Department: Healthwatch Lancashire
Salary: £26,222
Work Hours: 37 hours per week
Contract Type: Contract
Benefits: 26 days (FTE) plus bank holidays and length of service increments. Additional 1 day leave entitlement for your birthday.

About us

Healthwatch Lancashire is the independent champion for people using health and social care services across Lancashire (apart from Blackpool and Blackburn-with-Darwen). Our purpose is to gather insight from patients, social care service users and under-represented communities, turning people's experiences into meaningful evidence that influences health and social care services. Find out more about us here. 

We are proud to be part of People First Independent Advocacy, and we are committed to helping people live informed, respected, healthy and fulfilled lives.

 

About you

As a prerequisite, the successful candidate must believe in the core values of People First, and be driven by our mission.

You may not meet every requirement listed below or have experience in this exact field. If you believe your skills and experience are transferable and you are passionate about our mission, we welcome your application.

We are looking for someone who:

  • A current driving licence and your own transport is essential for this role. You will need to have business use insurance too. (Mileage and expenses are paid while travelling on work business but not to and from your designated place of work.) 
  • A resident of Lancashire.
  • Can provide evidence of experience of community engagement, either as an employee or volunteer.
  • Excellent time management skills, and meticulous admin skills to write-up and log your activities. 
  • Able to maintain confidentiality and work in a sensitive manner.
  • Good IT literacy, particularly Word and Excel, and a willingness to learn other programs e.g. PowerPoint and Canva. 
  • Someone who is proactive when it comes to your own work, as well as being able to think creatively about how to tackle a challenge.
  • Confident working independently, as well as able to work constructively with colleagues, partners and people with lived-experience. 
  • Understands, or is interested in, health and social care services and the challenges facing local communities. 
  • Willing to travel to locations for engagement and support colleagues as needed.
  • Able to separate personal views from their professional role and represent Healthwatch objectively and impartially at all times.

 

About the role

 

The role is mainly to cover East Lancashire, but there will be some travel across Lancashire, and to team and organisation events across North West England.

Duties will include but are not limited to: 

  • Undertake activities to gather feedback and personal experiences from individuals and groups relevant to different projects. These include attending engagement events, gathering personal stories and case studies, carrying out surveys. 
  • Represent Healthwatch at community meetings and events. 
  • Carry out Enter and View visits. 
  • Providing signposting information and advice. 
  • Contribute to reports. 
  • Ensure all feedback is gathered with sensitivity. 
  • Ensure all evidence and activities are recorded in a timely manner. 

 

Other duties 

  • Be flexible and adaptable in a changing program of new projects and activities. 
  • Work at pace and take responsibility for prioritising your own workload in line with that of the team and organisation. 
  • Promote Healthwatch Lancashire across all communities and stakeholders. 
  • Maintaining the good reputation of Healthwatch Lancashire at all times. 
  • Work flexibly to accommodate travel to events, or occasional evening and weekend work. 
  • Take a positive approach towards your own professional development, undertaking any training and development activities as required. 

  • Comply with the organisation’s policies and procedures. 

     

To apply

If you’re interested in the role and think you’d be a good fit, we’d like to hear from you.

To apply for this position, please email a copy of your CV including details of two references, to [email protected] or alternatively, you can post for the attention of Barry to People First Conference Centre, Milbourne Street, Carlisle, CA2 5XB. 

All applications should be clearly marked: Confidential – HWL Engagement Officer. 

Closing date: Friday 25th September at 5pm. Interviews will take place at our Leyland office. 

Don't wait until the closing date to apply. We review applications as they are received and may close this advert early if we appoint a suitable candidate. 

Please note, applicants who do not live in Lancashire will not be considered for this role. This is not a role which can be carried out remotely.