· Web viewThe Job Description and Person Specification. Application Form and Equality of...

Octopus is a Registered Charity: 1128394

Dear Candidate

Community Development Officer – Tackling Health Inequalities (Islington)

Thank you for your interest in the post of Community Development Officer, please find enclosed:

Information about Octopus Community Network and the Stay Well, Live Well project (you can also visit our website at – www.octopuscommunities.org.uk

The Job Description and Person Specification Application Form and Equality of Opportunity Questionnaire Basic Terms and Conditions of the job

To apply please submit a completed application form which clearly addresses all the essential and desirable criteria listed on the person specification. Failure to do so will considerably lessen your chances of being selected for interview.

Please return your application either by email to [email protected] or by post to Julie Parish, Caxton House, 129 St John’s Way, Islington N19 3RQ. Your completed application should be received no later than 2:00pm on 3 rd July 2017

Interviews will take place on Thursday 13 th July 2017

As we are a small team with limited administrative support we will only be notifying those candidates who are shortlisted.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

Julie Parish

Development Manager

Funded by the Big Lottery through the REACHING COMMUNITIES FUND


Funded by the National Lottery through the Reaching Communities Fund

Octopus Community Network

Established in 1999 the Octopus Community Network (Octopus) is a group of pioneering community organisations working collaboratively to provide services and opportunities that support the most deprived communities in London.

Our principal objectives are:

To promote the benefit of the inhabitants of Greater London by associating local authorities, voluntary organisations and other agencies and inhabitants in a common effort to advance education and provide facilities to improve social welfare, recreation and leisure-time occupation.

The promotion of the voluntary sector for the benefit of the public.

We do this by:

Engaging diverse communities in meaningful activities and services by reaching out to and supporting those most in need.

Inspiring our communities by developing activities that raise aspirations and a ‘can do’ mentality to advice social and economic integration.

Motivating our communities to live life to its fullest potential. Equipping our communities with the skills, confidence and competence to seize a

meaningful and rewarding place within society. Supporting our communities into positive and relevant activities to ensure a better

quality of life and greater opportunities.

About Stay Well, Live Well

Stay Well, Live Well (SWLW) is becoming a well recognised, established project in the borough of Islington. Now, moving into year two of a three-year project, we are stepping up a gear in terms of delivery and local partnership development. As a community-led project funded through the Big Lottery Reaching Communities Fund, SWLW is designed to put in place a community-led, model for reaching out to and engaging marginalized communities experiencing health inequalities in Islington. In year two and three, our focus will be strongly on devising and delivering health and wellbeing neighbourhood plans, which are linked to six of Islington’s Community Hubs and have are based on year one’s research, development and community consultations. Year two will get off to a flying start with our launch and networking event, which will bring together all of the partners we’ve work with and local partnerships we’ve developed in year one. Year two focus will also be on


capturing and promoting impact. We will also focus on recruiting a minimum of 12 Community Health Champions to help address health inequalities in some of the most vulnerable communities in Islington.

In its development, Octopus drew from a plethora of research reports to establish the most common health concerns, identify communities that need the most support, and effective practice models. Therefore, we are confident that with the right people involved the project will help address some of the major health inequalities in Islington.

The project is aligned to Islington’s Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy, and research from the NHS Whittington Trust, which calls for a strong Third Sector approach to provision of preventative health care, and for facilitating access to mainstream support. The project model maximizes the joint working practices established through the ‘Community Hubs Network’. This will foster a strong neighbourhood approach and inter-agency working to ensure that individuals gain access to and are supported through a tailored signposting and support service.

The project has five key objectives, which are:

1. To dedicate two new posts to fostering the development of outreach in marginalized communities, establishing information and service access networks, and to work with the Community Hubs to tailor-make health and wellbeing programmes at a local level.

2. To empower marginalized communities in directing practical activities that will address health inequalities barriers in their community.

3. To increase the participation of targeted communities in regular health and wellbeing activities.

4. Develop the capacity of the Community Hubs so that they can interlink the project to complementary provision.

5. Engage with key stakeholders to embed research into the project, so that we build a good impact evidence base.

Key delivery themes will focus on developing a strong neighbourhood approach to service delivery via the Community Hubs and their neighbourhood partners, these are:

Eat well: eat things that make your body feel good Keep talking: value your social life and your friendships Take it easy: take time to relax and recharge your batteries Think positive: be aware of the power of positive thinking


The project requires two Community Development Officer (Health Promotion) posts to make it a success. The persons taking up those posts will play an integral role in taking the project forward over the next three years. The project team will also comprise the Octopus Development Manager, the Project Steering Group and Network member organisations involved in the project.


