Community worker jobs

At Proud2Be, we support LGBTQ+ people to thrive, be safe, and live freely as themselves. We are a grassroots, user-led charity in South Devon, working with our communities while challenging the systems that create inequality.

We’re looking for a Senior Adult Community Worker to join our team.

This is a hands-on role supporting LGBTQ+ adults through inclusive groups, events and 1:1 support. You’ll help shape and deliver our adult services, while also supervising and supporting staff and volunteers.

What you’ll do

• Deliver and develop LGBTQ+ adult groups, events and programmes (online and in-person)
• Coordinate our 1:1 support programme and manage referrals
• Support and supervise team members and volunteers
• Create safe, inclusive and empowering spaces
• Work with the community to shape services around their needs
• Represent Proud2Be at events, including Pride

Who we’re looking for

Someone who is:

• Passionate about LGBTQ+ inclusion and committed to challenging oppression
• Confident working with people from diverse backgrounds, especially those facing multiple barriers
• Organised, proactive and able to work independently
• Emotionally intelligent, reflective, and able to maintain boundaries
• A collaborative team player

You’ll need experience in a supportive, community or similar role, along with a strong understanding of safeguarding and the challenges LGBTQ+ people may face.

Why join us?

We’re a small, values-driven organisation where your work has real impact. Everything we do is grounded in our values: Celebration, Courage, Empowerment, Inclusivity and Integrity.

What you’ll receive

• 4 paid mental health days each year, on top of your annual leave
• Monthly supervision, giving you dedicated space for reflection, support and growth
• A caring, values-driven team culture that prioritises wellbeing
• Opportunities to learn, develop and shape your role
• Full training and support to deliver your role

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a growing organisation and make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Job Title:  Community Outreach Worker

Reports to: Head of Policy and Campaigns

Location: Remote working

Salary:             £35,000

Contract:       18 months fixed term contract

Hours:             35 hrs per week. Office hours are 9.00 – 17.00

About the role

We’re looking for an engaging, empathetic and self-reliant outreach worker to join our dedicated team working to deliver support and practical advice to a community that has suffered as a result of the biggest treatment scandal in NHS history.

This is an opportunity to work for an organisation with a 75-year track record of effective advocacy for our small community of people living with genetic and acquired bleeding disorders and their families. Most importantly, this role has the potential to directly improve peoples’ lives.

Around two thirds of our members are impacted by the contaminated blood scandal of the 1970s and 80s, which was recently investigated by the Infected Blood Inquiry. The resulting report in 2024 recommended improved health resources for people with bleeding disorders as well as compensation and support for those infected and affected by the scandal.

Although significant progress has been made, there’s a lot more to do. Many of the community feel isolated and with the Infected Blood Inquiry now closed there is a need for people to maintain and develop connections with others that understand what they have and continue to endure. It is vital that the community has a safe environment to express their views and seek help and support.

Part of the role will involve supporting the future generations of affected families ensuring they have the support and care they need to live their best lives.

Background and purpose

We are the only UK-wide charity for all those affected by a genetic bleeding disorder, a community of individuals and families, healthcare professionals and supporters.

For more than 75 years we have campaigned for better treatment, been a source of information and advice and supported people living with life-long conditions.

We want to ensure that everyone affected by a bleeding disorder:

Lives the best life that they can

Never feels alone or isolated

Feels empowered and confident.

We do this by:

Improving understanding about living with a bleeding disorder

Providing support at all life stages

Influencing and advocating on policy and access to treatment.

More than 40,000 men, women and children in the UK have a diagnosed bleeding disorder, and the number rises every year. Membership of the Haemophilia Society is free and open to all.

Key responsibilities:

• Engage with the infected blood community to understand their ongoing needs and the support that could be of value.
• Develop and deliver a series of engagement events to support the community and fulfil the identified needs.
• Feedback to the Haemophilia Society issues, needs and concerns raised by the infected blood community.
• Engage with external stakeholders who support and deliver services for the infected blood community.
• Explore additional resources available that may be useful to the community and where appropriate develop additional resources.
• Liaise with other charities active in this space across the UK.
• Track engagement with events and gather feedback on the objectives of the meetings.

