Jobs for the Human Rights sector

Health and social care are continuously changing, with big shifts happening now in how services are designed and delivered. You will join us at an exciting time to ensure the independent public voice is heard, making sure those services work with and for people. 

This is a challenging, exciting and varied role, line-managing a small team where your input really matters with an employer who is committed to flexible working.

Healthwatch is all about people - capturing the views of local people on their experiences of using services, taking this feedback to NHS leaders and other local decision-makers to improve care, now and in the future, to make a health and social care system that is made for and includes everyone.

In Somerset, the Healthwatch service is hosted by The Advocacy People, who would be your employer. The Advocacy People and Healthwatch share core values which are all about people’s voices: empowering people to speak up; amplifying service user voices; enabling people to participate in, and influence decision-making about health and social care; and provide information which helps people make informed decisions.

In this exciting role you will be

• Leading our feedback gathering activities to ensure that people’s views and experiences of health and social care are captured, listened to and taken account of by decision makers in Somerset at a key time of change and development.
• Developing and leading engagement activities and projects with a wide range of communities in Somerset including those seldom heard or marginalised.
• Line managing and enhancing the leadership of the local Healthwatch team.

We are looking for someone with the creativity and enthusiasm to engage with people and take their experience of health and care services to help improve and shape services across Somerset.

This role is initially fixed term to 31st March 2028 but with a view to becoming permanent.  Ideally, we are looking for someone with experience of working collaboratively in a team in a health or social care role, with great communication and organising skills. The role is home-based with frequent travel within Somerset, attending meetings and events.

The hours are Monday to Friday with very occasional weekend or evening work.

As this role is home-based but with regular travel, you will need a full driving licence and your own transport, with full business cover insurance,  as well as good mobile and internet connections and flexibility with working hours.

We are excited to announce an opportunity for a highly motivated and compassionate individual with experience in the wellness, addiction recovery and/or mental health sector to join our small but passionate team as a Community Coordinator. 

Full-Time (30-37.5hrs available) | Salary Scale £24,784 - £28,734pa| Home-based office equipment supplied| Annual Leave 27 days per year plus Christmas eve rising by 1 day per year up to 31 days max.| Company Pension with Now Pensions | EAP with Health Assured. Permanent contract offered pending successful probation period.

By supporting our amazing volunteer facilitators and our highly valued partnership organisations, you’ll help drive growth of SMART Recovery programmes and meetings across 2 distinct geographical areas making our 4-Point Programmes even more accessible to those wanting to manage any type of addictive behaviour.

North East: The counties of Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham.

Yorkshire & The Humbers: The counties of North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire.

To thrive in this role, you'll need hands-on experience of facilitating groups or meetings and an understanding of what great facilitation looks like. Whilst already being a qualified SMART Recovery Facilitator and/or having engaged with our meetings as a previous participant is a distinct advantage, we also accept applications from individuals with a general awareness of addiction recovery or our 4-Point Programme. Importantly, you’ll be someone who brings people together, listens deeply, and creates a safe, empowering space for growth and recovery.

Your presentation skills should engage, inspire, and inform with clarity and warmth, whether you’re speaking with a room full of volunteers, delivering training via Zoom, or presenting to our partnership organisations. You’ll be required to help grow our footprint, increase and diversify our partnerships and encourage the uptake of our programme. You will represent UKSR at community events, recovery walks and conferences and get involved in defined projects.

We welcome applications from individuals with lived experience of addiction, whether that’s your own recovery journey or being close to someone else’s. It’s essential for you to bring empathy, authenticity, and a deep respect for others’ experiences to all of your interactions. You’ll need to be self-motivated and highly organised, and able to manage your time, workload, and travel with autonomy. You’ll be someone who uplifts, encourages, and empowers, helping others see what’s possible.

You should have experience in working with volunteers, understanding how to support and develop their skills. Previous delivery of training is essential, and if that experience has been gained in a peer-support or recovery setting, all the better. This role requires emotional intelligence; you’ll be working with people who have faced adversity, and your ability to support them within clear, professional boundaries is critical. Giving and receiving feedback, gathering data and other evidence to inform service development, and exercising reflective practice are all essential attributes.

