Community Voice Officer

Position:                               Community Voice Officer

Location:                              Barnsley, South Yorkshire

Hours:                                   25 hours to be taken between Mon – Fri, one day working from home, other days expected to be in the community or office

Salary:                                  £30,000 pro rata; 5% pension contribution, 33 days of annual leave entitlement (inclusive of bank holidays) pro rata

 Reportable to:                    Healthwatch Manager

Direct reports:                    None

Job Purpose

Healthwatch Barnsley (hosted by Barnsley CVS), is going through an exciting redesign to enable community voices to have even greater impact on the current strategies and developments in Barnsley.  The Community Engagement Officer role is an impactful and rewarding opportunity to join the Healthwatch Barnsley Team as we navigate upcoming changes introduced through the new NHS 10 Year Plan and the forthcoming Health Bill.  This role will ensure that the voices of Barnsley residents remain central as we work towards building a health and social care system that is fit for the future.

You will use your excellent interpersonal skills and creativity to gather feedback on Barnsley priorities, ensuring residents’ views shape local projects and developments contributing to Barnsley’s vision as the “Place of Possibilities”.

Working with Barnsley CVS and other established third-sector organisations you will identify new ways to reach under-represented or seldom-heard communities and strengthen how their voices inform local decision-making. You will collaborate with the wider Healthwatch team to support a strong, credible and independent voice within Barnsley’s strategic boards, helping to create a genuinely “Listening Borough”.

By capturing residents’ experiences and feeding them back to services you will contribute to a continuous feedback loop that empowers communities, builds trust and encourages ongoing participation in future engagement activities.

Key focus areas you could be working on include topics such as system-wide shifts

·        Hospital to Community

·        Analogue to Digital

·        Sickness to Prevention

·        Health on the high street

·        The Barnsley 2040 vision

As part of the redesign, you will work as a team to design new ways to create dynamic feedback loops to the public using tools such as magazine creation, blogs or vlogs, podcasts, social media.  Your work will ensure that the communities in Barnsley know that their voice can have a genuine impact on the shaping of their town.

Employee benefits

- 33 days of annual leave (including bank holiday) which increases with longevity

- all staff given time off between Christmas and New Year without it impacting your leave entitlement

- enhanced sick pay during probation and increased entitlement with longevity

- 5% pension contribution

- discounts at local gym

- Enhanced maternity pay