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Meet the team

Mike Wild

Mike Wild (he/him) Chief Executive
My role is to lead Macc, developing the role we play in the life of our city. I keep a watch on policy issues, speak up on behalf of our diverse, passionate and fantastic local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector and I am always working to build creative, collaborative relationships with a wide range of partners. I support our Trustees in ensuring Macc leads by example, lives by our values and, along with the rest of the VCSE sector, makes a real difference for all the communities of Manchester.

Martin Preston Martin Preston (he/him) Deputy Chief Executive
I am responsible for maintaining and developing Macc’s service portfolio including capacity building, volunteering, policy and influence work with local voluntary and community sector groups. Working closely with the Chief Executive, I help to maintain an overview of service planning, income generation, performance and quality processes and the monitoring of results and impact.
 
   
Office Team
Angela Hampson

Angela Hampson (she/her) Finance Manager
As a member of the Management Team, my role is to manage the finances across all areas of Macc's work covering everything from funding income to invoices and payroll. I provide regular reports for the Treasurer and the Board of Trustees and liaise with our auditors to complete our annual statement of accounts and audit.

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Aaron Chadwick (he/him) Executive Administration Trainee

Pauline Clark

Pauline Clark (she/her) Office and Facilities Worker
In my role, I oversee the running of the room hire and back office facilities. I buy resources for the office from a paper clip to a piece of furniture, or refreshments for the meeting rooms. Overseeing the day to day running of the reception area and Macc phone lines ensuring a warm welcome at the first point of contact with Macc. I undertake HR and some finance duties. Ensuring the office is in good order for staff to work in and also when visitors come to meet staff.  Working closely with the Finance Manager and Deputy Chief Executive with regards to income generation for the organisation.

oliver cranfield

Oliver Cranfield (he/him) Grants Development Worker
As well as being involved with monitoring Macc’s voluntary, community and social enterprise sector support activities, I administer the grants programmes that we make available locally. We are currently distributing various funding from Manchester City Council and the Eric Wright Charitable Trust. Previously we have done so on behalf of Manchester Health and Care Commissioning, Sport England and 10GM. There are also Migrant Destitution Fund GM, Real Change MCR and our own Spirit of Manchester grants, which are all supported through public fundraising.

 
Policy and Influence Team
Zara Hakobyan

Zara Hakobyan (she/her) Policy and Influence Manager
Hello! I am Zara, the Policy and Influence Team Manager at Macc.  
With my background in researching human rights issues and managing projects within the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector, particularly in tackling food insecurity and health inequalities, my priority is to create a sustainable environment for positive change. From my experience collaborating with frontline organisations throughout Manchester, providing both emergency and ongoing support to local residents, I am strongly aware of the challenges within the VCSE sector. As Policy and Influence Manager, I am dedicated to bringing my skills and knowledge into the role to address both current and emerging needs of the diverse communities that make up Manchester. I am confident, that by working together to amplify the voices of our community, we can promote inclusive policies that prioritise fairness, transparency and consistency, and have a meaningful impact on the sector.

Milly McKinnell

Emily McKinnell (she/her) Policy and Influence Team Trainee

Hi I’m Milly, a Policy and Influence trainee at Macc. My work at Macc, involves facilitating the GM Sanctuary Seekers Community Response Group meetings, and our Community Explorers meetings, and providing general admin support to the wider P&I team. 

Josephine McMeeking

Josephine McMeeking (she/her) Policy and Influence Development Worker
Hi I'm Josie, a policy and influence worker at Macc. I work to support an inclusive social economy in Manchester. My role involves convening the Manchester Social Economy Alliance and assisting VCSE organisations in implementing the real living wage. I am deeply committed to gender equality and work with the Women's Homelessness Involvement Group within the Manchester Homelessness Partnership.

Nqobazitha Mlambo

Nqobazhitha Mlambo (he/him) Policy and Influence Development Worker
I am a development and policy practitioner with 4 years worth of experience in civil society and community organising work. Before joining Macc I worked in Zimbabwe at the Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development between 2018 and 2022 as a Programme Officer responsible for Advocacy and Citizen Engagement. I am also a blogger and vlogger on Human Rights and Socio-economic development issues. I came to Manchester in September 2022 to pursue a MSc degree in International Development: Politics, Governance and Development Policy.

Anna Tait Anna Tate (she/her) Policy and Influence Development Worker
I am currently working on coordinating voluntary sector representation in various strategic boards and meetings across Manchester.
 
