Our Vacancies
Our recent national recruitment campaign closed on Sunday 5 May – if you applied to the Facilitator and Demonstrator vacancies, you will be updated via email imminently.
We have an exciting opportunity to join our growing team, as a Senior Strategic Improvement Coaches (Demonstrators) on a managed budgets project with ARC NI and DOH/HSCNI Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG).
Managed budgets in social care give people greater control over how the funding for their care and support is used without having to directly manage the money themselves. This project will work with government, health and social care trusts, and voluntary and community organisations to make managed budgets an option for people in Northern Ireland.
Working with the Department of Health, Trusts and partners, this project will help implement actions from a workshop we ran with ARC NI last year.
As IMPACT moves into the second year of its delivery phase, this pivotal role has been created to scale learning and innovation. Successful candidates will play a pivotal part in helping to get evidence of what works used in adult social care to improve services and lives.
To apply, you must:
- Send a CV and cover letter to [email protected], clearly detailing the role, project and national location you are applying for in the subject of the email. Your cover letter should be no more than two sides of A4, drawing attention to the key skills, values and experiences you would bring to the role, if successful, and the ways in which your CV to date fits with the requirements of the role.
- Complete our mandatory additional information form. Applicants that do not complete the form will not be considered.
The deadline for applications is Sunday 9th June.
Please note applications will be reviewed as we receive them and we have the right to close this vacancy early if a suitable candidate is found.
Informal enquires can be sent to [email protected]
Shortlisted candidates invited to online interview will be asked to prepare a short presentation about the challenges and opportunities of the role and project they are applying to.
As part of IMPACT’s commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion we are particularly keen to receive applications from people from black and minority ethnic communities, and will be operating the ‘Rooney’ rule*. We are also keen to receive applications from people who have lived experience of drawing on care and support, are carers or are front-line practitioners, as well as from people who have experience of working with groups whose voices are seldom heard.
We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working.
While these are part-time posts (with preferred working patterns between Mon-Fri open to mutual agreement), successful applicants will be expected to attend fortnightly meetings with the broader IMPACT team where possible – these are held on Monday mornings (11am-12pm), for one hour via Teams. We would like successful candidates to start in September. There will be an induction at the in-person all-staff away day in Belfast (all expenses covered). We recognise that this won’t be possible for everyone and alternative arrangements can/will be made for those unable to attend.
(* at least one person from a black and minority ethnic community background will be shortlisted where they meet the essential criteria for the role)
Senior Strategic Improvement Coaches (Demonstrators)
- Part-time 0.5/50%
- Fixed-term contract (12 months, target start date September 2024)
- Salary: up to a maximum £57,724 FTE (50% for this post)
- Closing date: Sunday 9th June
THE POST
Positions are offered at 50% FTE for 12 months. While successful candidates may wish to be directly employed by a lead University, the nature of the roles also makes them ideal for possible secondments from policy, practice or applied research. Posts are typically based in the host organisation (a local service or social care organisation) across the four nations. Post holders will work with these organisations, as detailed below, and with our Demonstrator Lead, Robin Miller – as well as IMPACT’s broader team and other partners.
THE LOCATIONS AND TOPICS
IMPACT Senior Strategic Improvement Coach (Demonstrator) – Managed Budgets in Northern Ireland
Location: ARC NI and one of SPPG regional offices
An Access NI (police) check may be required, as well as a driver’s license/ access to a vehicle on appointment/ other form of transport
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)
Topics and locations:
- Technology for independence/prevention – Scotland, Wales
- Recovery-based approaches to mental health – Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
- Lived experience and strategic commissioning – Scotland
- Overcoming ‘thorny’ commissioning issues – Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
- Carers, care transitions and co-production – Scotland, Northern Ireland
Please contact Amber Cagney ([email protected]) to express interest.