At Smart Works, our mission is to empower women by providing them with the clothing, coaching, and confidence they need for job and interview success. It’s our priority to reach women who are in the greatest need of our service at the right time, which is why a referral is always the first step in accessing our service.

Making a referral to Smart Works is simple and hassle-free. In addition to referring over the phone or via email, the introduction of our new online form makes referring quicker than ever, taking only a few minutes to complete. Within 24 hours, Smart Works will reach out to the woman you have referred, ensuring that she receives the necessary support at a crucial time.

Over the past 10 years, we have built strong relationships with referral agencies across the UK that help us connect with women seeking employment support or help to succeed at interview. By referring to Smart Works, you’re not only helping women secure employment but also empowering them to take control of their professional journey.

Click here to discover more about how you can refer to Smart Works and help more women access our service and transform their lives.

TODAY IS THE DAY! The Big Give Christmas Challenge starts NOW.

For the next week, all donations through The Big Give platform will be doubled up to £25,000, matched to £50,000.

Can you support us on our mission to double the number of women supported by Smart Works Greater Manchester by 2025 to 1,500 every year? Pledge to donate and transform a woman’s life by supporting and empowering her in her professional pursuits.

By donating through the Big Give, your donation can have twice the impact. Any donation is welcomed, big our small, it will all make a difference. Maybe you can pledge to donate the price of a mulled wine and a bratwurst from the Christmas markets, or maybe your company can support with a large corporate donation. Any and all amounts are absolutely welcomed and by doing this, you will be playing a part in another woman’s success story.

Click here to donate now.

We kicked off the festivities early this year with our Fashion & Fizz event at Mottram Hall, and we had the most amazing time! We were overwhelmed with the support from everyone who joined us for this special night, where we hear from our Ambassador Michelle Ackerley and Fashion Designer Nadine Merabi, as well as an evening of shopping our fabulous sale rales and much more.

We’re thrilled to announce we raised over £11,000, which is just incredible. Huge thank you for all your support, your ticket purchase, sale buys and raffle tickets are what made this possible. All funds raised go straight back to Smart Works Greater Manchester, making sure we can continue to deliver our services to unemployed women across Greater Manchester. Thank you for playing a part in this.

At Smart Works, we have six core values that guide what we do. These are at the heart of our Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy, which you can read by clicking here 💙

This Transgender Awareness Week, we are proud to say that we always have and always will support the Transgender Community. Smart Works is here to support all women, including transgender women, and non-binary people who feel their gender expression connects with the Smart Works service and wardrobe.

Smart Works is committed to being an inclusive and welcoming space for everyone, and we have recently worked with Gendered Intelligence to support our trustees, staff, and volunteers in ensuring our service is as inclusive and welcoming as it can be. We will continue to advance our learning in this area so that we can best support our clients and community.

If you are a referrer looking to refer a client to Smart Works, or you are unemployed and seeking support, please get in touch. You can call us on 0161 974 0669, or visit our website to find your nearest Smart Works centre.

This week we have delivered our 5,000th appointment!

Since opening our doors in 2015, it has been our mission to support women back into work with confidence and since that time, we have delivered 5,000 appointments to women from all across Greater Manchester. These appointments range from 1st dressing appointments (at the point of our clients interview), second dressings (when our client has got the job and returns for her capsule wardrobe!) and career coaching appointments (CV help and support on career advice).

We are celebrating all of our wonderful clients today (and always!). Here’s to another 5,000 appointments!

Yesterday, we hosted a Partnership Breakfast Event, where we welcomed over 40 corporate and retail partners into our Smart Works centre in Holyoake House, to explore how local companies can work with us to transform the lives of women across the city region.

We were delighted to hear from Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham who spoke about the continued development of the city region and Rose Marley , CEO of Co-operatives UK who spoke about raising aspiration for young people in Manchester.

