Work with us: Musical Mentor (Greater Manchester)

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Young Sounds UK is looking for a Mentor to support our Connect programme at Greater Manchester Music Hub. Each Ambassador Hub on our Connect programme has a Mentor on hand to help young musicians on their musical journeys. These Mentors provide tailored one-to-one support, collaborate closely with Connectors, and participate in events like Get Togethers. They also contribute to programme evaluation, helping ensure young people’s voices shape the future of Connect.

While Connectors manage and support the mentoring programme, Mentors provide the essential one-to-one focus that empowers young people. Together, these roles form the foundation of a programme where every young person can thrive.

Contract:	Freelance (contracted by Young Sounds UK)
Rate:	£20 per hour
Duration:	2 hours per week x 35 weeks per year and an additional 60 hours across the year for mentoring sessions
Location:	Greater Manchester Music Hub/remote

To apply, send your CV and covering letter to [email protected]
Application Deadline: Thursday 2 July 2026 at 3pm

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About Young Sounds UK

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Young Sounds exists because musical talent is everywhere but opportunity isn’t: family finances and other obstacles too often get in the way. We’re here to change this in two key ways: 

• We support young musicians from low-income families with funding and other help; 
• We support music education through training, advocacy and research.  

We became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation in April 2023 and also joined an expanded cohort of National Youth Music Organisations (NYMOs). We currently support over 1,000 individual young people across the UK every year and demand for our support is increasing. It’s an exciting time to join a pioneering organisation at the forefront of British music education.

Our small and fully remote team work across the UK, comprising a mix of full time and part time employees supported by specialist part time and term time freelancers. 

Young Sounds UK is the working name for registered charity Awards for Young Musicians.

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Role Overview

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You will play a central role in supporting the Connector on the day-to-day planning and delivery of the Connect programme in your allocated Hub. You will agree specific areas of work each week as per need and capacity. You will also be a highly visible contact for the families and young people accessing Connect which will help you will foster new mentoring relationships with the young people on the programme and offer online mentoring sessions on a need-by-need basis. You will also support with the collection of evaluation evidence.

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Key Tasks

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Supporting young people

• Engaging with young people and their families to identify mentoring opportunities.
• Delivering one-to-one mentoring, small group activities, or focused support during Get Togethers.
• Keeping detailed records of mentoring sessions, tracking progress and key learnings.
• Facilitating regional Amplify panels to gather authentic feedback.

Programme support

• Collaborating with the Connector to develop action plans that align with programme goals.
• Assisting with logistics for Get Togethers and completing relevant administrative tasks.
• Researching and sharing musical opportunities with young people.
• Building relationships with teachers to provide holistic support.

Evaluation

• Supporting programme evaluation by collecting data, documenting outcomes, and encouraging survey participation.
• Engaging with young people during events to capture meaningful insights.

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Person Specification

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Key Skills

• Strong organisational skills.
• A desire and ability to work as part of a team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, adaptable to a range of stakeholders including young people, families and music education professionals.
• Excellent interpersonal skills: an ability to relate confidently and sensitively to a wide range of people.
• Research skills: an ability to research new and inspiring opportunities for young people.

Essential experience

Experience of working or studying in music and/or music education with some or all the following:

• Instrumental teachers
• Young people
• Parents/carers
• Schools and music/arts/youth organisations

Desirable experience

• Experience of working with musical young people in either a teaching, mentoring, or supporting capacity.
• Knowledge of musical activity in the Hub area – across genres, professional, community and amateur and willingness to research/find out about activities beyond the area and nationally.
• Experience of supporting/co-facilitating musical events such as workshops, performances and
  meetings.
• Experience of data management systems (ideally Salesforce).

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Terms and conditions

Freelance contracts are offered on the following basis:

• Hours of work are 2 hours per week x 35 weeks per year for general programme support and an additional 60 hours for mentoring sessions across the academic year.
• Individual mentoring sessions with young people are offered in addition to these core hours. Sessions will be for one hour and offered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the needs of the young people in each Hub. Any new mentoring relationships will be agreed on by the Connector and Programme Manager prior to sessions being offered.
• Hourly rate (contracted freelance by Young Sounds UK) £20 per hour.
• This role is home based, and other locations as required occasionally. The ability to travel to the Get Together events once per term is essential. All reasonable travel costs will be covered by Connect.

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How to apply

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To apply, please send your CV and covering letter to [email protected] by Thursday 2 July 2026 at 3pm.