Unique new role will help develop social enterprises

A unique role being offered by Teesside University in partnership with Thirteen Group will help to build social enterprise opportunities across Tees Valley.

The Social Enterprise Activator role, which is sponsored by the social housing provider, will work to promote enterprise, particularly social enterprises, within Thirteen communities.

Working as part of Teesside University’s Enterprise Team, the Social Enterprise Activator will support the growth of enterprise activity in the community, linked to Thirteen’s priority themes and secure the active engagement of Teesside University students.

This new opportunity will help make a difference within the housing sector and build further enterprise opportunities across the Tees Valley.

The role, which is on an initial 12-month contract, will entail working closely to devise and implement programmes of enterprise support at neighbourhood level.

These will include sourcing investment opportunities and income streams and finding mentoring and support opportunities. It will also work closely with Launchpad, Teesside University’s on-campus business incubator and co-working space.

Angela Corner, Head of Community Resilience at Thirteen, said: ‘This exciting new role will build on the work that Thirteen is doing to empower communities to make positive changes in their area.

‘The successful candidate will work with our customers to find innovative and creative solutions to move people into work, training or education.

‘Working in partnership with Teesside University is a fantastic opportunity to utilise the strengths of both organisations and really make a difference to people’s lives.

‘I’m really looking forward to seeing the impact that this role will have on helping us develop sustainable communities for the future.’

Steve Dougan, Head of Enterprise at Teesside University, added: ‘We are delighted to be working with Thirteen to support this unique new role.

‘Here at Teesside University, we have a fantastic track record of developing enterprise and have worked hard to ensure that entrepreneurship is a viable career choice for our graduates.

‘We are delighted to be able to utilise this experience in partnership with Thirteen and are confident this new role will help to deliver some truly innovative social enterprise which will help to make a real difference within their communities.’

The ideal candidate will be someone with a degree-level qualification, strong project management skills, excellent IT skills, and with strong communication skills.

The Social Enterprise Activator role builds on a long-standing partnership between Teesside University and Thirteen which has seen the two organisations collaborate on several different ventures, including the Thirteen Academy which offer bursaries for residents of Thirteen communities to study at Teesside University.

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