A huge thank you to Sarah Welsh, CEO Retail at N Brown Group for highlighting the importance of our partnership in instilling women with confidence on their journey into work, as well as how our bespoke partnerships can create lasting change in the lives of our clients. We also spoke about our partnership with AJ Bell Future Foundation and what this means to us and our clients.

Huge thank you to everyone who joined us and for our volunteers from Bureau Veritas Group who supported with the smooth running of the day.

We’re hiring! The Fundraising and Partnerships Manager will have responsibility for all aspects of fundraising including corporate and grants. They will work with the Chair, Treasurer and the Head of Smart Works Greater Manchester on the design and delivery of the annual fundraising strategy and quarterly activity plan, with a clear purpose of ensuring our long-term sustainability.

Therefore, we are looking for an energetic, creative and forward-thinking individual to join our dynamic team and ensure the long-term future of Smart Works in Greater Manchester. The role requires a self-starting and proactive approach, excellent communication and networking skills and experience in generating income.

If you’re passionate about supporting women, then this is an ideal opportunity for you.

The role would be based at our Smart Works centre in Manchester city. There may be occasional evening and weekend work as the successful candidate will be part of the wider centre team, supporting with networking and key events support.

Smart Works Greater Manchester is part of Smart Works Charity, with Smart Works centres across the UK. There will therefore be some travel and liaison with local centres across the UK and in London, to support induction and training, as well as the day-to-day role.

Click here for the full job description and how to apply.

Vote Smart Works for Deutsche Bank’s UK Charity of the Year and transform a woman’s life.

Smart Works has been shortlisted for Deutsche Bank‘s UK Charity of the year; an incredible opportunity that will help us make a significant impact in transforming the lives of women across the UK.

A vote for Smart Works means we can:
1. Double the number of women we help.
2. Expand from 11 to 14 centres.
3. Invest in digital transformation to increase efficiency and capacity.
4. Create systemic change, removing barriers to employment.

Whether you work at Deutsche Bank or not, you can still make a difference.
* Vote for Smart Works if you work at Deutsche Bank: https://lnkd.in/e86atxHR
* Share this link with a Deutsche Bank colleague: https://lnkd.in/eyFh-xAf
* Email helen.nelson@smartworks.org.uk to introduce us to a Deutsche Bank colleague.
* Like, comment and reshare this post

A vote for Smart Works is a vote for economic empowerment and for making a positive impact of change for women at a time when employment has never been more important, nor the Smart Works service more needed.

Together, we can make a positive impact and help 50,000 women across the UK by 2025.

Join us for our annual Fashion & Fizz event this November in the luxurious setting of Cheshire’s Mottram Hall.

Guests will enjoy a glass of fizz on arrival before we kick off our panel of inspirational women, lead by Smart Works Greater Manchester Ambassador and Presenter, Michelle Ackerley. We will be joined by Business woman and luxury fashion designer Nadine Merabi, who will be talking about how confidence is at the forefront of all her fashion pieces, and how she turned her one-of-a-kind designs into a Multi Million Dollar success. More speakers to be announced, so watch this space!

As always, there will be a fabulous designer sale rail for you to shop, with brand new stock from our supporters (to be announced soon!), as well as a raffle and a chance to mingle and get in the festive spirit.

All funds raised go directly back to Smart Works Greater Manchester services, supporting unemployed women into employment. Tickets are available to buy here!

  • 6pm – 6.30pm: Arrival. Welcome drinks, canapes and networking.
  • 6.30pm: Welcome from Jan Iceton – Smart Works Greater Manchester Chair.
  • 6.40pm – 7.40pm: Interview with our VIP Guest Nadine Merabi, hosted by Presenter and TV host Michelle Ackerley (with more speakers to be announced).
  • 7.40pm: Closing from Victoria Cronquist – Head of Smart Works Greater Manchester.
  • 7.45pm – 8.30pm: Shop the designer sale rail.
  • 8.30pm: Event ends.

Our second time back at the pop-up shop was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who shopped and supported, we had the most fabulous 3 days and raised an incredible amount of funds, enabling us to continue the transformative work we do.