Project Officer

Project Officer: Voices for Health Equity 

Job Description and Person Specification 

 

Job title Project Officer: Voices for Health Equity  

Hours 35 hours per week  

Salary Between £27,000 - £29,000, depending on skills and experience. 

Location Hybrid work between home and our Vauxhall office, as well as regular travel to in-person events across England – please read more about our approach to hybrid working in the relevant section below.  

Reports to Project Manager: Voices for Health Equity  

National Voices 

Making what matters to people matter in health and care 

National Voices is the leading coalition of health and social care charities in England. We have more than 200 members covering a diverse range of health conditions and communities, connecting us with the experiences of millions of people. We work together to strengthen the voice of people: patients, service users, carers, their families, and the voluntary organisations that work for them. 

 

Our Vision: 

People shaping their health and care. 

 

Our Mission: 

We advocate for more inclusive and person centred health and care, shaped by the people who use and need it the most. 

 

We do this by: 
 

• Understanding and advocating for what matters to people especially those living with health conditions and groups who experience inequalities. 

• Finding common cause across communities and conditions by working with member charities and those they support. 

• Connecting and convening charities, decision makers and citizens to work together to change health and care for good. 
   

The Role 

National Voices has been commissioned by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to deliver their work with the CQC Public Engagement Network. The Public Engagement Network is a group of 200+ charities with reach into communities experiencing health inequalities across England. By engaging with these organisations, the CQC’s aim is to ensure that local health and care services meet the needs and preferences of the communities they serve. 

For both organisations this is much more than just another engagement contract, it is a new partnership designed to make the voices the CQC hears from more than the sum of its parts. In our work with the Public Engagement Network, we are committed to: 

1. Ensuring meaningful participation of people and communities 

2. Championing accessibility and inclusion 

3. Valuing VCSE organisations as equal partners 

4. Ensuring insights collected lead to impact and action 

5. Investing in the long-term capacity and agency of VCSE organisations 

6. Being brave and principled – acting with courage and not shying away from difficult conversations    

The Voices for Health Equity Project Officer role is to: 

• Support the delivery of the Public Engagement Network contract, working closely with the Project Manager to ensure high-quality, well-organised and inclusive engagement activity 

• Play a key role in coordinating networks, events and engagement with people within VCSE organisations and people with lived experience.  

• Support the capture, organisation and synthesis of insight from people with lived experience to inform learning, improvement and influence 

• Provide strong project coordination, administrative and delivery support to ensure the programme runs smoothly and meets its commitments 

The role is delivery-focused and externally facing, with regular contact with people with lived experience, VCSE organisations and delivery partners. It offers the opportunity to develop skills in engagement, insight, project delivery and partnership working. 

Responsibilities 
 

Project coordination and delivery support 

• Support the day-to-day delivery of the Public Engagement Network programme, working to agreed project plans and timelines 

• Maintain accurate records of activity, contacts, meetings, outputs and finances as required 

• Support reporting requirements by collating data, evidence and narrative updates 

• Support coordination of subcontracted activity, including scheduling meetings, tracking outputs and supporting invoice processing. 

 

Engagement, networks and events 

• Support the coordination and administration of the network of VCSE organisations.  

• Assist with organising and delivering engagement activity, including learning events, sense-making sessions, panels and workshops 

• Act as a first point of contact for participants, responding to queries and ensuring a positive, inclusive experience 

• Support practical arrangements for engagement activity, including accessibility, reimbursements and follow-up communications 

 

Capturing insight and learning 

• Support the capture of qualitative insight from VCSE organisations and people with lived experience through notes, summaries and write-ups from events, meetings and conversations 

• Assist with organising and coding feedback, helping to identify emerging themes and issues 

• Contribute to the drafting of reports, briefings and other outputs under the guidance of the Project Manager 

• Support feedback loops by helping to communicate how insight has been used and what impact it has had 

 

Governance, quality and good practice 

• Work within agreed project governance, safeguarding, data protection and accessibility frameworks 

• Flag risks, issues or concerns to the Project Manager in a timely way 

• Support quality assurance processes by checking outputs for accuracy, accessibility and consistency 

• Follow organisational processes for project, financial and data management 

 

Team working and development 

• Work closely with the Project Manager and wider team to deliver joined-up, high-quality work 

• Contribute to team planning activities and reflective learning 

• Take part in training and development opportunities to build skills in engagement, insight and project delivery 

• Support other National Voices projects where required, in response to capacity or demand 

 

General 

• Take a proactive approach to including people with lived experience and members in all areas of work 

• Be prepared to take part in full-day events and, with sufficient notice, events outside core working hours 

• Undertake other relevant duties appropriate to the role 

 

Person Specification  

Values, attitudes and behaviours 

• Strong commitment to National Voices’ mission and the meaningful involvement of people with lived experience 

• Commitment to equity, inclusion and reducing health inequalities 

• Organised, reliable and proactive 

• Comfortable working collaboratively as part of a team 

• Responsive and adaptable in a fast-moving environment 

• Respectful, empathetic and confident communicating with a wide range of people 

 

Skills and abilities 
 

• Good organisational and coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills 

• Experience of supporting and occasionally leading on projects, events or engagement activity 

• Confident in public speaking and in developing relationships with VCSE organisations 

• Ability to listen carefully, capture information accurately and identify emerging themes 

• Ability to work to guidance and processes while exercising judgement about when to escalate issues 

 

Experience, knowledge and understanding 
 

• Experience of working with people, communities or voluntary sector organisations 

• An understanding of, or strong interest in, health, care and social justice issues 

• An appreciation of the value of lived experience and diverse perspectives 

 

Our approach to hybrid working 

We recognise the importance of coming together regularly, in-person, as a team, so we can share learnings and spend social time with each other. We also recognise that people need flexibility, and that homeworking enables focused work and can fit well in people’s lives.  

We ask all staff to take part in pre-arranged team meetings which take place every six weeks in our office space. We also might ask you to meet in-person with members of your team from time to time, or to be available for face-to- face meetings with clients and partners where this enhances the work.  

We assume that this would usually not amount to more than one day per fortnight for people who work full time. We are happy to discuss how this sits in your life. This can be agreed by your line manager. 

In addition, because this role involves engaging with and recruiting to a large network of VCSE organisations, the post holder will be required to regularly attend in-person events across England. These are likely to take place around once a month and may sometimes require overnight stays.  

Please note that our offices are fully wheelchair accessible and that we are committed to making our workplace fully inclusive. 

Application guidance 

Please submit a cover letter along with a CV to apply. 

Applications should be addressed to our Director Evidence and Improvement, Sarah Sweeney, and submitted through CharityJob.  

Please specify any access or other requirements of which we need to be aware for the online interview.  

The deadline for applications is noon on 20th March 2026.  

The interviews will take place on Thursday 26th March on Microsoft Teams. Details of an interview task and interview questions will be emailed to you in advance.  

We are committed to diversifying our team in order to broaden the insight and experiences we can draw on, and to do our work more credibly. In particular, we would welcome applications from people from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds and men, who are both underrepresented in our team. Our offices are fully accessible and we are a Disability Confident and an LGBT+ friendly employer.