their orchards, provide training in orchard skills, and organise community events.

We are looking for someone who is knowledgeable and passionate about orchards and their benefits, who enjoys working with community groups and volunteers, and who can manage projects within budget, to deadline, and with minimal supervision. This is a great opportunity for someone who likes connecting with others and is interested in working with colleagues on fundraising.

Job Description

Title: Greater Manchester Project Manager
Duration of Post: 6 months (we are for this post to continue if additional funding can be secured)
Working Hours: 3 days/week (22.5 hours) flexible across the week with some weekend working required and scope to increase if additional funding is secured
Responsible to: Education, Skills and Training Manager
Location: Greater Manchester, hybrid working in community and at home
Salary: £35,432 pro rata, plus 5% employers pension contribution and wellbeing budget

Main purpose of the Job

You will be responsible for delivery of existing projects in Greater Manchester: maintaining existing orchards, providing training (e.g. tree pruning), engaging volunteers and running community events. You will ensure that the projects are delivered on time, to budget and with consistent quality, and you will fulfil the requirements for monitoring, evaluation and administration. You will be active in connecting with community groups, local authorities and funders in Greater Manchester, and work closely with colleagues in The Orchard Project to put forward bids for grant funding and consultancy income.

You will work with the rest of our team based across the UK to share good practice, develop peer-to-peer support and become an engaged member of our friendly and passionate team of nearly 20 people.

Scope of Job:

Orchard Planting and Restoration

• Liaise with community orchard groups to plan programme of workshops and events
• Organise and run orchard plantings, including all logistics
• Deliver training workshops in tree planting, pruning, maintenance and aftercare.
• Provide “orchard leader training” for key volunteers
• Organise community events (e.g. Apple Days, Wassails).
• Publicise events on social media
• Write orchard management plans
• Find potential new orchard sites and assess for suitability
• Engage members of the local community as volunteers

Project Management

• Ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget
• Manage project budgets
• Capture and record data for monitoring and evaluation
• Develop partnerships with others that support the work of The Orchard Project

Fundraising and Consultancy

• Identify potential regional funding opportunities and partnerships that could develop our work in the region to share with our fundraiser and management team

Additional responsibilities:

• Take part in relevant training
• Attend and contribute to staff visioning away-days and UK wide team meetings
• Support colleagues across the UK through regional visits (1 or 2 days per year)
• Share best practice with partners and other staff
• Any other reasonable organisational tasks appropriate to the running of a small charity

Person Specification

Experience

• Managing community growing projects of high quality, to deadline, to budget and with minimal supervision
• Delivering training in relevant subjects such as planting, pruning fruit trees and tree aftercare
• Working with volunteers
• Community engagement and co-creation with community groups
• Organising and managing events
• Developing and maintaining relationships with partners, local authorities and other stakeholders
• Monitoring, evaluating and reporting
• Profile raising using social media and website
• Working with colleagues on fundraising

Knowledge and Skills:

• A good level of horticultural or arboricultural knowledge and skills, particularly in relation to orchards
• A proven interest in environmental sustainability, sustainable food systems, and/or permaculture
• Excellent oral, written and presentation skills
• A high level of competence in Microsoft Word and Excel
• Cultural sensitivity in building relationships and engaging people from diverse backgrounds

Personal Attributes and Behaviours:

• A passion for community orchards and a desire to share this with others
• A proactive approach to sharing learning with other staff and partners
• An excellent advocate for the charity
• Passionate about the potential to transform communities and improve the lives of individuals through the project
• Preparedness to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in
• Flexible and innovative in your approach to delivering projects

The closing date for applications is midnight on Sunday 8th February 2026. We expect to be holding interviews on Monday 16th February (via Zoom), and ideally the role would start in early March.

We want our organisation to be as diverse as the communities it supports. Increasing diversity in the charity/environmental sector and within our organisation is very important to us, and we practice positive action during our recruitment process.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation. Please contact us to let us know of any adjustments we can make to support you during the recruitment process.

If you have any questions about this role then you can contact our Training, Skills & Education Manager at [email protected] before the deadline.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.