Qualities, skills, and experience

• Demonstration of the ability to work independently and the ability to develop and deliver a series of events.
• Experience of delivering support for a community.
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to plan ahead, keep records, manage deadlines, prioritise workload and maximise your use of time.
• Ability to work in a team as well as to use individual initiative and judgement.
• Be an active listener who can treat people with respect and dignity and keep confidentiality.

Personal qualities

• A warm, compassionate and empathetic personality with the ability to develop positive relationships with people from all backgrounds.
• Resilience and ability to adapt to changing need and environment.
• Be an effective member of the team, recognising, respecting and promoting the different roles and diversity of the individuals in the team and presenting a positive impression of the team and THS.
•  A highly motivated, supportive and collaborative team worker.
• Values-driven with a proven commitment to social inclusion and equal opportunities.

Other requirements

• This role will require extensive travel throughout the UK and to work varying hours including evenings and weekends as required.
• This role will be home based with a requirement to visit the office in London for key meetings and events. 
• Due to the nature of our work with children and vulnerable adults, this role will require a DBS check and checks on previous employment.

What we offer:

Competitive Salary

Generous Pension

Private Healthcare

Contribution Agile Working

25 days’ holiday (pro rata) plus an additional day for each year of service up to 5 years

The Haemophilia Society is an equal opportunity employer.

About the Role

Headway East London is looking for a compassionate and motivated Community Support Worker to support adults living with brain injury across our 13 London borough catchment area. You will support members in their own homes and local communities. This is a varied, people-focused role where you will work one to one in the community, helping individuals live with greater independence, confidence and choice.

You will provide support plans to offer support to manage activities at home, maximise opportunities and choices, support wellbeing and provide advocacy. Find out more about our Community Support Work service here: Community Support Work – Headway East London.

We have 3 available positions, two permanent contracts and a one fixed term contract for 12 months (maternity cover). 

If you want a role where your work genuinely changes lives, makes a real difference every day and aligns with strong charitable values, we would love to hear from you.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

1. Conduct support sessions to a regular caseload of members in the community as a lone worker with remote office assistance.
2. You will work to maximise and maintain their autonomy and independence in their home environment or within the local community.
3. You will work collaboratively with the member to plan, organise and implement daily activities by developing daily and weekly structure and wellbeing plans.
4. You will be responsible for being the first responder, with remote manager support, in the event of any incidents, safeguarding issues or behaviour that challenges during support sessions.
5. Accompany and support members to appointments with health and statutory care providers and provide accurate notes for future reference.
6. Accompany and support members to access social, leisure, educational and vocational activities in the community.
7. Maintain a maximum income for members through completing benefit and grant entitlement and assist with financial budgeting.
8. Provide appropriate and relevant advice, information and advocacy to members and their families. Where appropriate liaise with other professionals and statutory and non-statutory organisations to make referrals or signpost to appropriate support services.
9. Maintain accurate and factual monitoring notes on our online database and report any incidents.
10. Conduct and monitor specific therapy / support / rehabilitation and risk management plans in accordance with case managers, therapists and other cprofessionals as required.

Key Relationships - Internal and External

Internal: Staff within the Service Department, Members (service users) and
their families and carers

External: External partners

Other

Apply the Headway East London values and behaviours to every aspect of the role at all times.

Protect and enhance the interests and reputation of Headway East London internally and externally.

Commit to the organisational principles of: coproduction equity, diversity and inclusion sustainability.

Headway East London is an Equal Opportunities Employer and we are committed to ensuring that all staff are motivated, skilled and rewarded by their work. We welcome applicants regardless of race, religion or belief, colour, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age and other protected status as required by law. We promote and protect human rights; they are the foundation of what we do. We want to be an inclusive place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come and contribute their unique strengths and perspectives. We are focused on equality and believe that all the fascinating characteristics that make us different, make us more able to deliver our life-changing work with passion and creativity.

