Do you want to make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of people in your local community?
Are you looking for a varied, community-based role where you can motivate and support people to make lasting lifestyle changes?
The Role (For more information see Role Description)
We are looking for passionate and driven people to join our Reading and West Berkshire team as a Healthy Lifestyle Advisor and deliver personalised, evidence-based behaviour change support in community, place-based and digital settings across both local authority areas.
The Reading and West Berkshire is a Brand New Integrated Healthy Lifestyle Service is a whole-system, place-based service supporting residents to make positive, sustained changes to their health and wellbeing. It brings together smoking cessation, healthy weight, physical activity, alcohol brief interventions and mental wellbeing signposting through one integrated pathway, delivered in community settings, workplaces, trusted partner venues and digitally.
As a Healthy Lifestyle Advisor, you will be a key frontline member of the Integrated Healthy Lifestyle Service team, delivering personalised, evidence-based behaviour change support to residents across Reading and West Berkshire.
You will carry a varied caseload, complete holistic lifestyle assessments, co-develop personalised plans and deliver tailored support across smoking cessation, weight management, physical activity, alcohol brief advice and wider lifestyle goals. You will use COM-B informed behaviour change, motivational interviewing, strengths-based coaching and culturally competent practice to help residents build confidence and sustain change.
This is a genuinely community-based role. You will deliver support in settings such as GP practices, community pharmacies, Family Hubs, libraries, leisure venues, workplaces, voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations, community hubs and outreach events, as well as by telephone and digitally.
This role will also support with place based engagement activities where required to support the promotion of the services and bring further clients into service.
You will also support the Single Point of Access, triage, follow-up, re-engagement and partnership activity, helping residents access the right support and strengthening referral pathways across health, care, community and voluntary-sector partners.
We are looking for passionate, driven and people-focused individuals who want to make a real difference to residents' lives – and who are committed to delivering high-quality, person-centred support to help people achieve lasting, positive change.
The role will combine work from a local office base, community venues and co-location sites across Reading and West Berkshire, with some home working to support digital delivery.
This is a Full-time role. Hours to be covered are Monday – Sunday within the hours of 8am – 8pm. Flexible hours are required to meet the needs of the service including evening/weekend work.Where this is not required your core hours will be between Monday and Friday 08:30am and 5pm.
You must be able to travel independently across Reading and West Berkshire, including to community venues and outreach locations.
Access to a car is desirable where public transport does not meet service needs.
An enhanced DBS clearance is required for the role, which the company will pay for.
Salary: £26,227.50 per annum.
Key elements of the day to day role:
- Carry a caseload of residents across the Reading and West Berkshire Integrated Healthy Lifestyle Service, managing clients across multiple lifestyle pathways and delivery channels simultaneously.
- Conduct holistic lifestyle assessments covering smoking, weight, physical activity, alcohol, wellbeing, wider determinants, readiness to change, access needs and eligibility for appropriate levels of support.
- Use validated tools and measures as appropriate, including CO testing, nicotine dependence assessment, AUDIT-C, GPPAQ, ONS4 or WEMWBS wellbeing measures, readiness-to-change tools and service-specific outcome measures.
- Co-develop personalised plans with residents based on what matters to them, recommending appropriate interventions, intensity of support and progression routes in line with NICE guidance, NCSCT standards and service protocols.
- Manage and organise own time and diary effectively to ensure timely follow-up with clients across the caseload.
- To support the client in making the best decision on pharmacotherapy.
- Provide NRT and support access to smoking cessation pharmacotherapy in line with agreed direct supply protocols, clinical governance arrangements and service procedures.
- Ensure appropriate records are kept for all contacts with the service via the service CRM called Best You.
- Follow up and support clients to achieve agreed milestones, including four-week and 12-week quits, weight management outcomes, increased physical activity, improved wellbeing and sustained behaviour change.
- Support with any lead generations from social media to bring clients into service
- Support clients who fail in their attempt to re-engage with the service and make subsequent attempts.
- Seek out opportunities to develop and implement stop smoking services in a range of health and community settings.
Integrated Healthy Lifestyle Coaching & Behaviour Change Support
● Deliver high-quality, person-centred one-to-one and group-based healthy lifestyle coaching across all integrated pathways, including weight management, physical activity, stop smoking and alcohol brief interventions.
