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Are you passionate about patient and public engagement, effecting system change, and improving services? Are you confident to lead engagement and research, and tell the story of the findings to decision-makers? Are you a great project manager, who is excited by the opportunity to lead the delivery of a user-led Healthwatch? If so, we’d love to work with you in order to improve the experiences of people using health and social care services in Barnet.
This is an exciting opportunity for someone with lived experience of disability (which could include a long term condition or mental health issue) to lead a small team in the delivery of Barnet’s statutory Healthwatch function.
As Manager, you will have a fundamental role in leading staff and volunteers, and ensuring users, patients and external stakeholders are involved in shaping the future of healthcare services in the Borough. Local people are at the heart of everything we do, and you will lead and guide the team to ensure that patients and users are heard, their experiences shared, and their voices amplified, creating change and improving services for all.
In return for your commitment to the cause, you will become part of a friendly and supportive team, working within a focused but flexible culture, where diversity is valued and you can bring your whole self to work. You’ll be based in our Colindale office, and able to attend meetings across Barnet, but with extensive opportunities for home working.
About Healthwatch
The Health and Social Care Act 2012 required each local authority area to set up a Healthwatch organisation. Healthwatch gives give people a powerful voice both locally and nationally. At a local level, Healthwatch Barnet works to help people get the best from their health and social care services, whether it's improving them today, or helping to shape them for tomorrow. Healthwatch Barnet is about local voices being able to influence the delivery and design of their services, not just for the people who use them, but anyone who might need to use them in future.
Healthwatch Barnet transferred to Inclusion Barnet on 1st April 2020. It is commissioned by the London Borough of Barnet to provide the following 6 key functions:
- Gather views and understand the experiences of patients and the public.
- Make people’s views known.
- Promote and support the involvement of people in the commissioning and provision of local care services and how they are scrutinised.
- Recommend investigation or special review of services via Healthwatch England or directly to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
- Provide advice and information (signposting) about access to services and support for making informed choices
- Making the views and experiences of local people known to Healthwatch England (and to other local Healthwatch organisations) and providing a steer to help it carry out its role as national champion.
About Inclusion Barnet
Inclusion Barnet is a thriving peer-led charity based in North West London. We are a friendly, supportive and inclusive team. We believe in the power of experience and this is demonstrated by all our services being led, developed and delivered by people with lived experience of disability, including mental health issues and long-term conditions. We believe that learning to use our lived experience for social change is a skill. We have become experts in harnessing the lived experience of our staff, members, volunteers and people who use our services to design and deliver higher quality, more person-centred services. We believe that this benefits both disabled people and society more widely.
Please submit a brief covering letter with your CV outlining how your skills match the job description and person specification. This post is only open to people with lived experience of disability. A DBS check will be required. In your covering letter, please ensure that you explain you would draw on insights from your own lived experience of disability to deliver the role.
Using our lived experience of disability to create more inclusive services and communities

The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Healthwatch Richmond are the independent champion for people who use health and social care services. We’re here to make sure that those running services, put people at the heart of health and social care services and to help people to find the information they need.
Our purpose is to understand the needs, experiences and concerns of people who use health and social care services and to speak out on their behalf to ensure that they meet the needs of our community.
You’ll see work through from start to finish; designing and undertaking projects, analysing results, writing reports and promoting the outcomes and impact.
You will undertake projects using surveys, interviews, focus groups and visits to gather the views and experiences of people who use NHS and social care. With this data you will produce evidenced reports with recommendations for how services could or should improve. Our work is challenging and constantly evolving so the ability to pick-up new skills and approaches, adapt ones and find pragmatic solutions is essential.
Our work is dynamic and constantly evolving so the ability to pick-up new skills and approaches, adapt and find pragmatic solutions is essential. As part of a small team you will be involved in many aspects of the organisation.
Induction, support and training will be provided in line with the candidate’s needs.
Our mission: To understand people’s experiences and use these experiences to ensure that everyone in Richmond can get the health and care they need.