As Community Support Worker you will play a vital role in supporting the Project Manager as well as mentors and mentees in the community to encourage a young man make positive connections to enable him to desist from re-offending and give him a sense of hope for the future.

This will involve:

· Visiting the prison to meet mentees and mentors before release and assisting in development of initial three-month plan.

· Assess what support the mentee has in the community (include family, partners) and what additional support is needed.

· Research what services and agencies are available in the area. Identify relevant services (including probation services) to establish and build working relationships with, especially those who can offer Education, Training and Employment opportunities for the mentees.

· Ensure mentee and mentor needs are being met in the community and supportive measures are in place.

· Facilitating and supporting the mentoring relationship within the community when the mentee is released (through the gate) attending housing, probation, job centre appointments when required; being their advocate for making a claim for benefits; attending DWP appointments; accessing drug and alcohol services etc.

· Support mentors in helping mentees improve social skills, daily living skills, such as shopping, cleaning, self-care – find services that can offer additional support to the mentee/mentor.

· Attend and participate in meetings regarding the successful rehabilitation of prisoners

· Provide support to mentors in the community.

· Support the Project Manager with recruitment and training of new volunteers when required.

Person Specification

Essential experience and Knowledge required:

· The ability to communicate effectively with a broad range of stakeholders.

· A proven self-starter with a high level of self-motivation.

· Ability to work in a challenging environment.

· Good IT skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

· Personable in approach.

· Excellent administration and note writing skills.

· Good organisational skills.

· Committed and passionate about the role.

· Experience of work with challenging, hard to engage or disaffected groups of people.

· An understanding of the key issues facing young offenders and the challenges they face in desisting from crime.

· Ability to work independently, make informed decisions but understanding when to access support when needed.

· Driving license required with access to a vehicle.

· Applicants should be based within the Buckinghamshire and Oxford area, with an exceptional knowledge of local services across the specified region.

Preferred experience required:

·       Previous Criminal Justice experience is highly desirable, as well as working with young men or youth.

· Experience of the voluntary sector and ethos of volunteering.

· Experience of working within employment sector.

· Knowledge of the local area and services that are available for mentees and willingness to extend relationships for Trailblazers and other stakeholders.

Applicants should send their CV and covering letter for the attention of John Edu-Amuah

Closing date for applications is 5.30pm on Friday 8th May 2026

Trailblazers Mentoring is committed to equality and diversity and strongly encourages applications from BAME groups and those with personal experience of the criminal justice system.

Do you want to support people with mental health issues in a moment of crisis?

Are you calm, non-judgemental and able to work effectively with people experiencing distress?

If you can embody our values of Hope, Courage, Togetherness, and Responsiveness, and want to help others build resilience and manage their wellbeing, we’d love to hear from you.

Job title: Community Support Worker (Primary Care Network)
Reference Number: 342
Salary: £26,000 - £27,000 per annum
Reports to: Team Leader (Complex Needs & Community)
Hours: 37.5 hours per week (Full time)
Work Pattern: Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm
Working base: St Albans

We are looking for a Community Support Worker to join our team. The Primary Care Network (PCN) Service works in partnership with GP surgeries in Hertfordshire to provide advice, information, onward referral and holistic support to individuals who are experiencing mental ill health or need support with their mental wellbeing.

Community Support (PCN) Service Objectives

• To improve the mental wellbeing of people experiencing mental ill health.
• To increase early access to help for people experiencing mental ill health, by providing a clear and effective pathway to services provided by Herts Mind Network and other third sector and statutory providers.
• To contribute to an improvement in individual mental wellbeing.
• To remain a source of independent support for all clients.
• To reduce the use of crisis services by people experiencing mental ill health without positive outcomes for the individual.
• To contribute to an improvement in the proportion of people with mental ill health who are accessing support.
• To provide an assertive outreach approach for clients who are in crisis and/ or those that may have complex or multiple needs.