Job Description

Job title: Community Development Officer – Tackling Health Inequalities

Salary: £10,400 pa (part-time) plus pension contribution

Reports to: Development Manager/Project Steering Group

Probationary Period: 2-3 months

Scope and objective

The Stay Well, Live Well (SWLW) project exists to help address health inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of the most marginalised communities in Islington. The post has four main functions, as follows:

1. To support the Stay Well, Live Well delivery teams within the Community Hubs in terms of designing and developing user-led services and activities, especially those relating to the work of the Community Health Champions.

2. Support the team in the design and delivery of Community Health Champion training and provide on-going support to those volunteers.

3. To support the Development Manager, the SWLW team and the individual Centre Managers in implementing quality-assured and impact driven monitoring and reporting system, especially relating to the engagement, training and services offered by the Community Health Champion volunteers.

4. To support the SWLW team in the design and delivery of project events that target communities experiencing health inequalities.

Specific Role(s) and Responsibilities

The post holder will help facilitate the reduction of heath inequalities experienced by marginalised communities by promoting health and wellbeing in targeted neighbourhoods. This


will be achieved by fostering a community-led approach that features an approach that encourages individuals and communities to become ‘architects of actions that impact on their own health’.

Develop an agreed Volunteer Policy, which identifies the role that volunteers will play on the achievement of SWLW strategic goals.

Develop and implement structures, systems and procedures to support volunteers in line with the agreed Policy. This is to include but is not limited to:

o Recruitmento Inductiono Trainingo Deploymento Mentoring and supporto Performance and impact measurement

Develop, facilitate and coordinate training and support offered to volunteer involving organisations.

Coordinate Stay Well, Live Well health champions’ campaigns and events such as Volunteers’ Week and Health Awareness Days.

Line management of volunteers as required.

Implement a sustainable structure of volunteer engagement, which will outlive the project life and meet industry ‘best practice standards’.

The post holder will work towards ensuring that all work provided through the project are fully inclusive. Therefore, the post holder is required to provide evidence that they meet both the Essential and Desirable Criteria by giving examples of their skills, knowledge and experience.

Community Hubs – Neighbourhood Network Development to help tackle health inequalities

Working directly with the project partners and the SWLW team in engaging targeted minority and BAME organisations, and other health providers, and engaging key communities leaders to ensure the access of minority and marginalised groups to the project.

Engaging with key community leaders to foster quality-led inter-agency working to facilitate greater access to health services, improved signposting to mainstream services, and health improvement activities.


Support the SWLW team in the implementation of ‘on the doorstep’ access to health information, especially those who are not easily accessing mainstream health and well-being support and services.

Develop an effective working relationship with the SWLW team and local providers to design and deliver a training and support programme for the Community Health Champions to be recruited and supported to deliver activities/services in targeted communities.

Work closely with the SWLW team to design and implement a recruitment campaign to engage and train a minimum of 12 Community Health Champions, on an on-going basis / for the next 12-months.

Evaluation, Monitoring, and Reporting

Contribute to the creation and take responsibility for the implementation of an Evaluation Strategy and Action Plan to ensure that impact achieved against outcomes is effectively evidenced.

Contribute to the analysis of information/data collected and support the production of internal evaluation reports and those required by our funder(s).

Contribute to and take responsibility for designing and implementing a Monitoring Strategy and Action Plan to ensure that performance against set targets is effectively evidenced.

Take responsibility for data input and database management to ensure effective reporting against outcomes and targets.

Take responsibility for the preparation of project performance reports for the Project Steering Group, and funder(s) and assist the Octopus Development Manager in collecting and collating project monitoring, claims, evaluation and satisfaction feedback.

General

To effectively engage in collaborative working within the team and externally with key partners.

To be pro-active in seeking opportunities to develop the project further, especially in supporting the Community Hubs to develop their services provided through the project.

Special conditions

This position is funded by Big Lottery, Reaching Communities for three years from the official start date of April 2016. This particular post will only be funded for 12-months from the start date of the employment contract.


