Community Connector Essex

Job Title: Community Connector Essex

Salary: £22,776 - £26,000

Responsible to: Community and Business Development Manager Essex

Location: Across Essex with time spent in Colchester

Hours of Work: 36 ½ hours per week. Flexible working will be required

Contract: Fixed term until 31st March 2026

Introduction to The Active Wellbeing Society

The Active Wellbeing Society (TAWS) is a community benefit society and cooperative working to develop healthy, happy communities living active and connected lives.

Our vision is for a society where people have the autonomy, capacity, resources and skills to become the architects of their own destiny; where our individual wellbeing is recognised as being bound up in our collective responsibility to and dependency on each other; and where all of us feel empowered as agents of social change to make a difference – whether at an individual level or more widely.

By working collaboratively with communities we aim to bring about sustainable change on a social, environmental and economic level; to do the social knitting required to create stronger and more resilient communities and to support communities to identify, mitigate and remove the barriers that prevent them from living active and connected lives.

Projects delivered across Essex include:

The Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) are material to the social fabric of communities. Essex County Council (ECC) are committed to investing in a quality holistic support offer for a thriving VCS, imperative to achieving the ambitions for Essex residents. Support which builds capacity and resilience to enable the sector to continue to deliver key services for residents as a valued system partner.

ECC are investing to create a holistic support offer to the VCS, one that meets their needs and helps them achieve their ambitions. An offer that empowers the sector to engage as system partners in topics they are passionate about, building a resilient, diverse, and vibrant VCS, that reflects the residents they engage and support. Our work is one part of this wider holistic support offer, providing both quality universal and targeted support.

The Heart of Greenstead scheme builds on the “Building a Better Town” intervention theme presented in Colchester’s Town Investment Plan. Ensuring the benefits of good growth are enjoyed by all; in addition to improvements to the Town Centre, this intervention theme notes this one specific community in the wider urban part of Colchester; Greenstead. The vision is to renew the centre of this urban hub to make it attractive; and enable it to better realise its role as the centre of the local community. Whilst improving Health, Children Services and Employment outcome provision in Greenstead. The Heart of Greenstead Community Engagement work focusses on bringing together local communities to share messages and gather feedback which can be fed back to the programme board.

Essex Pedal Power is a flagship programme led by Essex County Council and Active Essex to support more people in deprived areas to cycle by removing the main barriers to cycling.

1.     Work with communities and local organisations to develop and deliver ideas and activities to support people who are representative of the projects’ target audience in the areas.  

2.     Through local connections identify community assets (community spaces and key individuals) to support TAWS activities.

3.     Ensure compliance with The Active Wellbeing Society processes and procedures including but not limited to; Safeguarding of children and adults at risk, equality and diversity, Health and Safety and Risk Assessments.

4.     Develop new opportunities, in particular underrepresented groups, to ensure that services offered by The Active Wellbeing Society is brought to new audiences, with a particular focus on hard to reach citizens.  

5.     Develop relationships within communities to become a trusted source for development and delivery.  

6.     Devise, understand and use asset-based community development approaches to community development and work with your team/communities to understand priorities and co-design initiatives. Ensure that delivery mitigates or removes the barriers to participation.

7.     Keep abreast of new and emergent thinking across wellbeing, community development and tackling inequalities.

8.     On occasion represent The Active Wellbeing Society across a variety of forums and stakeholder meetings.

9.     Co-produce projects with local communities and locally trusted organisations and ensure continuous engagement and communication to ensure that eligible citizens receive a good quality experience.

10.   Contribute to oral and written reports on engagement level, activity delivery and the development of new programmes / projects.

11.   Carry out all other duties as maybe reasonably assigned from time to time and with the level of this Job Description.

All criteria are essential, and your application will be assessed on all points detailed below.

1.     Experience in volunteering and or recruitment or within another similar role.

2.     A commitment to equal opportunities and an understanding of the impact on individuals and community’s health and deprivation. 

3.     Experience in customer facing roles and knowledge of local communities.

4.     Ability to coordinate and consult internal and external organisations (including community groups) to provide pathways of opportunity for active citizenship and community activity.   

5.     Be empathetic and have a knowledge of the barriers that exist to activity within communities.   

6.     Adaptable and able to work at pace, working autonomously and collaboratively in a dynamic and challenging environment.   

7.     A genuine passion for the wellbeing of others and a drive to improve the lives of individuals and communities by bringing them together to improve their mental and physical wellbeing.

8.     A flexible approach to all working practices with the willingness to support other team members in their work as required (including presence at events). 

9.     Competent IT skills and familiarity with social media, with the ability to pick up skills in new systems as required along with excellent communication skills.   

10.   Evidence of a commitment to ongoing personal development and training.  

We offer our team members a comprehensive staff benefits offering to include:

• Annual Leave – 38 days! 25 days AL (increasing to 29 days with service) plus 5 wellbeing days and 8 bank holidays.
• Flexible working, home working and remote working options available
• Nest Pension – 8% employer contribution - 3% employee contribution.
• Heath Cash Plan – giving you discounts on everyday healthcare such as dental, optical, physio, prescriptions & more.
• Employee Assistance Programme (counselling and DRs on call 24hrs a day).
• Fantastic volunteering opportunities within The Active Wellbeing Society every month.

Please send a CV with a cover letter demonstrating how you meet the Community Connector Essex competencies below (please respond to each of the questions below in your cover letter). 

1. A genuine passion for the wellbeing of others and a drive to improve the lives of individuals and communities by bringing them together to improve their mental and physical wellbeing
2. A flexible approach to all working practices with the willingness to support other team members in their work as required (including presence at events).
3. Ability to coordinate and consult internal and external organisations (including community groups) to provide pathways of opportunity for active citizenship and community activity.
4. Experience in customer facing roles and knowledge of local communities.
5. Competent IT skills and familiarity with social media, with the ability to pick up skills in new systems as required along with excellent communication skills.

Interview Date:

Closing date: 12/12/2024

Interview date: 19/12/2024

Due to the high numbers of applications we receive for our job vacancies, we may close application windows early, so we would encourage you to submit your application ASAP.

We will provide all applicants with an outcome on your application, this will usually be within 1 week of the application window closing.

Successful applicants will be required to be DBS checked prior to starting.

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do we, in recruiting for our team we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring. The Active Wellbeing Society is committed to being an equal opportunity employer, we recruit based upon capability and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. At The Active Wellbeing Society, we are searching for people who share the passion for what we do with different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences, collectively making a difference.

If there is anything we can do to assist you in your application or preparations to be interviewed for one of our job vacancies, please let us know and we can ensure you have a positive and comfortable experience.

Thank you for your interest in working for The Active Wellbeing Society, we look forward to receiving your application.

If you have any questions once you have read the Job Description or would like an informal chat about us, and/or, the role, please contact: [email protected] and we will be happy to help.