Community Organiser

Community Organiser @ Big Local Works

Are you an experienced community organiser looking to make a real difference in an urban community? Do you have experience of working with minoritised and marginalised communities? Are you a people-person with the skills and tenacity to help local people start exciting new initiatives?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to join our team at Big Local Works (BLW) as our Community Organiser. Based on a historic Market Square recently refurbished with £2m from the GLA, we want to develop a more people-powered regeneration to sit alongside the massive property development happening all around us.

As well as driving economic improvements, we want to help create a more tolerant, cohesive, and vibrant local community where everybody is welcome. Part of that is to help local people create more community events, activities, and enterprises that give people the chance to collaborate together and build a lively community where people work and play together.

We need someone with the imagination, creativity and skill to support communities and individuals to have a say in how their community develops, but also take an active part in shaping the area. We have already helped many local people set up their own initiatives, building their confidence and helping them find resources – including the Bermondsey Literature festival, Latin markets, and a range of dance, ecology and arts projects.  This role could help shape the future of South Bermondsey and help us make a great place even better – with a more inclusive economy and community for all.

Key to this is better involvement and increasing the visibility of people from a wider range of backgrounds, in a highly divided area. You’ll play a key role in fostering a welcoming community by helping navigate occasional conflicts, with support from your manager, and approaching challenging interactions with empathy and professionalism.

 

If this sounds like an exciting challenge, please take a look at the job spec and apply using the instructions there.

 

JOB TITLE: Community Organiser – Enterprise and Engagement

 

ORGANISATION: Big Local Works – Charity No: 1182561

 

LOCATION: Big Local Works 4 Market Place, London SE16 3UQ

 

REPORTING TO: Charity Manager

 

General Information

Big Local Works (BLW) is a community-focused economic and social inclusion charity based in Bermondsey, South East London. We want to help create a thriving, inclusive local economy and a community in which everyone can participate.

 

We deliver our support in the community through three main services:

• Expert welfare and benefits advice and advocacy for local people experiencing poverty and hardship
• Employability Skills training and coaching to help people access ways of increasing their earned income
• Start-up and enterprise support for clients who wish to start trading on the local ‘Blue Market’ People Powered Regeneration
• Wider community building designed to create a more tolerant, diverse, and lively local community where everybody is welcome

 

We have a strategic vision to create a ‘people-powered regeneration’ in an area already undergoing massive redevelopment. In July 2019, a community campaign was successful in securing £2m funding from the GLA for the ‘Made in Bermondsey’ regeneration project centred on making key improvements to the local marketplace,

the Blue Market in South Bermondsey. Final works were completed in July 2022 and the market now has a first-class infrastructure for traders, local residents and visitors to use and enjoy the Blue Market Place. The market also showcases a vision of a better future for the local area: a more prosperous, resilient and connected local community where people come together to trade, socialise, and celebrate across the diverse boundaries.

 

South Bermondsey has a problematic history with racism and other forms of intolerance, and while migrant (recent and longer-term) communities have begun to settle in Bermondsey after many years of exclusion, there remains a sense that they are not full members of our community. Through our work we seek to empower local people, encourage enterprise and community activity, which is intended both to support the economic regeneration of the area and to empower and increase the confidence of local diverse communities.

 

Most recently, we have been successful in securing £200,000 from the Esmee Fairbairn Charity for strategy and community engagement support in the local area.

 

Our key goals are

• Local people have more say over the changes in their local community.
• This means that local people are actively involved in the development of place-based community assets,activities and projects.
• Local people will have more influence on local development and regeneration.
• A more diverse range of local people work together to improve their community, which means community members from a wider range of backgrounds become active citizens.
• There are better relationships and increased collaboration between local stakeholders.
• People feel proud of their local area, and hopeful for the future.
• Stories and messages about the area are more inclusive and welcoming of diverse perspectives and communities.
• People are better informed about the opportunities and assets in their local community.

Community Organiser – Enterprise and Engagement

Over the past 2 years, we’ve undertaken in-depth research and community mapping to understand our area’s needs, assets and lived experiences.

