Community worker jobs

Join a vibrant and brave grassroots organisation led by Gypsy and Traveller people in West Yorkshire.

Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange (Leeds GATE) is an established and award-winning civil society organisation with a national profile. 

We are recognised as being innovative, brave and creative.  Our overall aim is to improve the quality of life for Gypsies and Travellers through addressing inequalities in homes, health, education, and employment, financial and social inclusion. We run a number of a community facing and strategic projects to achieve our aims including advocacy, community development and youth work. Those who access our services and activities are members of Leeds GATE.  

Job Purpose: 

Job Role 1: Working in Wakefield you will build trusted relationships with Leeds GATE members, residents and families living on the Heath Common local authority site, yards, houses and roadside across the Wakefield district. 80% of your working time will be on site in this location.

Job Role 2: Working in Calderdale you will build trusted relationships with Leeds GATE members, residents and families living on local authority site, yards, houses and roadside across the Calderdale district.  80% o0f your working time will be on site in this location.

Through your relationships you will gain understanding of people’s strengths, interests and hobbies, whilst also building up knowledge of the needs of support, barriers and issues faced by Gypsies and Travellers.   

As a community development worker you will help to develop and create opportunities to engage the community, such as activities and group work, thinking how these can help people to share their ideas, develop their skills, build confidence and empower them, as well as improving  health and wellbeing outcomes to enable better lives.   

The Role

We're looking for an experienced community development worker to lead a portfolio of projects and support the wider Lost Woods team. Using an asset-based community development (ABCD) approach, you'll work with adults, children, young people and families — particularly those facing barriers to accessing nature.

Your lead projects will include:

• Woods on Prescription and sustainable community woodland wellbeing activities
• Five Ways to Family Wellbeing – building confidence to take children and YP into woodlands
• Networking for underserved groups engaging with woodland and nature
• Evaluating and legacy-planning for all lead projects by November 2027

Alongside the team, you'll:

• Engage communities, map needs and help overcome barriers to participation
• Support volunteer groups to develop their own sustainable woodland activities
• Work with landowners, local authorities and partners to improve woodland access
• Deliver training, events and networking for stakeholders
• Report accurately on outcomes and maintain GDPR-compliant records
• Represent AirS at events and through social media
• Contribute to fundraising for Lost Woods and future AirS projects

About You

Essential:

• Experience of community development, including asset-based approaches and mentoring community groups
• Experience delivering nature-based, outdoor or conservation activities across a range of ages and abilities
• Experience working with people from diverse backgrounds, including those with vulnerabilities or complex support needs
• Experience on multi-organisation partnership programmes
• Confident collecting, monitoring and evaluating data and writing funder reports
• Knowledge of ABCD and an understanding of barriers to community involvement, particularly in rural areas
• Strong interpersonal skills — able to influence and motivate volunteers, communities and stakeholders at all levels
• Good organisational skills and experience meeting monitoring and reporting requirements
• Qualified to GCSE level or equivalent; Forest School (level 2/3), Eco Psychology, Nature Connection or Counselling training also considered
• Current driving licence and use of own vehicle
• Outdoor First Aid trained, or willing to be — you'll lead risk assessments for woodland activities

Desirable:

• Accredited qualification or significant experience in community development or community organising
• Knowledge of rural Sussex, relevant statutory services and local conservation organisations
• Experience of line management or team leadership
• Coaching, mentoring or training facilitation skills
• Experience using social media to promote projects

Location: Lost Woods programme area (West, Mid & East Sussex) with home working Hours: 21 hours per week (some evenings/weekends – TOIL given) Salary: £30,833 pro rata Contract: Fixed term – programme ends November 2027 Annual leave: 28 days pro rata | Pension: 5% employer contribution

AirS is committed to equality of opportunity. This post is subject to a DBS check.

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.

Community Outreach Worker – Physical Health
Reference: 341
Salary: £26,000 per annum
Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Contract: 1 Year fixed term (Subject to extension)
Working base(s): Watford, Borehamwood or Hemel Hempstead

About the Service

The Community Outreach Worker plays a vital role in delivering the Physical Health Checks programme for individuals with severe mental illness (SMI). This position focuses on engaging hard-to-reach individuals, facilitating health checks in healthcare settings, community settings, and supporting follow-up care to enhance physical health outcomes. The post holder will collaborate with health professionals and stakeholders to reduce health inequalities and promote recovery

About the Role

The role ensures that individuals with severe mental illness receive timely and effective physical health checks, overcoming barriers to engagement and supporting continuity of care. The post holder will provide proactive outreach to improve health outcomes, promote engagement with primary care and support individuals to access and sustain appropriate health and community-based support.