Capacity Building Team
Sarah Whitelegg Sarah Whitelegg (she/her) Capacity Building Manager
My role is to make sure that voluntary and community groups in Manchester know where they can access useful support and guidance to strengthen and develop their organisations. This can range from helping very new groups, to choosing the right structure and understanding good governance, to providing funding support, planning, policy development and asset transfer. I manage and support the Capacity Building Team to provide this help through our open training programme, bespoke training, communications and tailored one-to-one support for groups across the city and I manage the development and delivery of additional specific capacity building projects.
Aneeqa Javed

Aneeqa Javed (she/her) Acting Collaboration Manager / Organisational Development Worker
My role involves delivering training and supporting groups, with things such as; choosing the right structure and registration with the Charity Commission and Companies House, understanding good governance, funding support, business and strategic planning and policy development. Alongside my ODW role, I am currently job sharing with Zainab as, Acting Collaboration Team Manager. I support members of the team to collaborate and develop cross-sector partnerships, through practical projects such the Manchester Homelessness Partnership, Manchester's Violence Reduction Alliance, Migrant Destitution Fund and Business Partnerships.

Jane Long

Jane Long (she/her) Organisational Development Worker
I'm an Organisational Development Worker for the Capacity Building Team at Macc. My role is to help groups with a number of things which include helping to find funding, writing stronger applications for funding, guidance on governance and helping groups to register with the Charity Commission and Companies House. Also delivering training on funding your project, bid writing, choosing a structure, monitoring and evaluation and trustee roles and responsibilities.

Helen Moore Start

Helen Moore Start (she/her) Organisational Development Worker

Ugonna Onyenankeya <ugonna@macc.org.uk>

Ugonna Onyenankeya (he/him) Organisational Development Worker Trainee
As a Trainee Organisational Development Worker for the Capacity Building Team at Macc, I support groups in navigating the intricacies of organisational growth. My responsibilities include assisting with funding searches, enhancing grant applications, providing guidance on governance, and aiding groups in their registration processes with the Charity Commission and Companies House. Additionally, I contribute to training sessions on project funding, bid writing, governance structure choices, monitoring and evaluation, and trustee roles and responsibilities.

Katy Storey

Katy Storey (she/her) VCSE Workforce Development Worker
As Macc’s VSCE Workforce Development Worker, my role is to increase the support for our voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector workforce. This involves working on a wide variety of projects targeting: equality, diversity and inclusion; recruitment; cultivating talent; HR support; leadership development; and workforce wellbeing. I work closely with the 10GM project team as part of a new programme to support and develop capacity, capability and employment standards across the paid and voluntary VCSE workforce in GM. As such, I focus on workforce development both internally within Macc and externally throughout the sector.

 
Volunteering Team
Jack Puller

Jack Puller (he/him) Volunteering and Active Communities Manager
My role is to oversee the delivery of Macc’s Active Communities Strategy by leading, supporting and collaborating on work, services and other projects to grow the range of opportunities for people to be active citizens in Manchester. I also manage Volunteer Centre Manchester, to ensure that its ongoing delivery and development is dynamic and responsive; for people that live, work and study in or visit Manchester, and for groups and organisations that involve volunteers.

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Alex Bluck Foster (she/her) Volunteering Development Worker
 

Anushka Swannell

Anushka Swannell (she/her), Volunteering Development Worker Trainee
My role as a Volunteer Development Worker Trainee includes working collaboratively internally with Macc and also with external organisations to develop, grow and support volunteer opportunities in Manchester. This 12-month placement is part of being successful in the Charityworks Graduate Scheme.

 
Older People's Network 
Liz

Liz Jones (she/her) Greater Manchester Older People’s Network Development Manager
My role is to support the Greater Manchester Older People’s Network (GMOPN) to champion the voice of older people within policy, strategy and communities in Greater Manchester. The GMOPN is part of Ambition for Ageing, a programme designed to support older people who are experiencing loneliness and social isolation.  I organise and deliver large-scale events on key policy areas such as health and transport, facilitate workshops and produce event reports and manifestos. I support our Action Group to achieve change by spreading the key messages and recommendations that have come from our consultations and workshops. I am supporting the network to grow and develop by implementing a training programme and offering various participation, consultation and partnership-working opportunities.

John Mulvena

John Mulvenna (he/him) Greater Manchester Older People's Equalities Panel Development Worker
I have facilitated the Older People’s Equality Panel since the beginning of 2022. It has been really enjoyable to be involved in the recruitment of the panel and work closely with members, local communities and partner organisations to ensure that the voices of older people are joined to other voices seeking to reduce inequality across the region.
Working closely with the GMOPN, I support the panel to ensure better representation of the varied experiences of older people, liaising with GM Ageing Hub and other GM Combined Authority organisations, the Integrated Care Partnership, local authorities and community groups so that the panel can increase their influence on decision-making and policy development.

sandra bellamy Sandra Bellamy (she/her) Greater Manchester Older People’s Network Administration Worker
My role includes providing administrative support to the Greater Manchester Older People’s Network. I help to produce the GMOPN Newsletter, look after our twitter account and I’m here to answer any enquiries you have about the network. I also provide support to the GMOPN meetings.
sophie webb

Sophie Webb (she/her) Greater Manchester Older People’s Network Mental Health Worker
My role is to develop the Greater Manchester Older People's Mental Health Network, which will ensure the voice of older people with lived experience of mental health are involved in the co-production and re-design of mental health services across Greater Manchester, as part of the Community Mental Health Transformation. We will be joining up existing groups and networks also, to create a stronger voice for older people across Greater Manchester.

