About TTVS
Taw & Torridge Voluntary Services (TTVS) is a community-rooted charity with more than 35 years of experience supporting people, communities and voluntary organisations across Torridge. Working at both grassroots and strategic levels, TTVS helps address isolation, inequality and health disparities in some of Torridge's most rural and underserved communities. Through community development, volunteering, support for older people, young carers, and vulnerable residents, TTVS empowers local people to thrive, strengthens community resilience, and creates lasting positive change.
About the CARE Grant Project
TTVS has been awarded a CARE Grant from Macmillan Cancer Support to deliver the Connecting Communities project, a two-year programme designed to improve support for people living with and beyond cancer across Torridge. The grant will fund a community-led approach that provides practical information, emotional support, peer networks and guidance to help people access treatment and care.
The project will particularly focus on people who face additional barriers to support, including those living in rural areas, carers, individuals experiencing social isolation, and other underserved communities, helping to reduce inequalities and ensure no one faces cancer alone.
Job Purpose
- As part of the Macmillan Connecting Communities project, the Engagement Lead will help bring people, organisations, and services together to improve the support available to people affected by cancer in and across Torridge. They will build trusted relationships across communities and the health system, helping ensure that all people can access the right support at the right time.
- Working closely with local partners across the system (health, local government and VCSE) they will coordinate activities, encourage collaboration, and make sure community voices help shape how support is delivered.
- The role is about connecting organisations, sharing learning, and helping create services that are accessible, welcoming, and responsive to the needs of local communities
Key Responsibilities
- Build strong relationships with community groups and partner organisations, creating opportunities for people to come together, share their experiences, and access support.
- Work alongside communities and the Health Inclusion Lead to understand what matters to them, ensuring their voices, ideas, and experiences help shape activities and services.
- Working with the Community Development team, understand the challenges to accessing support across the geography of Torridge. Looking at how coastal and rural settings can impact access to health services.
- Bring partners together to develop joined-up support, helping people access the right help at the right time and reducing the barriers they face.
- Support the planning and delivery of community-based activities, creating welcoming, inclusive spaces where people feel listened to, valued, and connected.
- Gather feedback, celebrate successes, and share learning with communities and partners, helping to improve services and create positive change across the area.
- Working with the Project Manager and Health Inclusion Lead, identify opportunities for change across both the communities we support and the systems we work in.
- Working with the Project Manager, build a framework for community led evaluation.
Key Requirements
- Excellent people and relationship-building skills, with the ability to connect with people from a wide range of backgrounds and build trust with communities, partners, and professionals.
- Experience of working in the voluntary, community, health, or public sector, particularly in roles involving community engagement, partnership working, or project coordination.
- A good understanding of health inequalities and the challenges facing underserved communities, including rural communities, carers, people experiencing homelessness, and other groups who may face barriers to support.
- Strong communication and facilitation skills, with the confidence to bring people together, listen to different perspectives, and encourage collaboration.
- Experience of developing and maintaining partnerships, working collaboratively with community organisations, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders to achieve shared goals.
- The ability to organise and coordinate multiple activities, manage competing priorities, and ensure projects are delivered effectively.
- A commitment to community-led approaches, ensuring local people and those with lived experience help shape decisions and influence how services are delivered.
- Experience of gathering feedback, monitoring outcomes, and using learning to improve services and demonstrate impact.
- Knowledge, experience and a commitment to work in a trauma informed way
- The experience and confidence to provide training
- A willingness to work creatively as part of the wider TTVS team towards our overall community strategy in increasing accessibility to vital services for the people of Torridge
Values & Personal Qualities
- Warm, approachable, and able to make people feel welcome.
- Passionate about reducing inequalities and improving people's lives.
- A good listener who values different experiences and perspectives.
- Flexible, adaptable, and comfortable working across communities and organisations.
- Collaborative and able to inspire others to work towards a shared goal.
Pay is £29,000 and this will be pro rata based on 24.5 hours a week. We anticipate interviews to be held week starting 24th August 2026.
Pay: £29,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