The post holder will manage their workload independently, maintain accurate documentation, and ensure high standards of service delivery. They will also contribute to monitoring and reporting to support the success and sustainability of the Physical Health Checks programme.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the delivery of the Physical Health Checks programme
• Target and engage individuals on GP mental health registers who are difficult to reach
• Deliver physical health checks in healthcare and community settings, supported accommodation, day centres, and through home visits
• Follow up on health check results and liaise with GPs and social prescribers for onward referrals
• Support clients to access follow-up appointments and ongoing physical health treatment
• Provide one-to-one support tailored to individual needs (in person, via telephone, or email)
• Signpost and assist access to relevant health and wellbeing services
• Facilitate effective liaison between families and professionals, including GPs
• Hold a caseload of clients with SMI, delivering support through home visits and community-based interventions
• Monitor and review the safety and wellbeing of clients on a regular basis
• Maintain accurate documentation including participant notes and data required for monitoring and reporting
• Actively promote the service through GP practice meetings, events, and outreach activities
• Build and maintain effective relationships with health care professionals and community partners to support referrals
• Collect feedback from participants to improve service quality
• Encourage and support clients to access volunteering opportunities that build skills, confidence, and community connection
• Embed a person centred and solution focused approach in all aspects of the role
• To remain a source of independent support for all clients

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.
• Eligibility for blue light card.
• 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 27th May 2026.
Interviews will be held at our Watford Wellbeing Centre on 5th June 2026.
Please note: Due to high numbers of expected applicants, we may close this advert early.

N.B. Please quote reference number 341 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.

CARIS Families is a small charity that supports homeless families living in hostel accommodation in Camden and Hackney.We run play and learning activities for children aged 0-16 from within 4 hostels in these boroughs, as well as a school holiday day trip programme and an Essentials Bank to ease family hardship.Our services for children aim to reduce the stress on children and parents of living in overcrowded, insecure accommodation, and to put back some of the vital childhood experiences that homeless accommodation deprives children of. 

We are currently looking for a trainee playworker who is looking to build a career working with children to join our dedicated frontline play team.You do not need to have any formal experience of playwork, but you do need to be passionate about working with children and supporting them to achieve their potential, and to be able to demonstrate this through previous work or volunteering experience.

This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate, offering a rare entry-level role which alongside providing plenty of on-the-job training, will also fully sponsor their training towards the Level 2 Diploma in Playwork following successful completion of the probationary period.

Our new Playworker will: 

Role Description 

• Help to deliver our hostel-based Kids Club’s play session for 0-16 year olds during term time in the London Borough of Camden

• Help to deliver our School Holiday programme during school holidays (in Camden, Hackney and the wider London area) 

• Support the running of our term-time Essential Bank programme, providing free household goods to families in hostels 

• Provide a warm and welcoming experience for children & their families attending CARIS Families’ services

• Engage with children in their play and learning experiences, through staff-led activities and supporting child-led play. 

Person Specification 

We are looking for someone at the start of their career (or a career-changer) who is: 

• Experienced in working or volunteering within a play-based setting, with children between the ages of 0-16.

• Enthusiastic about supporting children in their free play and facilitating adult-led activities that stretch and stimulate children in their development 

• Passionate about improving opportunities for disadvantaged children 

• Understanding of the varied needs of children and their families 

• Good communicators, comfortable with working with a wide range of service users and professionals 

• Able to work well as part of a team.

Salary: £14 per hour 

Contract: 12 months initially, with a three month probation period, and the possibility of extension beyond 12 months subject to funding.Training for the Level 2 diploma will commence after successful completion of the probation period.

Hours:12 hours across three days a week in term time (40 weeks a year), Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.Please note on Kids Club days the working day ends at 6pm.One day a week (8 hrs) in school holidays (12 weeks a year), days variable.25 days per year Annual Leave (pro rata) with an additional week off over Christmas. 

Your pay will be equalized out across the 12 months of the year so you receive a consistent salary each month.