 

This role has three key responsibilities:

 

• Outreach and engagement with diverse local communities to help them build a stronger, more representative voice.
• Supporting the development of new initiatives by local people to stimulate a sense of community.
• Ensuring that a wider range of local people are involved and included in community activity, and their voices heard – especially those from marginalized communities

 

Key Tasks include

• Provide practical support and encouragement to the development of new initiatives in the local area.
• Broker collaborations and relationships between local groups, helping them develop relationships and networks.
• Identify and develop active citizens, and support them to develop and deliver their own individual and shared community Initiatives – from microbusinesses on the market, to dance and knitting clubs or arts groups
• Facilitate groups and provide ‘servant leadership’ for community groups where appropriate, managing conflict effectively
• Develop effective and positive relationships with local stakeholders from many different backgrounds, communicating assertively and with diplomacy and tact.
• Organise Events: Plan and host public and private events, both online and in person, to strengthen community ties and increase visibility.
• Work closely with the Business Improvement District, local charities and businesses and key strategic partners to help us achieve the overall aims of the People-Powered Regeneration
• Build and maintain a network of contacts among our priority groups and communicate efficiently with them
• Lead on day-to-day local communications and marketing, supporting the development of newsletters and online content, with appropriate support and resource
• Contribute to research and evaluation across activities to ensure our work has the best possible impact.
• Help represent the work to existing and potential supporters, and the local community, to secure buy-in and support for the programme

 

Person Specification: Key Skills that would help you in this role:

 

Skills, knowledge and experience

• Experience of developing relationships with a range of different and diverse community groups especially focusing on historically marginalised groups, especially BAME and recent migrant communities, as well as communities of faith, LGBTQ+ people, and others.
• A strong understanding of, and commitment to, the principles and practices of ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion and how these relate to community organising.
• Demonstrable experience of maintaining strong working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently and proactively, with effective time management and prioritisation skills, to be able to multitask.
• Ability to communicate confidently, professionally, and approachably.
• Experience of managing conflict and challenging behaviour, with appropriate management support
• A high level of written and oral communication skills
• Experience of managing a small budget.
• Professional IT skills including confidence using Microsoft Office and Google Drive, and use of social media. Training can be given.

 

Personal qualities

• A people-person who actively enjoys getting out and meeting people and forming connections with others
• Somebody with enthusiasm and passion, but also an ability to focus on getting things done
• Somebody who enjoys working both alone and as part of a team, with the ability to inspire, motivate and work collaboratively with others.

 

Desirable:

• We would particularly welcome those with experience of applying one or more recognised community organising framework
• We would particularly welcome those with experience of supporting microenterprise, as well as purely recreational social/ community-focused activity.

 

If you feel that your skills and experience do not fully meet the criteria as listed in the Job Description but that you have other relevant skills and experience that would support you in this role, please do apply and note these in your application.

 

You will benefit from

• 25 days holiday a year plus bank holidays
• A great working environment and culture within a small, but growing, charity dedicated to improving lives in our community
• Monthly contribution towards your mobile phone bill

 

Working pattern

While there is scope for working from home on some tasks, you will need to be present in our centre, on the market, and out and about in the community for a good proportion of your time.

 

There will be a need to work flexibly, including some evenings and some weekends, for which time off in lieu will be given.

 

If you are passionate about supporting individuals and communities facing poverty and improving their lives, and have the skills and experience required for this role, please apply.

 

We present work for everyone and we welcome applications from people from a Black, Asian or Ethnically Diverse background or those who are D/deaf or disabled, or other marginalized communities. By attracting people to work for us from a broad range of backgrounds with diverse attitudes, opinions and beliefs, we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things.

 

MAIN TERMS AND CONDITIONS

•  4 days per week (0.8 FTE)
• Hours normally 9-5pm but likely to include one evening a week and occasional Saturdays (market day).
• Annual salary: Between £24,000 and £25,600 for 4 days/week - depending on experience (FTE £30-£32,000)

 

An enhanced DBS check is essential.

 

To apply, please send:

 

• A full CV and
• A covering letter tailored to the job, which tells us 1) what attracts you to the job itself, and 2) detailing how your skills, experience and qualities make you suitable for the role.

 

Use of AI:

We understand the value of AI tools, and especially recognise their value for people who may need help with their writing. However, we have had to reject a large number of applications for roles recently where AI was used to write CVs and letters that were completely unsuitable and too generic to understand. Please use your own words, experience and ideas to give us the best chance of understanding your application.

 

 

Closing date: 22nd October