The Successful Candidate will

• Provide advice, information, onward referral and holistic support to clients who are experiencing mental ill health or need support with their mental wellbeing.
• Maintain and enhance service delivery standards and effectiveness.
• Promoting the service, increasing visibility and being responsive to changing needs.
• Provide practical and emotional support to encourage service users to develop their independence within their local community.
• Ensure that the safety and wellbeing of service users using the service is monitored and reviewed regularly.
• To remain a source of independent support for all clients.
• Embed a person centred and recovery orientated approach in all aspects of the roles and responsibilities.

Key Accountabilities

• To receive referrals a wide range of referral pathways.
• To undertake initial contact with clients and complete a holistic needs assessment, making use of assertive outreach work to achieve the initial client contact, if required.
• To provide holistic support both outreach and in our centres and advocacy services to clients experiencing mental ill health.
• Ensure all person-centered risk assessments and support plans are completed as appropriate.
• To accompany clients to initial visits and appointments as necessary in order to ensure the sustained use of existing support services.
• To liaise with other agencies to ensure that clients receive appropriate support and continue to remain engaged with the service.
• To assist clients to access appropriate mental health services, drug and alcohol services, housing/tenancy services and other services according to assessed needs.
• To establish effective pathways across a variety of agencies to maximise and provide effective partnership working.

We offer:

• Annual leave entitlement of 25 days per year pro rata, rising in increments to a max. of 29 days after 5 years employment (plus 8 days Bank Holidays)
• An additional day of leave each year for your birthday following completion of probation period.
• Ongoing training relevant to your role.
• An Employee Assistance Programme.
• Health cover (after 6 months employment) – compensation payment for Optical, Dental, Chiropody and Therapy Treatments.

Being able to drive and having access to your own vehicle (or equivalent) is essential for this role.

Closing date for receipt of applications is on 1st May 2026 5pm
Interviews to be held on a rolling basis at our Watford Wellbeing centre.
Please note: this role may close sooner due to demand in applications.
N.B. Please quote reference number 330 when completing your application for this role.

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

We welcome applications from all suitably-qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief, or sexual orientation.

In addition, during the various stages of recruitment, specific measures can be taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates with disabilities or special needs.

Hertfordshire Mind Network is committed to the Disability Confident and Mindful Employer charters. We actively recruit staff who have a lived experience of mental ill health. Our inclusive approach recognises the unique skills, knowledge, and perspectives that lived experience brings to our team.

No agencies please.

Barnet Mencap is a charity based in Finchley that provides support and runs a multitude of projects for people with learning disabilities and/or Autism. We are dynamic, enthusiastic, diverse, and committed to equal opportunities and the safeguarding of children and adults at risk.  

There is currently a vacancy within our Equality Housing Team for a focused individual to join our caring, passionate, and diverse team in supporting adults with moderate learning disabilities and autistic adults to live independently in housing situations of their choice. Please view the Job Description and Person Specification for a better idea of what the role entails and what we’re looking for. 

The successful candidate will have: 

• Experience of working with adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults in a community setting 

• Understanding of the issues faced by people with learning disabilities and autistic people living independently and the skills to meet their practical, social and emotional needs 

• A ‘Person Centred Planning’ ethos 

• Providing support with personal care as required

• Excellent communication and record keeping skills 

We know job satisfaction, flexibility, work/life balance, and a great team are incredibly important. So, at Barnet Mencap, in addition to offering 30 days of annual leave per year (including Bank Holidays), we have a TOIL system to allow flexible working, and our team can benefit from other perks including the Blue Light Card. 

Please note that unfortunately we are unable to support with sponsorship.

To apply, please send your CV alongside a covering letter explaining how you meet the criteria on the person specification or fill in an application form which you can find on our website.   

The successful candidate will be required to complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service application in line with Section 115 of The Police Act 1997.   

Closing Date:  Thursday 14th May

Interview Date:   We will review applications as they come in and offer interviews to those who meet the criteria. 

