Role Purpose
The Community Engagement, Outreach and Partnerships Officer will be Women’s Consortium’s external face in the community, building and maintaining the relationships, networks and partnerships that enable WC’s services to reach the people who need them most.
This is a dual-facing role. On the ground, the postholder will be out in communities across Birmingham and Solihull, building trust with faith centres, women’s groups, refugee organisations, GP surgeries and neighbourhood teams. Strategically, they will represent WC at VCSE forums, ICS partnership boards, provider networks and multi-agency coordination meetings, delivering presentations and positioning WC as a credible, engaged partner in the Birmingham health and wellbeing landscape.
This role supports all WC programmes and activities, including the Community Counselling Service, NHS Talking Therapies subcontracting, and future programmes. The postholder will play a critical role in raising WC’s profile, generating referrals, and ensuring WC is connected to the communities and systems it serves.
Key Responsibilities
Community Outreach and Engagement
- Build and maintain relationships with GPs, social prescribers, primary care networks and neighbourhood teams across 5 localities (Central, East, North, Solihull, West)
- Engage with faith centres, mosques, gurdwaras, churches, women’s groups, refugee organisations, community hubs and culturally specific groups to promote WC’s services
- Deliver community awareness sessions on mental health, wellbeing and accessing support, particularly targeting Global Majority (BAMER) communities and other underrepresented groups
- Attend community events, health fairs, cultural celebrations and local forums to raise WC’s visibility
- Identify and address barriers to accessing mental health services, including stigma, language, cultural misunderstanding and lack of awareness
- Map community assets and referral opportunities per locality, maintaining an up-to-date partnerships directory
- Support co-production activities, ensuring community voices inform service design and delivery
Strategic Partnerships and Networks
- Represent WC at VCSE forums, ICS partnership boards, BVSC networks, locality partnership meetings and provider coordination forums
- Deliver presentations about WC’s work, impact and services to external audiences including commissioners, NHS partners, local authority colleagues and VCSE peers
- Build strategic relationships with key organisations including BVSC, Living Well Consortium, Birmingham Mind, Talking Therapies providers, neighbourhood mental health teams and other VCSE partners
- Participate in Birmingham and Solihull ICS VCFSE network activities and cross-sector working groups
- Identify partnership opportunities, funding collaborations and joint working arrangements that strengthen WC’s reach and sustainability
- Coordinate with Gateway Family Services (Lot 5) on cross-referral pathways and shared community engagement
- Maintain a calendar of relevant forums, networks and events, ensuring WC is consistently represented
Referral Development
- Proactively develop referral relationships to generate a steady flow of referrals into WC’s counselling service and other programmes
- Visit GP surgeries and primary care networks to introduce the service, distribute referral materials and build ongoing relationships
- Liaise with NHS Talking Therapies to establish cross-referral pathways
- Work with the Admin/Triage Officer and Therapy Manager to track referral sources and identify gaps by locality
- Feed community intelligence back to the Director and Therapy Manager on unmet needs, emerging issues and opportunities for service development
Communications Support
- Work closely with the Marketing and Communications Officer on community-facing content, messaging and materials
- Provide on-the-ground feedback on what messaging resonates with different communities
- Contribute stories, case studies (with appropriate consent) and community insights for WC’s social media, website and impact reports
- Support the production of translated and Easy Read materials for outreach purposes
Wider Organisational Contribution
- Contribute to WC’s strategic development by identifying opportunities for new programmes, partnerships and funding
- Support WC events, launches and community activities
- Attend team meetings and contribute to organisational planning
- Provide regular written updates to the Director on engagement activity, partnerships and community intelligence
Essential:
- Minimum 2 years experience in a community engagement, outreach, partnerships or community development role
- Proven ability to build and maintain relationships with diverse stakeholders (community groups, statutory partners, health services)
- Experience delivering presentations, workshops or awareness sessions to a range of audiences
- Strong understanding of health inequalities and the barriers faced by underrepresented communities in accessing services
- Experience working with Global Majority (BAMER), refugee, migrant or other marginalised communities
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, able to engage confidently with everyone from a GP to a community elder
- Self-motivated and able to work independently, managing own diary and priorities
- Proficient in Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams)
- Willingness to travel extensively across Birmingham and Solihull
- Basic DBS clearance (or willingness to undertake)
Desirable:
- Experience working in a charity, CIO, VCSE or not-for-profit organisation
- Experience working with or alongside NHS services, ICBs or NHS-commissioned programmes
- Familiarity with Birmingham and Solihull’s VCSE landscape (BVSC, locality networks, ICS structures)
- Experience in mental health, wellbeing or counselling service settings
- Multilingual ability relevant to Birmingham communities (e.g. Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic, Somali, Bengali)
- Experience representing an organisation at multi-agency forums, partnership boards or coordination meetings
- Knowledge of social prescribing, neighbourhood teams and primary care mental health pathways
- Experience with co-production and community-led service design
- Familiarity with NHS Talking Therapies referral pathways
- Presentation skills including use of PowerPoint and visual aids
Values and Behaviours
- Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
- Culturally competent, respectful and responsive to the needs of diverse communities
- Collaborative working across organisations, sectors and communities
- Proactive, resourceful and comfortable working independently in the community
- Professional integrity and ethical standards
- Commitment to reducing health inequalities and improving access to mental health support
Additional Requirements
- Basic DBS check
- Willingness to travel extensively across Birmingham and Solihull (own transport or ability to use public transport effectively)
- Flexibility to work occasional evenings or weekends for community events and forums
- This role requires significant time in community settings, not office based
Important: This role is contingent on ongoing funding. Continuation beyond the initial contract period is subject to the availability of programme funding.
How to Apply: Please send your CV and a cover letter outlining how you meet the person specification to: [email protected]
Women’s Consortium is an equal opportunities employer. We particularly welcome applications from candidates who reflect the diverse communities we serve, including people from Global Majority backgrounds, multilingual speakers, and those with lived experience of the issues we address.
Pay: £26,000.00-£30,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
