Events and Community Engagement Manager

Location: Greater Manchester

Are you passionate about creating places that bring people together? Do you enjoy delivering events, building relationships and finding ways to improve the visitor experience?

Cobalt is recruiting a Placemaking Manager to join the management team of a shopping centre in Greater Manchester. This opportunity offers the chance to shape how visitors, occupiers and the wider community engage with a retail destination, delivering initiatives that make a difference to the people who use it.

The organisation

Our client is an established property management business responsible for managing commercial destinations across the UK.

With a focus on customer experience, community engagement and placemaking, the organisation works to create destinations where people want to visit, spend time and connect.

The Placemaking Manager will work alongside property management professionals and specialist placemaking teams, contributing to initiatives that enhance the shopping centre's identity, support its occupiers and strengthen its relationship with the local community.

The role and responsibilities

Reporting to the Centre Manager, the Placemaking Manager will take responsibility for co-ordinating and delivering a programme of events, campaigns and engagement initiatives across the shopping centre.

The role combines creativity, stakeholder engagement and project delivery, offering the opportunity to influence the visitor experience and contribute to the centre's ongoing development.

Key responsibilities include:

• Supporting the development and delivery of placemaking strategies, events and community engagement programmes.
• Planning and managing events from concept through to delivery, including budgets, suppliers and operational requirements.
• Building relationships with retailers, occupiers, community groups and stakeholders to encourage collaboration and participation.
• Creating content for marketing campaigns, digital platforms, newsletters and on-site communications.
• Managing communication plans to promote centre activities and encourage visitor engagement.
• Gathering visitor feedback, analysing performance data and identifying opportunities to improve the customer experience.
• Working with centre management and property management teams to ensure events comply with health and safety requirements, including relevant licences and risk assessments.
• Supporting reporting, customer surveys and award submissions that demonstrate the centre's contribution to the local community.

The skills needed

The successful Placemaking Manager will bring experience in event delivery, community engagement or destination marketing, alongside the ability to manage projects and build relationships.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate:

• Experience planning and delivering events, campaigns or community engagement initiatives.
• An ability to build relationships with stakeholders, occupiers, suppliers and community organisations.
• Written communication skills, including creating marketing content, reports and presentations.
• Working knowledge of digital marketing channels, social media platforms and Microsoft Office.
• Organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver projects to deadlines.
• An understanding of health and safety requirements associated with events and public spaces.
• A willingness to obtain IOSH Managing Safely certification if not already qualified.

Experience within shopping centres, retail destinations or other commercial environments would be advantageous, although candidates from other relevant backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Interested in finding out more?

If you're looking for a Placemaking Manager opportunity where you can bring ideas to life, build community connections and contribute to the success of a retail destination, we'd like to hear from you.

Apply today to be considered for this permanent opportunity. Applications are being reviewed as they are received.

Due to the volume of applications received, if you don't hear back from us, please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

If you require any adjustments or additional support during the recruitment process for any reason whatsoever, please let your Cobalt consultant know.