JOB TITLE: Kinship Community & Family Support Worker

RESPONSIBLE TO: Kinship Services Manager

HOURS OF WORK Part-time 28hours (evening and weekend work will be required)

LOCATION: Hybrid – in person community delivery, with requirements to attend office base in Edinburgh/East Lothian, and home working possible

SALARY / GRADE: Fixed term 24 months (with potential for extension, funding allowing)

Grade 4 / £28,615 per annum fte – pro-rata

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

•Kinship Services Manager

•Adoption UK Scotland and Kinship service colleagues

•The Adoption and Kinship Community in Scotland

•Local Authorities and external commissioners

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

·To support the community work of Adoption UK Scotland and their kinship services, to provide professionals, parents/carers, children, and young people access to information, resources, and services for kinship communities and to engage with families in their local communities.

·To offer a front-line service, primarily to kinship families based in the East Lothian Community, by supporting delivery and administration for activities and events, including regular support groups delivery, youth and family events. Support of events in other areas in Scotland based on resources and availability.

·To hold and manage kinship care family cases, providing direct family support within service guidelines and delivery model.

·Support planning, organisation of, and attendance at, in person and online events through funded projects and services to bring together kinship families and individuals, enable peer support, build a sense of community and promote an active and supportive Community Network.

·To respond to enquiries received via the Information and Support Service and relevant email inboxes with relevant information and/or signposting.

·To be part of the wider kinship service team within Adoption UK Scotland, working across teams and services.

·Work collaboratively with colleagues across all services areas of Adoption UK

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

·Working alongside service leads within the kinship teams, and with the wider community team members to plan and deliver specific events and activities for East Lothian Council Kinship community members, and kinship families in wider areas where resources and availability allows.

·Provide administrative coordination for community groups, including collating event materials, gathering feedback and evaluations for reporting purposes, supporting delivery of events, maintaining records using existing required systems, and responding to enquiries via our Information and Support line and relevant email inboxes.

·To facilitate referral meetings with new kinship carers accessing the East Lothian Kinship Support Service, including initial assessment of need to identify suitable support and signposting requirements

·To hold responsibility for administrative requirements relating to referrals and cases within the East Lothian Kinship Support Service, including setting up new cases and recording service delivery interactions, using existing Adoption UK systems and processes

·To work with colleagues in the Foundations for Families kinship support service to support delivery where time and resources allow, and coordinate activities between services where appropriate.

·To report to line manager and directors in Adoption UK Scotland relating to service delivery, including contributing to monitoring and reporting on activities.

·To work alongside Adoption UK colleagues to develop and improve resources and services for kinship carers

Knowledge and experience

• Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of the kinship legislation system, issues and challenges faced by kinship individuals. (Essential)
• Experience of engagement and direct work with families (Essential)
• Experience of facilitation of in person and online groups (or commitment to learn) and commitment to digital safeguarding (Essential)

Qualifications and Education

• Relevant degree or qualification (e.g. community work, social sciences) or equivalent experience (Essential)

Skills and abilities

• Report writing and record keeping (Essential)
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal (Essential)
• Ability to build and maintain relationships (Essential)
• The ability to use Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) (Essential)

Accountability

• Liaise with colleagues to share updates and information
• Report to supervisor and relevant managers and external commissioners on activities

Behaviours

• Takes pride in Adoption UK and promotes its values and mission in all interactions with external stakeholders.
• Demonstrates commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of role at all times.
• Follows all policies and procedures relating to risk assessments, safeguarding and youth service delivery
• Contributes to an open and honest culture
• Encourages challenge and creativity, transparency and consistency.
• Leads by example.
• Offers outstanding service to members.
• Promotes cross functional team working, sharing skills and knowledge
• Communicates clearly, seeking clarity when unclear and valuing the opinion of others.
• Valuing the opinion of other. Treating colleagues and other stakeholders with respect.
• Takes pride in own development, committed to achieving high standards and agreed objectives

Mind in Haringey is an independent charity organisation providing vital mental health services to our community in Haringey since 1989.