   
Collaboration Team
millie brown

Millie Brown (she/her) Collaboration Team Manager (currently on maternity leave)
My role is to support collaboration and cross-sector partnership working, through practical projects such the Manchester Homelessness Partnership and Manchester's Violence Reduction Alliance. I manage the Collaboration Team, who also lead on developing partnerships with businesses (alongside the Volunteer Centre’s work on employee volunteering). My aim is to disrupt organisational silos; explore new forms of cross-sector partnership and community-led approaches; and connect with people who are developing different ways of working and thinking.

Zainab Hashmi

Zainab Hashmi (she/her) Acting Collaboration Manager
I am currently job sharing the role of Acting Collaboration Manager with Aneeqa. My part of the role involves managing the Systems Leadership project with GM Moving, which is all about creating a network of people from different levels and places, working collaboratively around a shared vision to create change. I also manage our Collaboration Worker Trainee, and support our team to build a range of cross-sector collaborations across Manchester and within Macc. Alongside this role, I support Macc’s anti-racism work, and I will be working on a project looking at how we can better use data to ensure we are supporting Manchester’s VCSE sector.

Val Bayliss-Brideaux

Val Bayliss-Brideaux (she/her), Network and Communications Worker – Manchester Homelessness Partnership
My role is to facilitate and support communication and collective working between network members, as well as to connect the partnership with external organisations and individuals, to work together towards the aims of the Manchester Homelessness Charter. I’m keen to meet with people working in the sector across the city, and build on the involvement of organisations and people with lived experience of homelessness in the partnership. For further information visit our Manchester Homelessness Partnership website

Omairia Bibi

Omairia Bibi (she/her) Collaboration Team Trainee
I am the Collaboration worker trainee at Macc and I provide general admin support to the Collaboration team, support Business partnerships, attend GM Sanctuary Seekers Community Response Group meetings and spend 50% of my time on facilitating and helping to organise the Greater Manchester Systems Leadership programme, in partnership with GreaterSport.

Richard Phillips

Richard Phillips (he/him) Business Partnerships Lead
My job is to help support the VCSE network in Manchester to work together with businesses in a mutually beneficial way whether this is related to income, use of in-kind donations such as knowledge expertise and resources, or in other ways.  

Will Wheeler

Will Wheeler (he/him) Migrant Destitution Fund Partnerships Lead
The Greater Manchester Migrant Destitution Fund (MDF) supports people who are forced into destitution because of their immigration status. As Partnership Lead for MDF, I am involved in the operational management of the fund’s grants programme, as well as driving forward the fund’s long-term goals – enabling organisations working with people who are destitute to network, connect and problem solve in our response to destitution across the city region; building an evidence base about destitution across Greater Manchester and providing a platform for those facing destitution to speak out; and advocating for our long-term strategic goals to end destitution.
Membership Team
cheryl mcalister

Cheryl McAlister (she/her) Membership Team Manager
My role is to develop, support and grow Macc membership ensuring it is responsive to members’ needs. With a focus on managing member relationships, I look to explore opportunities to connect and collaborate with members to build our membership into a supportive network. Overseeing the work of the membership team, we support our colleagues with the delivery of Macc events, communications and gathering of feedback whilst recognising and highlighting the amazing work of the sector. 

Jo d'Orville

Jo d'Orville (she/her) Media and Marketing Worker
My role is to help develop the growth of media skills among Macc members and local groups in order to support community media and storytelling efforts. I provide assistance in film production, editing, photography and content creation, all of which are tailored to meet the unique requirements of each organisation. Additionally, I collaborate closely with the Macc team to contribute to content production initiatives and marketing strategies.

Michelle Foster (she/her) Communications Lead
My role includes regularly updating the Manchester Community Central website and producing the weekly email bulletin. I also answer the telephone information line and respond to email enquiries.

Conor Peart

Conor Peart (he/him) Membership Worker
My role involves communicating directly with existing and prospective members to understand how they can better connect with Macc and each other. I also keep an eye out for training opportunities in the VCSE sector in order to promote them both internally and externally.