● Use evidence-based behaviour change techniques (including motivational interviewing) to support clients to make and sustain positive lifestyle changes.
● Deliver stop smoking support in line with national guidelines and protocols, including advice on pharmacotherapy and quit aids, provision of NRT via voucher scheme or direct supply, and follow-up to four-week and twelve-week quit milestones.
● Support clients who do not achieve their initial goal to re-engage with the service and make subsequent attempts.
● Deliver coaching sessions across a range of channels and settings – including face-to-face in community venues, telephonically, online/digitally and in group settings.
● Provide general health and lifestyle information, advice and signposting (e.g. healthy eating, physical activity, stress management, alcohol) in line with best guidance and protocols.
● Refer and signpost clients to other health, community and voluntary services as appropriate to meet needs outside the service offer.
Outcomes, Targets & Performance
● Work to agreed service targets and outcomes, contributing to the overall service's performance against contract expectations.
● Support clients to achieve key outcome measures including: 5% or 10% weight loss; successful four-week and twelve-week quit dates; reduction in smoking by more than 50% for clients with SMI; reduction of alcohol to within CMO guidelines; and increases in physical activity levels to CMO guidelines.
● Respond to referrals within stated timescales, including self-referrals and referrals from GPs, colleagues, community organisations and other professionals.
● Accurately record all client contacts, assessments, interventions and outcomes in the service CRM/data system in a timely, factual and complete manner.
● Contribute to monitoring, evaluation and client feedback processes, offering recommendations to improve service quality.
Place-Based Community Engagement & Partnerships
● Deliver and represent the service in community settings across Reading and West Berkshire, including GP practices, community pharmacies, Family Hubs, libraries, leisure providers, workplaces, voluntary-sector settings, community hubs and outreach events.
● Contribute to awareness-raising and engagement activity across primary care, secondary care, community, voluntary-sector and local authority settings to promote the Integrated Healthy Lifestyle Service, increase appropriate referrals and support Making Every Contact Count conversations.
● Build and maintain positive working relationships with local professionals, partners and referrers, including primary care networks, social prescribers, community pharmacies, leisure providers and local voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations.
● Support and participate in community engagement events, health promotion activity and service marketing – including occasional evening and weekend events with advance planning and notice.
● Liaise with partners across health and social care and the voluntary sector to promote the service and encourage appropriate referrals.
Teamwork, Professional Development & Ways of Working
● Work collaboratively as an active member of the Reading and West Berkshire Integrated Healthy Lifestyle Service team, contributing to team meetings, shared learning and service improvement.
● Participate in regular clinical supervision, appraisal and personal development review, actively developing skills and knowledge.
● Complete required training and development, including NCSCT Level 2, pathway-specific training, safeguarding, information governance, COM-B, motivational interviewing, cultural humility, trauma-informed practice and learning disability accessible communication.
● Alert the Senior Advisor or Service Lead to any concerns about individuals, risks or issues in the community, maintaining confidentiality at all times.
● Contribute to the development of service targets, plans and improvements by attending team meetings and sharing insight.
● Monitor and maintain health, safety and security of self and others at all times.
Safeguarding, Governance & Compliance
- Report any concerns regarding the safety or wellbeing of children, adults service users, members of their families etc, in accordance with ICE’s Policy.
- Prevent and respond appropriately to abuse and understand own role in this by undertaking Safeguarding training.
- Act at all times within the Company’s rules, policies, procedures, and financial regulations.
- Observe and comply with employees’ obligations under Health and Safety policy and law.
- Support a progressive approach to Equal Opportunities ensuring that the Company’s commitment to equality of opportunity in service provision and employment practices are present in any work.
- Comply with all clinical and information governance policy and procedures at all times.
- Maintain the highest standards of personal and professional integrity and conduct.
Who We Are
ICE is one of the fastest growing behaviour change organisations in the UK. We bring courage, energy, and ambition to equip & enable more organisations & people to move our world forward. To grow our significance as a leading behaviour change practice. By energising organisations & people to find the clarity, courage, & commitment needed to realise their full purpose & potential.
