The Market is owned and strategically led by a team of volunteer directors with expertise in different fields ranging from finance and HR to marketing and community engagement. All the directors are unpaid and residents of Levenshulme.
They are supported by a team of staff who manage the day-to-day operation of the Market – everything from booking the traders to sweeeping out puddles. All of our staff are paid above the National Living Wage. We are often looking for reliable, hard-working and physically fit staff for casual shifts helping us to set up the market – you can read a job description and how to apply here.
Levenshulme Market’s Directors
Paul Bower – Projects
Paul is a Levenshulme resident with a keen interest in the built-environment and environmental sustainability. He has been a Market Director since 2015 where he has helped to renew its planning permission and co-ordinate various site improvements. He describes his current roles outside the market as crossing between a designer, an urban strategist, researcher and an educator. He is architecturally trained and teaches architecture across universities in the North of England including Manchester and Liverpool. Previously he was a director at the workers co-operative URBED (Urbanism, Environment & Design) an urban-design practice based in Manchester city centre which deals with planning and regeneration projects across the UK. Paul was also a founding member of the Carbon Co-op; a co-operative and community benefit society, which aspires to reduce Manchester households’ carbon emissions through a mixture of collective efforts. Contact Paul.
Amanda Finch – Finance and HR
Amanda moved to Levenshulme seven years ago, having visited the market she threw herself into Levy life and quickly became a permanent resident. The market gave her the confidence to do something she had always wanted to do, run a small retail stall selling Indian craft leathergoods. She wanted to give something back and be more involved in the market. Amanda now runs local craft beer bar Station Hop. As a ex-market stall trader, resident and business women she wears many hats to support the community. Contact Amanda.
Ellen Hingley – Trader and Community Liaison
Born and raised in South Manchester, Ellen moved to Levenshulme in 2017 and has since fallen in love with the local community and the area. Ellen has spent her career to date in fundraising, working previously for The Christie hospital and more recently for Alzheimer’s Society. Ellen’s passion, both in her career and role as a volunteer Director for the Market, is around building long lasting relationships with supporters and stakeholders. Contact Ellen.
Ashleigh Kuzio – Trader and Community Liaison
Ashleigh moved to Levenshulme in early 2018, having lived in Altrincham previously. She quickly fell in love with the sense of community in the area and recognised the important role the market plays within this. Ashleigh worked at B&Q for 8 years in their installations department, doing a variety of roles involving installer liaison and more recently, large scale IT project implementation. While these roles allowed for learning new skills, the roles involved a lot of travel and working away from home, meaning it was difficult to find time to give back to the community. In January 2019, Ashleigh joined the Co-Op in Manchester, working as a Business Analyst within their Food Finance department. This has kept her closer to home, affording the opportunity to support the market and make the most of all that Levy has to offer. Contact Ashleigh.
Sarah Leech – Communications & Marketing
Sarah moved to Levenshulme five years ago and is a proud Levy resident. After being won over by the community spirit of the place she wanted to help the area thrive. That and her appetite for copious amounts of street food meant the market held a fond place in her heart. Sarah has worked in digital marketing for 8 years and currently leads on the digital marketing strategy for HOME, Manchester’s centre for contemporary film, art, and theatre. Prior to this she worked at BBC Radio Manchester and Radio Regen – the organisation that set up ALL FM and other great community radio stations across Greater Manchester. Contact Sarah.
Our staff
Richard Hirst – Market Manager
Richard looks after making sure we have a market every week – from handling bookings and communications with traders to managing all of our marketing to make sure we get lots of customers at the market each weekend.
Richard joined Levenshulme Market CIC in 2019 after being a loyal customer at the market for a number of years while working in marketing and retail. A proud Levenshulme resident for the past 11 years, he now balances his Levenshulme Market duties with freelance writing work. Contact Richard.
Sean McAuley – Senior Market Co-ordinator
Sean looks after making sure the market happens safely and on time every week. From repairing ailing gazebos to wrestling with electrics plans and rotas, Sean is the man behind the scenes who makes it happen! Sean is also in charge of booking our live music and entertainment each week. He’s a keen allotment owner and baker, and loves a good forage for wild edibles in his spare time. Contact Sean.