You’ll also contribute to key projects that move SMART Recovery forward, adding your voice and insight to help shape what comes next. The role therefore requires project mangement skills as you will work on specific projects that develop our publications, training, communications and marketing. If you have a special interest and expertise in certain areas of our business such as social media and campaigns, training, volunteer management or copywriting we can develop this skill and interest as an enhancement to your role. Developing areas of expertise within our Co-ordinator team is something we are keen to do. 

As this is a home-based role, you’ll need to be comfortable forming meaningful relationships online, building trust and connection via email, phone, and video calls. We’ll provide the equipment you need, but you’ll bring the energy and adaptability to make remote working feel personal and productive. Regular travel across the defined regions is a vital part of the role, visiting SMART Recovery meetings in the community and within partner organisations, and offering continual support to facilitators, are all essential in helping our network continue to grow with the quality we strive for.

It is essential that you live in the North East area.

About the role 

The Survivor Movement and Participation Lead is a strategic leadership role at the heart of the Enhanced Mental Health Pathway (EMHP) Alliance Partnership, dedicated to amplifying survivor voices and driving systemic change.

You will lead the development of a high-quality survivor involvement programme across the Alliance, ensuring that the voices, experiences and expertise of survivors of sexual abuse, sexual assault and sexual violence shape service design, referral pathways, workforce development, communications and evaluation.

This role is grounded in trauma-informed, anti-racist and culturally grounded care frameworks, ensuring survivors are not only heard but actively shape strategies, influence policy and lead change.

Job description 

As the Survivor Movement and Participation Lead you will:

• Design, establish and coordinate an Experts with Lived Experience (ELE) Network, developing a survivor involvement framework that promotes safe, ethical, inclusive and meaningful participation, with appropriate emotional support, safeguarding, debriefing and payment arrangements in place.
• Design, facilitate and evaluate peer support groups and survivor-led spaces, creating opportunities for survivors to influence strategic decision-making, project governance and service evaluation at every stage.
• Train and mentor survivors in facilitation, peer support and leadership, building capacity for survivor-led design, delivery and evaluation of services.
• Lead the co-production and delivery of training with Experts with Lived Experience, covering areas such as trauma-informed practice, responding to disclosures and reducing re-traumatisation, working in partnership with NHS mental health providers, specialist sexual violence services and the voluntary sector.
• Develop tools to assess survivor influence and leadership across programmes and governance, facilitating reflective learning spaces and co-authoring learning briefs and policy insights to promote survivor-led approaches.

Supporting Statement Guidance

Your supporting statement should clearly demonstrate how your experience, knowledge, skills, and qualifications meet the requirements of the role. Please address the key criteria outlined in the Job Description and Person Specification, providing specific examples of achievements and responsibilities that evidence your suitability for the position.

Focus on relevant professional experience, transferable skills, and the impact of your work. Where possible, use concise examples to illustrate how you have successfully applied these skills in practice.

The supporting statement should be no more than 500 words and should complement, rather than repeat, the information contained in your CV or application form.

Closing date and interviews

This vacancy will close at 9am on Monday 14 September 2026. Interviews will take place shortly thereafter, and shortlisted candidates will be notified of the arrangements.

The selection process will consist of two interview stages. Interview panels will include representatives from partner organisations within the EMHP Alliance, reflecting the collaborative nature of the role. Candidates invited to interview will receive full details of each stage in advance.

About us 

Women and Girls Network (WGN) is a pan-London organisation that supports women and girls affected by all forms of gendered-based violence. Our overall aim is to promote, preserve and restore the mental health and well-being of women and girls who have experienced, or are at risk of, gendered-based violence, whilst working towards a society free of gendered-based violence.