Give the nature of the project it is expected that there will be out of hours working (including evenings/weekends).

Octopus is an Equal Opportunities Employer



Person Specification

The Community Development Officer (Health & Wellbeing Promotion) will have a passion for community development and a deep understanding of health and wellbeing issues in inner-city and marginalised communities.

The post holder will help facilitate the reduction and in some cases the elimination of heath inequalities experienced by marginalised communities by promoting health and wellbeing in targeted neighourhoods. This will be achieved by fostering a community-led approach that features an approach that encourages individuals and communities to become ‘architects of actions that impact on their own health’.

The post holder will work towards ensuring that all health services provided through the project are fully inclusive. Therefore, the post holder is required to provide evidence that they meet both the Essential and Desirable Criteria by giving examples of their skills, knowledge and experience.

When completing your Personal Statement it is essential that you provide demonstrable evidence of you meeting both the Essential (E) and Desirable (D) criteria set out below.

Criteria Essential DesirableKnowledge

Understanding of the health inequalities agendas Awareness of the needs of different community groups An understanding and commitment to equal

opportunities, customer care and fair access to health care and wellbeing services

An understanding of potential barriers to accessing mainstream health facilities and services

A knowledge of data protection, safeguarding, and health and safety legislation

EEE

E

E

Experience Experience of working on community-led programmes for

different groups in the community including older people, women, people with disabilities, people living in deprived

E


neighbourhoods, and those whose first language is not English

Experience in the recruitment, induction, support, motivation and management of volunteer workforce

Experience in the delivery of events or training. Experience of monitoring and evaluation of small scaled

projects Experience of establishing and maintaining partnerships

with external partners such as grassroots organisations

E

E

E

Skills/Abilities Have a genuine interest in working with people in local

community settings Excellent communication and interpersonal skills Effective written communication including writing of

promotional material Strong time-management, organisation, planning and

problem solving skills Competent IT skills using ‘Office’ software, and ability to

use iMacs as well as PCs Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet

deadlines whilst maintaining high standards Ability to work on own initiative and be self-motivated as

well as part of a team Ability to carry out duties in accordance with the

Octopus’s Equal Opportunities Policy

E

EE

E

E

E

E

E

EQualifications/Training

Minimum of 1 year experience of volunteer engagement and management

Community Physical / Mental Health & Wellbeing Community Outreach & Engagement, and Empowerment

E

EE

Other Ability to work flexibly, including evenings and weekend Be willing to undergo an enhanced DBS clearance check Ability to speak one of Islington’s more common

community languages

EE

D


Job Application Form

Please complete this accurately, giving as many details as possible of your skills and experience relating to this job application. Shortlisting will be based on the information gathered from the form and read in conjunction with the person specification.

Please ensure the finished form is printed out, signed, dated and returned by the closing date to the address given on the advert. We are unable to accept forms returned as email attachments without a signature.

Please either type directly in this form using Microsoft Word or print out and complete the form in black ink and BLOCK CAPITALS.

GGUIDELINESGuidelinesApplicants will be treated in the same way whether they are external or internal candidates. Internal candidates should advise their manager that they have applied for another position.

Position Applied forPOSITION APPLIED FOR:Job title:

Reference number:

Where did you see this post advertised/promoted? APPLICANT’S DETAILS

1. Applicant’s Details

Title: Surname: First name:

Home address:

POST CODE:

Telephone Nos: please include full STD code

Home:

Work:

Mobile (where possible):


Email address:

Do you hold a current driving licence? Yes/No

Is there anything concerning your medical history or state of health that is relevant to your application? Yes*/No

*If you answer Yes please refer to the Equality of Opportunity Questionnaire enclosed

Are there any restrictions regarding your employment? e.g do you require a Work Permit?Yes*/No

*If you answer Yes please supply details on a separate sheet of paper

How much notice do you need to give to your current employer?

2. EMPLOYMENT RECORD2. Employment Record

Please start with your most recent employment. Briefly describe the main duties andresponsibilities of your post.

1. Current/most recent employer/organisationName:

Address:

Job Title: From: To:

Brief description of roles and responsibilities highlighting major achievements and successes in this post:

Reason for leaving/changing:

2. Employer/organisationName:

Address:Job Title: From: To:





Address:





Address:



Reason for leaving/changing:3. EDUCATION3. EducationPlease tell us about your education, qualifications and continuing professional development training that you consider are relevant to the post. Include relevant courses that you are currently undertaking. Please start with the most recent.