We have a broad and exciting range of services and projects running in a dynamic, evolving environment. We are constantly striving to develop and improve our services through listening to our community, peers, and staff team to evaluate and deliver the best possible projects for our community.

Working with Mind in Haringey will give you the opportunity to join a small, creative team with many opportunities for learning and progression. We are a diverse and passionate team, who welcome experiences and perspectives from all backgrounds. 

We particularly encourage applications from those with lived experience of mental health, from racialised communities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and residents of Haringey who are passionate about changing things for the better in the borough. 

Haringey is a melting pot of culture, history, and resilience. Though there is much that needs to be improved, we are proud to work as part of a community that has displayed great strength in hardship both in the past and in more recent years. Interested in joining us in this work? We look forward to receiving your application for the role.

We are seeking a passionate and dedicated Community Wellbeing Development Worker to support grassroots organisations in Haringey in developing and delivering wellbeing activities. The role will focus on enhancing the capacity of local groups to improve the mental wellbeing of diverse community members through collaboration, training, and resource development to ensure that local organisations are empowered, confident, and equipped to improve mental health outcomes across the borough.

Deliver hands-on advice, outreach, training and mentoring as part of a countywide partnership programme.

This four-year role, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, sits at the heart of the Small and Mighty (SaM) infrastructure support programme, delivered by a partnership of Community First Oxfordshire, OCVA, Oxford Community Action, Charity Mentors and Volunteer Link-Up, working directly with grassroots voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups. You’ll help organisations navigate challenges, build capacity and connect with others through outreach clinics, tailored training and collaborative spaces. Alongside staff within partner organisations and the existing CFO and OCVA teams, you’ll play a key role in strengthening Oxfordshire’s community sector for the long term.

Deliver hands-on advice, outreach, training and mentoring as part of a new countywide partnership programme.

This four-year role, funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, sits at the heart of the Small and Mighty (SaM) infrastructure support programme, delivered by a partnership of Community First Oxfordshire, OCVA, Oxford Community Action, Charity Mentors and Volunteer Link-Up, working directly with grassroots voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups. You’ll help organisations navigate challenges, build capacity and connect with others through outreach clinics, tailored training and collaborative spaces. Alongside staff within partner organisations and the existing CFO and OCVA team, you’ll play a key role in strengthening Oxfordshire’s community sector for the long term.

Job-share will be considered.

Join our team to help us build sustainable community-led social action in North Kirklees!

This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for someone looking to play a key role in a small but influential national charity building a positive legacy for the late Jo Cox MP.

We are looking for someone with experience of working on community building and organising initiatives, who is skilled in engaging and working collaboratively with diverse communities, with a self-motivated, action-oriented approach, and a genuine commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

Through this role you will play a key part in continuing Jo Cox’s legacy over the years to come.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Community Action Worker will frequently travel across Batley, Dewsbury and Heckmondwike to support local people and groups to develop community-led social action initiatives that bring people together across lines of difference. Working in line with asset-based community development and community organising approaches, you will support local groups to start, build, grow and sustain projects that strengthen neighbourliness and bring people together around shared interests. 

You will also work as part of a local interdisciplinary team to develop arts-based activity through a More in Common Creative Collective. This would celebrate difference and challenge narratives of division through creative community work. You will also support the delivery of facilitated dialogue through the Let’s Talk programme, helping communities address division through conversation.

ABOUT YOU

We’re looking for someone who is deeply committed to building community power and supporting community-led change. You will bring experience in asset-based community development, community organising, movement building, or closely related approaches, which might include mentoring and coaching. Alongside this you will have a relational way of working that starts with listening, trust-building, and identifying the strengths, interests and leadership that already exist within communities. 

You will be self-motivated and comfortable working on your own initiative, bringing organisational skills needed to contribute to planning, delivery of events, learning and reporting. Experience of partnership working, supporting community events or social action, and contributing to funded programmes would all be valuable. Furthermore, you will be confident working across culture, faith, ethnicity, class and other lines of difference. You will have good interpersonal skills and will be able to build relationships quickly while approaching this work with humility, ambition, curiosity and respect. 

