Community Engagement Worker - Poverty Truth Commission

Warrington Voluntary Action have been invited to coordinate Warrington’s first Poverty Truth Commission (PTC). Poverty Truth Commissions are about bringing about change - changing organisations and communities behaviours and attitudes towards poverty and taking action to tackle it. The PTC brings together people who have direct lived experience of poverty with key decision makers to form a group of commissioners who meet and work together on the key issues guided by the Community Commissioners. 

The purpose of the Community Engagement Worker role is to coordinate and facilitate a Poverty Truth Commission where people and their stories are at the heart of truly understanding and addressing poverty, delivering a commission in a truly relational way, which prioritises the leadership of those who are more often marginalised or voiceless.  

Key Responsibilities

• To reach and develop trusted relationships with people with lived experience of poverty, with the aim of recruiting Community Commissioners who are representative of our local community.
• Create effective conditions for learning and support the Community Commissioners to learn and share together easily, facilitating sessions that enable them to build solidarity with one another.
• Provide mentoring and guidance through one to one and group sessions, to build confidence enable the group to share their stories of poverty to a number of audiences in creative ways as shaped by the commissioners, recognising their unique and valuable contributions and managing expectations.
• Facilitate meetings and support the Community Commissioners as they prepare to share their stories at a launch event.
• To develop effective, trusted relationships with local community stakeholders to harness their support and resources.
• Co-ordinate a PTC launch event and a PTC closing event, capturing and documenting the events as appropriate.
• To recruit Civic and business commissioners, building capacity and skills to work alongside the Community Commissioners.
• To act as the main point of contact for the Community and Civic Commissioners, building trust, openness and effective relationships.
• To undertake administrative tasks associated with the commission including promotion and monitoring of the commission and its progress.
• Capture and provide information/ reports on progress of the PTC to be shared with the wider stakeholders.
• Occasionally attend events and meetings alongside the Community Commissioners to support them to elevate their voices and be heard.
• Work alongside the Poverty Truth Network as the commission is developed to ensure it stays on track and best practice is learned and adopted as appropriate.