Name of school/college/university/training body

Subject Studied Qualifications/Level Date gained


4. TRAININGPlease list any training you have received or courses which did not lead to a qualification but which you feel are relevant to the advertised post.

Training Courses / Continuing Professional Development Date

Volunteering Roles & experienced gained through these roles that is applicable to the post

Date

5. EXPERIENCE / SKILLS5. Experience / SkillsThis section is for you to give specific information in support of your application. Please set the information out on a maximum of three sides of A4 paper.

After reading the Job Description and Person Specification carefully, consider to what extent you have gained the skills and experience necessary for the post. Your experience need not have been gained in paid employment and may include special interests relevant to the post. It is important that you provide evidence of your achievements by giving examples to support your application. We strongly encourage you to use the headings in the person specification in order to set the information out clearly.


6. ReferencePlease give name, address and position/occupation of two referees. One must be your present or most recent employer. References will only be taken up for the successful candidate. Testimonials or references from friends and relatives are not acceptable.1. Name:

Position:

Organisation:

Address:

Telephone and Email address:

2. Name:

Position:

Organisation:

Address:

Telephone and Email address:7. CRIMINAL CONVICTIONSPlease let us know if your referees can be contacted before a job offer is made.

7. Criminal Convictions

Do you have any criminal convictions? Yes No

If Yes please give details on a separate sheet, this should exclude any spent convictions under Section 4(2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.8. DECLARATIOAND SIGNATURE8. Declaration and Signature

The information supplied in this application form is accurate to the best of my knowledge.............................................................................................................................................

Signed Date


By signing and returning this application form you consent to Octopus using and keeping information about you provided by you – or third parties such as referees – relating to your application or future employment. This information will be used solely in the recruitment process and will be retained for six months from the date on which you are informed whether you have been invited to interview, or six months from the date of interview. Such information may include details relating to ethnic monitoring and disability: these will be used solely for internal monitoring and will not be disclosed to any third party. Thank you for completing the form. Please print your completed form for your records. You can return your completed application together with your completed Equality of Opportunity Questionnaire – to either the email or postal address given on the advert.


Equality of Opportunity QuestionnaireWe would be grateful if you could complete and return this form. The information you have supplied will be kept confidentially.

Please choose one option from each of the sections listed below and then tick or place an X in the appropriate box.

A. Your age 16 - 24

25 - 34

35 - 44

45 - 54

55 - 64

65+

B. Your disabilityThe Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) protects disabled people. The DDA defines a person as disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long term (i.e. has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months) and has an adverse effect on the person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Do you consider yourself to have a disability according to the terms given in the DDA? Yes

No


If you have answered yes, please indicate the type of impairment, which applies to you (by ticking next to it below).

People may experience more than one type of impairment, in which case tick all the types that apply. If your disability does not fit any of these types, please mark Other.

Physical impairment, such as difficulty using your arms or mobility issues which means using a wheelchair or crutches

Sensory impairment, such as being blind / having a serious visual impairment or being deaf / having a serious hearing impairment.

Mental health condition, such as depression or schizophrenia.

Learning disability, (such as Down’s syndrome or dyslexia) or cognitive impairment (such as autism or head-injury).

Long-standing illness or health condition such as cancer, HIV, diabetes, chronic heart disease, or epilepsy.

Other, such as disfigurement (specify below if you wish).

C. Your ethnic group (These are based on the Census 2001 categories, and are listed alphabetically)

Asian, Asian British, Asian English, Asian Scottish, or Asian WelshBangladeshi

Indian

Pakistani

Any other Asian background (specify below if you wish)


Black, Black British, Black English, Black Scottish, or Black WelshAfrican

Caribbean

Any other Black background (specify below if you wish)

Chinese, Chinese British, Chinese English, Chinese Scottish, or Chinese Welsh, or other ethnic groupChinese

Any other ethnic background (specify below if you wish)

Mixed White and Asian

White and Black African

White and Black Caribbean

White and Chinese

Any other Mixed background (specify below if you wish)

White British

English

Irish

Scottish

Welsh

Any other White background (specify if you wish)


D. Your genderMale

Female

Transgender

Other

Prefer not to say

Have you ever identified as transgender?For the purpose of this question “transgender” is defined as an individual who lives, or wants to live, full time in the gender opposite to that they were assigned at birth.

