If you are passionate about the benefits of health and wellbeing, a healthy diet and physical activity, and have the motivational skills to engage your community, then this role could be ideal for you!

C3 Collaborating for Health is looking to recruit within Medway, an enthusiastic community member, who is committed to improving the health of the local population. They need to have a proven track record in community engagement and activity co-ordination. The successful applicant will be employed by C3 Collaborating for Health but work closely with Medway Community Healthcare (MCH) and with community members and local stakeholders in Medway to implement the activities of a community-designed action plan due to be designed in Autumn 2021.

Priority actions might include:

• To create opportunities to bring people together and enhance community connection and mutual support
• To create opportunities for growing, buying, and cooking healthy food
• To increase opportunities for physical activity
• To increase opportunities to understand more about health and wellbeing.

The actions will be designed by community members through a process called CHESS (Community Health Engagement Survey Solutions) led and facilitated by C3 Collaborating for Health, with the support of MCH, as part of the ASPIRE project (further details of ASPIRE available below).

How to apply

Please email your CV with two references and a covering letter describing how you meet the requirements of this role to Elisabeth Morgans, C3 Senior Projects Manager: elisabeth.morgans@c3health.org. Should you have any questions about this role, please contact Elisabeth to arrange a chat. The closing date is 9am Wednesday 14^th July 2021. Interviews will be held on Wednesday 4^th August (online).

Job description and person specification 

JOB TITLE	Medway Community Engagement Facilitator
REPORTS TO	C3 Senior Project Manager
HOURS	12-20 hours per week (depending on availability.) We welcome flexible working requests, and we are a family-friendly organisation.
SALARY	£27,500 FTE (pro rata).
CONTRACT	Part-time, fixed term for 18 months.
BASE	The postholder will work mainly from home and out in the community.  As part of the ASPIRE team, they will be able to book desk space at Medway Community Healthcare, MCH House, Gillingham Business Park, Gillingham, Kent.

Job overview

• To act as the key point of contact in the community for the implementation of a community-designed action plan (referred to as the CHESS action plan).
• To support and promote the overall Medway ASPIRE project and ASPIRE activity.
• To co-ordinate and manage the implementation of the CHESS action plan.
• To monitor levels of engagement by local residents in activities relating to the CHESS action plan, which may include:
• attendance records for activities;
• contact details of participants.
• evaluation of effectiveness of learning or written feedback from participants;
• social media analytics/ communication analytics.
• To undertake outreach and consultation work (such as meetings with communities and voluntary groups, door knocking, questionnaires, etc.) in order to maximise inclusion and reach in the CHESS action plan activities.
• To produce communication materials relating to the CHESS action plan activities using a variety of media – emails, leaflets, social media – as appropriate.
• To explore, with C3, additional funding streams post project delivery to enable capacity building, qualifications, training and skills development for local residents, facilitating future work, volunteering, and peer-to-peer support within the community.
• To build and maintain a database of stakeholders and contacts within the community (the project’s success relies on engagement with the community so having a clear understanding of key members of the community will be vital.)
• To build and maintain good working relationships and trust within the community and MCH.
• To work closely and collaboratively with MCH to support the overall ASPIRE project activity.
• To work within the operational and policy framework of C3 Collaborating for Health, including Health and Safety, Child Protection/Vulnerable Adults, Data Protection, Equal Opportunities and Risk Assessment policies.
• To alert MCH and C3 about any issues, such as concerns about individuals or work in the community and seek support and advice as appropriate.
• To undertake any other duties relevant to the post.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated at NVQ level 3 or equivalent in a relevant field.
• Good working knowledge of MS office.

Desirable

• Higher education qualification.
• Health and/or physical activity-based qualification.
• Community engagement or community development qualification.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• Proven track record in community engagement and activity co-ordination.
• Can demonstrate commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.
• Knowledge of locally based community and voluntary sector organisations and services in Medway.
• Good knowledge of Medway.
• Able to demonstrate an understanding of health issues affecting Medway.
• An understanding of the principles of health and healthy lifestyle behaviours and choices.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Understanding of Health and Safety, Child Protection and Vulnerable Adults Procedures, Data Protection and Risk Assessments.
• Good administrative skills.
• Collecting, collating, monitoring, and evaluating data.
• Developing presentation materials (specific to the community).
• Experience of working within a team and on own initiative.
• Experience of managing petty cash and small funds.

Desirable

• Knowledge of local funders and funding streams.
• Experience of writing fundraising bids.
• Experience of facilitating workshops or discussion groups.

Skills & Capabilities

Essential

• Able to develop effective working relationships with diverse range of individuals and communities, across all backgrounds, cultures, and ages.
• Excellent communication, listening and interpersonal skills.
• Understanding of power dynamics and commitment to empowering individuals, groups and communities, especially those that are socially and economically disadvantaged.
• Self-motivated with the ability to prioritise and organise own workload.
• Good planning and organisational skills.
• Good problem-solving skills and ability to think creatively and have a positive outlook.
• Ability to work to deadlines and remain calm under pressure.
• Ability to manage and chair inclusive meetings and facilitate workshops.
• Ability to work flexibly and to adapt to the needs of the community and the project as it develops.
• Willingness to work flexibly, and on occasion outside normal working hours,
• Willingness to travel around the Medway.

About the ASPIRE project

ASPIRE is a multi-partner and EU funded project testing a holistic approach to tackling the issues of obesity and employment.  The project is taking place in seven sites in England and France, and Medway is one of the three English locations.

As part of ASPIRE, local community members in each site are supported to assess their built environment and identify actions they want to take collectively to make it easier to live healthier lives.  This is done using CHESS an evidence-based strategy including a mobile survey. The post holder will be responsible for ensuring implementation of the resulting community-created CHESS Action Plan, through ongoing engagement with the local community and stakeholders.

Medway Community Healthcare (MCH) are supporting C3 in this recruitment process, and the successful applicant will be working closely and co-located with the MCH ASPIRE team.

About C3 Collaborating for Health

C3 Collaborating for Health is a global NGO whose vision is for a world where there are no premature or preventable deaths from chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and where people find it easier to live healthy lives (www.c3health.org).

C3 utilises an innovative process to shift decision-making to local communities by engaging them in an investigation about their health in relation to their environment. Central to C3’s community projects is CHESS (Community Health Engagement Survey Solutions), an evidence-based mobile application used with Android tablets. CHESS equips community members to collect quantitative data on local assets, such as spaces for physical activity and places for food shopping or eating, such as supermarkets and restaurants, that make an area conducive to good health (or not!) C3 then leads community members in interpretation of this data during an insight session.

C3’s role in the ASPIRE project has been to engage with communities in the early stages of the project using CHESS, at each of the seven hub sites across England and France.