The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
About The Advocacy Project
We help people speak up and make decisions about their health, wellbeing and social care. We’re here to make sure people across all ages and care groups can understand their rights, make effective choices about their lives and voice their concerns.
Some of the ways we do this include:
- advocacy services that make sure people can express their wishes when decisions are being made about their care or wellbeing
- user involvement projects that help organisations improve what they offer by listening to people who use their services
- local Healthwatch organisations, which act as health and social care champions for the areas they serve and give people a direct channel to share their feedback
Our services are independent, confidential, and free to those receiving them. Together, our teams are standing up for essential rights and supporting people to have a say on the issues that matter to them.
About the role
We are looking for someone to lead an exciting project commissioned by Central North West London (CNWL) to improve health outcomes for people with autism in Brent.
The Autism Care Navigator project will improve access to pre and post diagnostic support for Brent residents on the Adult Autism Assessment waiting list. The Project will work closely with the Brent LD community team, other healthcare providers including primary care, and Brent residents.
The post holder will offer care navigation support to individuals, helping people to access health and social care services and improving understanding of what services are available. They will collect people’s stories and experiences, run consultations and focus groups and feed into wider consultation, working to address system issues. The role will also involve sitting on relevant strategic boards and groups to make sure that experiences and challenges of people with autism in Brent are included in decision making.
Using your experience of working with autistic people, you may also support other staff and services to improve how they work with and support autistic people.
Key responsibilities
- Respond to referrals accurately and efficiently.
- Raise awareness of the project to maximise participation and engagement.
- Communicate in an appropriate and sensitive manner to gain an understanding of an individual’s health and signpost accordingly.
- Provide information, support or signposting for people with autism in order to inform or empower individuals on issues about their health.
- Develop and maintain an accurate record of health and social care organisations and associated referral processes.
- Develop, organise and run focus and awareness groups for people with autism and their families and carers to improve awareness of health conditions.
- Develop and support accessible user involvement opportunities, including focus groups and workshops, so that autistic people can share feedback, influence the service and help improve local support.
- Develop and support an effective advisory group of autistic people to help inform and improve the service.
- Work according to the Equality Act 2010 and other forms of legislation that combat discrimination and promote equality and diversity.
- Develop good working relationships with key staff within health and social care services.
- Meet case-working standards, reporting and monitoring requirements.
- Undertake any other tasks and duties as required.
General responsibilities
- Participate in team meetings and training.
- Participate in personal, team and organisational development.
- Contribute to monitoring reports.
- Keep to our policies, including health & safety, safeguarding and risk regulations.
- Work to our mission, vision, and values.
- Carry out other projects and tasks as needed.
Person specification
We welcome applications from people with transferrable skills and qualities, and people with diverse employment histories and personal backgrounds.
Essential qualities and attributes:
- Excellent communication skills and ability to work effectively with people with autism, team members and stakeholders to build and keep excellent relationships.
- Excellent, succinct and well-structured writing skills with the ability to document outcomes and stories.
- Ability to organise and run groups, supporting all members to participate and gathering key information.
- Ability to work with people calmly, sensitively and positively and seeking solutions using individuals’ strengths.
- Ability to listen and build trust with those you are working with.
- Good attention to detail and ability to manage your own workload.
- Ability to work independently, use initiative and manage competing priorities with limited supervision.
- Confident in using database systems to input and analyse data.
- Confident user of virtual communications methods, excellent IT skills including use of Microsoft Office.
- Demonstrable understanding of inclusive practice
- Excellent administration skills, logical and process driven.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders.
- Vision, flexible approach and project management skills to be able to develop a project, responding to developing needs of the service.
- Commitment to working within The Advocacy Project’s code of conduct, equality and safeguarding policies.
- Willingness to attend further training and to adopt new procedures.
- Willingness to promote The Advocacy Project in line with our mission, vision and values.
Essential knowledge, experience and qualifications:
- Experience of working with people with autism.
- Experience of leading and developing autism-specific project.
- Understanding of health and social care systems.
Desirable knowledge, experience and qualifications:
- Understanding of the public health challenges in Brent.
- Knowledge of Brent and/or North West London.
- Evidence of ongoing personal development and training related to the role.
Benefits of working for us
We’re committed to providing an empowering, flexible and supportive working environment for all our staff.
Our employee benefits include 30 days annual leave (including up to 3 days between Christmas and New Year), participation in a pension scheme with 6% employer contribution, access to a free confidential counselling service, and an interest-free travel/bike loan.
All our staff are supported to learn and develop in a variety of ways, including a monthly lecture series where we invite sector experts to talk to our staff on topical issues.
We are a Disability Confident and Mindful Employer.
We help people speak up and make decisions about their health, wellbeing and social care.



The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.