Above all, you will bring values that align strongly with The Jo Cox Foundation’s vision and Jo’s ‘more in common’ ethos. This will be reflected in your belief in the strengths of communities, and your commitment to bringing people together across difference.

ABOUT THE JO COX FOUNDATION’S WORK IN WEST YORKSHIRE

The Jo Cox Foundation was established in 2016 by the friends and family of the late Jo Cox MP. The Foundation exists to make positive change on issues that Jo was passionate about. Just as she did, we believe in working together effectively with individuals and organisations that share the belief that we have more in common than that which divides us.

We build stronger communities and encourage more respectful politics. To date, our campaigns and initiatives have addressed a broad range of issues including tackling loneliness, bridging divides, and reducing abuse and intimidation in public life. Jo Cox’s career took her around the world, yet her sense of belonging and her identity were always firmly rooted in West Yorkshire.

Too often our politics and society emphasises our differences rather than our commonality. We believe that helping people to recognise that commonality allows us to feel more connected, build empathy and increase trust. It also builds understanding of the stark inequalities that many groups face within our society and strengthens the collective will to take action. Though we cannot address the root cause of all inequalities, we commit to championing change and advocating for action.

The Jo Cox Foundation continues to maintain its roots in West Yorkshire. We aim to generate and support community-led action - undertaken with local knowledge, credibility and evidence - to drive change alongside communities and to share success across national networks.

“I am Batley and Spen born and bred, and I could not be prouder of that. I am proud that I was made in Yorkshire and I am proud of the things we make in Yorkshire. Britain should be proud of that, too.”

Jo Cox, Maiden Speech 2015

ABOUT BRIDGING & BELONGING 

We have completed Stage 1 of Bridging & Belonging, which involved a series of local listening events. What we heard was clear: people in North Kirklees want more chances to connect with one another and to shape what happens in their neighbourhoods, using their own ideas, skills and experience to make a positive difference.

We are now moving into Stage 2, a four-year project funded through the National Lottery Community Fund’s Reaching Communities programme. This phase will strengthen neighbourliness, reduce division, and support community-led action that builds stronger, more connected communities. It is rooted in asset-based community development and creative, participatory community organising, with a focus on helping local people start, grow and sustain social action that brings people together across lines of difference.

Bridging & Belonging is already established, you will join a project with strong foundations, trusted relationships and a clear direction. Working alongside colleagues, residents and local partners, you will help shape the next phase of the project while keeping local people at the heart of its priorities and activities.

Over the coming years, the work will support community-led action that strengthens neighbourliness and hyper-local connection, creates new ways for people to connect across communities, and develops projects built around shared interests, shared places and shared concerns. It will also back activity that celebrates local strengths, makes space for difference, and builds a stronger sense of belonging.

Alongside this, you will also:

• help develop a More in Common Creative Collective with residents and partners, using arts and creativity to challenge division and share local stories;

• support the development of a Community of Practice that brings together staff, partners and community members to share learning and build relationships; and

• support Let’s Talk, a facilitated conversation series that helps people address tensions and divisions through careful, relational dialogue.

WORKING AT THE JO COX FOUNDATION

One of our core values at The Jo Cox Foundation is empathy, and we work hard to apply this to our relationships with our staff as well within the work that we do.

As a remote organisation, we recognise the challenges that this brings, so we carefully consider how we can build a team culture where everyone feels accepted and included. We do this through a combination of frequent team days (with a mixture of remote and in-person days) and through regular and ongoing ways for the team to connect, both for work and to socialise.

In our most recent staff survey:

• 100% of staff felt proud to work at The Jo Cox Foundation

• 100% felt that The Jo Cox Foundation actively supports their wellbeing

• 100% thought that the team at The Jo Cox Foundation works in a supportive and collaborative way