Yes

No

Prefer not to say

E. Your religion or belief Which group below do you most identify with?

No religion

Baha’i

Buddhist

Christian

Hindu

Jain

Jewish

Muslim


Sikh

Any other religion or belief (specify if you wish)

F. Your sexual orientationBisexual

Gay man

Gay woman / lesbian

Heterosexual / straight

Other (specify below if you wish)

G. Where did you see this post advertised Please provide details:



Community Development Officer – Health & Wellbeing Promotion (Islington)

Summary of terms and conditions of employment

Salary

The salary for this post is £26,000 per annum, full-time plus 3% pension contribution.

Nature of post

This is position if offered on a fixed term basis, which is linked to the funding provided by the Big Lottery, through the Reaching Communities programme.

The project is funded for three years from April 2016

The contracted hours are 37.5 hours per week (there will be some out of hours working (including weekends and evenings) and/or travel.

We will consider a Job sharer for this post, and hours/salary will be offered on a pro-rata agreement.

Base

The Octopus office is located within the Caxton House Community Centre, 129 St John’s Way, Islington, London N19 3RQ. Due to the nature of the project it is very likely that you will be located/will work from one of the designated Community Centre partners. Specific details will be agreed and confirmed when a job offer is made.

Holidays

Leave entitlement is at a rate of 25 days per annum plus Bank Holiday allocation

Probationary period

The probationary period for this post is 3-6 months depending on performance during this period.

Equal opportunities and Diversity

Octopus Community Network is fully committed to the active promotion of equal opportunities and diversity in its employment practices, in the work it undertakes and the provision of


services. Therefore, the job position requires someone who is able to comply with and work within the spirit of this policy and its implementation.

Pre-employment checks - Information for applicantsTo ensure we safeguard the children, young people and vulnerable adults that we work with, Octopus will carry out a number of pre-employment checks as part of our recruitment and selection process to enable us to make informed recruitment decisions.

Pre-employment checksAfter interview we will ask potential staff members for consent to a Disclosure check which will be carried out by the DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) see the following link: https://www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/overview

What is Disclosure?An employer may request a criminal records check processed through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) as part of the recruitment process. Octopus will seek ‘disclosure’ of candidates applying for posts concerned with the Stay Well, Live Well project. A Disclosure is a document containing information held by the police and government departments and will assist Octopus in making safer recruitment decisions.

There are three levels of disclosure: Enhanced, Standard and Basic and Octopus will carry out Enhanced Disclosure checks on all potential staff after the interview process has been completed.

Disclosures will provide details of a person’s criminal record including convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the Police National Computer (PNC). It will also provide details from lists held by Government Department’s and information held by local police forces.

Please note that you do not have to consent to these checks being carried out. However, if consent is withheld, Octopus will have to withdraw any offer of employment.

With some exceptions having a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual from working at Octopus in line with guidance on the recruitment of ex-offenders. This will depend on the nature of the position sought and the circumstances and background of the offences. If you would like to find out more about DBS please follow this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dbs-check-requests-guidance-for-employers

The code of practice

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dbs-check-requests-guidance-for-employers

https://www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/overview


Organisations using the DBS checking service comply with the ‘code of practice’, which is there to ensure that organisations are aware of their obligations that the information released will be used fairly.

Storing informationThe correct storage of information from a DBS certificate is important. The code of practice requires that the information revealed is considered only for the purpose for which it was obtained.

Proof of identification

Octopus is required to confirm the identity of any potential staff members. For this reason we will seek documentation as evidence of identity and a list of the documents required will be discussed with the potential staff member.

Please note that any information supplied will be treated in confidence and in accordance with the Data Protection Act and the.

Right to work checks and documentation

Octopus will check that job applicants are allowed to work in the UK before we make a job offer. Therefore, we will seek the applicant’s original documents and will keep copies of these documents on file. You can find out more information about this requirement here: https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work

Further information

Please contact Julie Parish, Development Manager: [email protected] or by phone: 020 7263 7095

Funded by the National Lottery through the Big Lottery Fund

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work

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