Our Vacancies  

We are looking for key actors in adult social care, including funders/decision-makers, service providers, people who receive care and support, carers and front-line staff to join us as Local Network Coordinators. There will be Local Networks in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, all focused on the same issue, with the ultimate aim to produce an action plan to take change forward, drawing on learning from other parts of the UK.

Each Local Network will get together four times over a period of six months to discuss a particular issue using materials provided in advance, with members sharing experiences and suggesting practical ideas for positive change. The notes from these meetings will be fed back to the UK Networks’ Lead (Kate Hamblin) and Networks Manager (Amber Cagney), who will then produce a summary of key points raised from the Networks across the UK for discussion at the next meeting. We hope this iterative process of discussion and shared learning will result in action plans which will facilitate change. 

We would like Local Network Coordinators to:

• attend a training and planning meeting with other Local Network Coordinators
• work with IMPACT to recruit members 8-10 people including people who receive care and support, carers, front-line staff, funders/decision-makers and relevant service providers to their local Network.
• run four Network meetings, roughly six weeks apart, with financial resources available to support this (including room hire and refreshments)
• lead the discussion at the Network meetings, guided by the materials supplied by IMPACT
• summarise the points raised in each meeting and send a note of this to IMPACT’s Networks Manager
• meet three times with the other Local Network Coordinators from across the UK with the UK Network Lead (Kate Hamblin) to plan and debrief after each Network meeting
• work with their Local Network to create an action plan for practical change.
• provide feedback six and 12 months after the Network ends.

There are resources available to support the IMPACT Networks and your involvement as a Local Network Coordinator, including:

• A Local Network Coordinator fee (£5,000).
• Additional resources to support participation costs (up to £2,450, including support for people who are unsalaried [£75 per person per meeting], replacement care/PA support for Network members, travel expenses)
• The support of the Networks Lead (Kate Hamblin) and Networks Manager (Amber Cagney)

Networks focus on specific topics and we have vacancies in the following areas:

Technology for independence and prevention (September 2024 – March 2025): While technology has been part of adult social care provision and used by people who receive care and support for decades, advances are being made that offer both new opportunities and potential challenges. This Network will focus on how emerging technologies can be used to support people to live well and independently as well as how they can be used to prevent harm. We are looking for coordinators in Wales and Scotland.

Involving people with lived experience in strategic decision-making: This topic is important because local authorities and public bodies across the 4 UK nations are trying to involve people with lived experience and carers, in commissioning and decision-making processes. Involving people can help to create support provision that helps people to live their best lives. However, there are different ways to engage people with lived experience in decision-making processes such as peer research, co-design, inclusion in committees, working groups, or via consultation. Each of these approaches is characterised by different levels of involving people with lived experience. We are looking for coordinators in Wales and Scotland.

Carers, transitions and co-production (from October 2024 – April 2025): Transitions, including service transitions (such as from hospital; from children’s to adults’ services and into a residential care setting) can be experienced as ‘shocks’ or as stressful both for the person experiencing them and those who care for them. This Network will focus on carers (unpaid or ‘informal’ as opposed to care workers) and how they can be better involved during periods of transition. Sometimes carers are ‘forgotten’ or ‘taken for granted’ in the processes and decision-making, and the aim of this Network is to explore how they can be more involved in ways that align with the values of ‘co-production’. We are looking for coordinators in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Recovery-based approaches to mental health (from November 2024 – May 2025): In recent years, the model of mental health care has changed from a rehabilitative/medical model, with the focus on the professional, to a recovery model, where the main focus is the person struggling with mental distress. The recovery model has been defined as ‘a way of living a satisfying life, full of hope and contribution, even within the limitations caused by the disease’. In this context, person‐centred care became the focus of the intervention. However, there are some problems associated with the application of this model, including that some feel it oversimplifies the issues connected to mental distress, and that there is a lack of a shared definition and understanding of the model, which makes evaluation difficult. IMPACT has selected this topic as an important issue to consider in order to improve the life of people with mental health distress and their carers. We are looking for coordinators in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Commissioning differently (from October 2024 – April 2025): Commissioners of adult social care services face many challenges. ‘Thorny issues’ they encounter include how to move away from ‘time and task’-based to more outcomes-focused approaches; how to put social value/ethical commissioning into practice; and how to support, develop and sustain new models of care. This Network will examine these issues, providing time and space for those working in adult social care to share ideas and experiences that could navigate these complex issues and support change. We are looking for coordinators in Northern Ireland.

Please contact Amber Cagney ([email protected]) if you have any queries or would like to talk about being a Local Network Coordinator.