Community Development Worker - Villagers Connect

Villagers Connect Project – a great opportunity to join our team at Action in rural Sussex

Villagers Connect is a community development project which is working to sustain a strong and vibrant community in the villages of Colgate, Faygate and Rusper. It aims to build connections and relationships which increase confidence, independence and empowerment, particularly for the over 65’s.

We are seeking a part-time community development worker to work as part of a small team that is active in this rural location in the Horsham district. This role involves a good deal of community-based activity, engaging with older people and the wider community. This does therefore require someone who is understanding of older people and their interests, abilities and needs.

We champion an asset based approach to community development, which is about building on existing strengths and supporting local people to flourish; undertaking community led projects that create community cohesion and have lasting impact.

Key Objectives

·       Support older people to access services and support locally that will meet their needs and improve their quality of life

·       Improve the lived experiences for older people in these rural communities

·       Build connections and relationships across and within the three parishes to reduce social isolation

·       Develop new and support existing activities to enable a vibrant community

·       Increase confidence, independence and empowerment amongst individuals, groups and community based organisations.

·       Strengthen existing community assets, knowledge and skills in line with our asset based approach to the Villagers Connect Project

·       Support community resilience by building community networks which are strong and sustainable into the future

Two years in, the project is well established and has gone from strength to strength. We are now seeking a new member of the team to help drive this project forward and enable this community to celebrate what can be achieved when people come together and support one another to age well and live full and active lives, despite the challenges of rural living.