Peer Researchers (ARF) (4 positions available)

This role is part of an ambitious national initiative called the Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF), funded by the Department for Health and Social Care to support innovation and positive change in adult social care. Greater Manchester’s ARF programme brings together all 10 local authorities, the NHS, Voluntary sector organisations, carers, and people with lived experience to improve care for adults.

As part of the evaluation of this programme, we are recruiting Peer Researchers to gather real-life stories from people across Greater Manchester about their experiences with care and support services. These stories will help improve how services are designed and delivered, particularly in two areas:

• Improving the identification and support for unpaid carers throughout the hospital discharge process;

• Shared Lives respite options for unpaid carers, including day support.

This role will be part of a small team of Peer Researchers, all of whom bring valuable insight from their own experiences and will work closely with the Lived Experience Coordinator to gather and reflect the diverse voices and stories of people across Greater Manchester.
 

Role Purpose

As a Peer Researcher, your role is to listen, capture, learn, and share. You will use your lived experience and connection to your community to gather stories from others, especially those who may feel overlooked or unheard.

You don’t need formal qualifications or previous experience in research as you’ll receive full training – you just need a genuine interest in people, the ability to listen, and a commitment to positive change.

By helping us understand what care and support really feels like on the ground, you’ll directly contribute to evaluating how well the ARF projects are meeting people’s needs – and what should be done differently going forward.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the delivery of a community research project by gathering people’s real experiences of care and support across Greater Manchester through one-to-one conversations, interviews, or group storytelling sessions.

• Record stories using approaches such as note taking, Dictaphone or video within an ethical and trauma-informed framework.

• Attend training and team meetings to build skills in community research, consent, safeguarding, and storytelling.

• Work collaboratively with the Lived Experience Coordinator and other Peer Researchers to curate the stories, reflect on emerging themes and contribute to the overall evaluation of the ARF programme.

• Help develop and share research findings in meaningful ways – such as reports, events, or creative formats – to influence local decision-making and service improvement.
 

Other details

This is a sessional (casual) role, which means you are not employed on a fixed contract or guaranteed number of hours, nor are you entitled to sick pay or other employee related benefits. Instead, we will agree with you an approximate number of hours and tasks based on your availability, personal circumstances and the needs of the project. You will be responsible for declaring this income for the purposes of tax/national insurance or benefits and we will ask you to sign a declaration to this effect (as well as signposting you to where you can seek independent advice on this).

We know that people may be balancing this opportunity with other commitments – like paid work, volunteering, studying, or caring responsibilities – so we aim to offer flexibility and understanding.
 

How to Apply for this Role:

Due to the nature of the vacancy, we are using an Expression of Interest form, rather than our standard application form. Please email us to request an Expression of Interest form.