Our Mission
We are social activists driven to unlock your power, purpose and possibility; we are for people and planet.
We Make Better Happen.
We are a purpose-driven organisation; our ethos and beliefs are important to us. As a team we hold and practice three core character traits and set around those character traits are the behaviours that matter to us as a team for our work together.
Whole Heartedness
Bring passion and energy to our work, our colleagues and ourselves.
- Be ready to work hard and give 100%
- Be your true self – bring your energy, enthusiasm, and full commitment to everything you do. Be a powerful inspiration for others.
- Recognise celebrate and share successes and celebrate and share success.
- Show you care, support your teammates when they need it and listen to them without judgement.
- Treat people with respect.
Trust
Trust and intent to do the right thing.
- Do the right thing. Ask yourself, “did I do my best today?”
- Take ownership - do what you say you are going to do. If you notice something is not right or could be done better, take responsibility to find a resolution – don’t think “that’s not my job.”
- Have courage to be honest with yourself and others about what you can and can’t do. Reach out for support if you need it.
Being Curious and Creative
Bringing our ideas to add value to what we do.
- Explore ideas that are creative, unusual, not limited or controlled by rules or assumptions to bring new ideas and solutions.
- Share ideas, challenge, experiment and be open minded.
- Be curious, ask yourself, “what is it I don’t understand about this?”
- Try something new, make bold decisions - be brave – step outside your comfort zone and don’t be afraid to make mistakes – mistakes are opportunities to learn.
- Share learnings and welcome learnings from others.
“We live by what we believe not by what we see.”
Are you right for the job?
· You will need to be an independent self-starter, flexible and driven by a desire to help people positively change their lifestyle behaviours.· You will be used to working towards outcome targets.· You will be able to work across Reading and West Berkshire and independently travel to community venues and outreach locations.
· You will need to be an independent self-starter, flexible and driven by a desire to help people positively change their lifestyle behaviours.
· You will be a people person and thrive on engaging people including clients and stakeholders/partners.
· You will be able to travel independently across Reading and West Berkshire; access to a car is desirable where public transport does not meet service needs.
· Willingness to work occasional evenings/weekends with notice (time off in lieu as agreed).
Essential existing skills/experience:
- GCSE level (or equivalent) in English and Mathematics.
- Smoking Cessation Training – Level 2 delivered by an NHS Stop Smoking Service or the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT), or willingness to complete within 3 months of starting in post.
- Willingness to undertake training and development as required to carry out the duties of the post.
- IT literate and able to confidently use digital tools and online methods of communication.
- Experience of delivering healthy lifestyle, behaviour change, stop smoking, weight management, physical activity, wellbeing or health improvement interventions in a community, health or similar setting.
- Experience working with a caseload of clients across multiple needs and channels.
- Experience using databases or digital systems to accurately record data and client information.
- Customer-facing experience, ideally in a health, wellbeing or community service.
- Experience in using Zoom, Microsoft Teams and other digital platforms.
Desirable skills/experience:
- Educated to degree level or equivalent by experience in health improvement, public health, community development, behaviour change or a related field.
- NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in a health-related field.
- Formal training or qualification in behaviour change, motivational interviewing or healthy lifestyle coaching.
- Understanding of public health principles and services.
- Experience delivering stop smoking support or substance/alcohol brief interventions.
- Experience delivering weight management, physical activity or nutrition support.
- Experience working in community or place-based settings across a wide geographic area.
- Knowledge of Reading and West Berkshire’s health, care, community and voluntary-sector landscape, or demonstrable ability to build this knowledge quickly.
Full training for all roles will be provided along with a programme of continued professional development.
Have we described you?
We can promise you an opportunity to grow, add value and progress your career in an exciting environment by bringing your strengths to our team and having fun along the way.
Don’t miss out; if you have been excited by this opportunity, then act now.
All posts will be subject to enhanced DBS clearance.
Only that shortlisted will be contacted.
Strictly No agencies!
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £26,227.50 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Enhanced maternity leave
- Free flu jabs
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
- Paid volunteer time
- Sick pay
Licence/Certification:
- Driving Licence (required)
Location:
- Reading, Berkshire (required)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Reading