We do this by:

• Providing women-only holistic and seamless therapeutic services, which meet women and girls’ needs and contribute to total and sustainable recovery from the experiences of violence.
• Evidencing the impact of gendered-based violence and presenting this information in appropriate forums to affect social change in attitudes towards, and responses to, gendered-based violence.
• Developing good practice in the sector by providing training and guidance on specialist service provision and the development of culturally appropriate service delivery.

WGN is proud to be an accredited Living Wage Employer and a member of The London VAWG Consortium, Halo Code, and Helplines Partnership.

Commitment to Equity and Inclusion

We are deeply committed to building a workforce that reflects the diversity, resilience and strength of the women and girls we serve. We strongly encourage applications from Black and Global Majority women and applicants with Lived Experience, including those who may not meet every criterion.

WGN is an equal opportunities employer.

Exemption

This post is exempt under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1, and is open to female applicants only, due to the nature of the role.

About the roles

These senior leadership roles provide strategic and operational oversight of WGN’s Clinical Services, ensuring the delivery of innovative, safe, high-quality, survivor-centred, trauma-informed and culturally responsive therapeutic support for survivors of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

1. Head of Clinical Services

The Head of Clinical Services leads a multidisciplinary team delivering individual therapy, group work, body-based therapies and web-based counselling within WGN’s intersectional Black feminist framework and Holistic Empowerment Recovery (HER) Model. They will shape the strategic direction of clinical services, strengthen partnerships, embed strong clinical governance and safeguarding practice, and foster a culture of collective care, reflective practice and anti-oppressive leadership.

This role combines strategic leadership, service development, clinical oversight and people management to ensure WGN’s therapeutic services remain sector-leading, accessible and survivor-led.

This role is offered on a part-time basis (21 hours per week worked over 3 days) with a remuneration of £53,000 - £57,000 per annum (£31,800 - £34,200 pro-rated)

2. Clinical Manager 

The Clinical Manager role leads the day-to-day operational management and development of WGN’s Clinical Services, ensuring the delivery of innovative, safe, high-quality, survivor-centred, trauma-informed and culturally responsive support for survivors of violence against women and girls (VAWG).

Working with the Therapeutic Manager, they will provide clinical and operational leadership across counselling services, supporting therapists and practitioners to manage clinical risk and safeguarding concerns effectively, within a Black feminist, intersectional and Holistic Empowerment Recovery (HER) framework.

This role is offered on a part-time basis (28 hours per week worked over 4 days) with a remuneration of £43,000 - £47,000 per annum (£34,400 - £37,600 pro-rated)

For more information information about the roles, please click the redirect to recruiter button.

Closing date and interviews

This vacancy closes at 9:00am on Monday, 7 September 2026. A two-stage interview process will follow.

We encourage early applications, as the role may close before the advertised date if a high volume of applications are received, or once a suitable candidate is appointed.

Please note: If you have previously applied for this role, your application has already been considered and you do not need to reapply at this time.

About us 

Women and Girls Network (WGN) is a pan-London organisation that supports women and girls affected by all forms of gendered-based violence. Our overall aim is to promote, preserve and restore the mental health and well-being of women and girls who have experienced, or are at risk of, gendered-based violence, whilst working towards a society free of gendered-based violence.

We do this by:

• Providing women-only holistic and seamless therapeutic services, which meet women and girls’ needs and contribute to total and sustainable recovery from the experiences of violence.
• Evidencing the impact of gendered-based violence and presenting this information in appropriate forums to affect social change in attitudes towards, and responses to, gendered-based violence.
• Developing good practice in the sector by providing training and guidance on specialist service provision and the development of culturally appropriate service delivery.

WGN is proud to be an accredited Living Wage Employer and a member of The London VAWG Consortium, Halo Code, and Helplines Partnership.

Commitment to Equity and Inclusion

We are deeply committed to building a workforce that reflects the diversity, resilience and strength of the women and girls we serve. We strongly encourage applications from Black and Global Majority women and applicants with Lived Experience, including those who may not meet every criterion.

WGN is an equal opportunities employer.

Exemption

This post is exempt under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1, and is open to female applicants only, due to the nature of the role.