Community Engagement and Wellbeing Officer

**Full Job Description**

**The British Polio Fellowship**

The British Polio Fellowship (BPF) is a charity dedicated to supporting and empowering the many thousands of people in the UK living with the late effects of polio and the condition post-polio syndrome (PPS). We provide information, welfare and support to those affected to enable all to live full independent and integrated lives. We also campaign to raise the awareness of polio and PPS more widely, especially among healthcare professionals.

This is an exciting time at BPF and anyone joining the team now will be instrumental in helping the Fellowship grow and develop. Covid 19 has shown the Fellowship how much the polio community need and rely on us. It has also brought previous epidemics into the national focus.

The Fellowship has an active Branch and Region network across the UK, which are run and managed by volunteers.

**Job purpose**

A key element of the Fellowship’s 3-year strategy is to support our volunteer network.

We are looking to hire a dedicated Community Engagement and Well-being Officer to join our team for the following purposes
- Assist regional and branch officers
- Engaging with our members and expanding membership.
- Work with current Support Services team to identify gaps in service and knowledge

This is a new role and as such is required to be dynamic in its purpose. The postholder may have an opportunity to shape the nature of our Branch and Region Network and the way we work with our volunteers.

**KeyDuties**

Primary duties
- Support healthy running of all Branches and Regions
- Developing and identify membership and identify local and national outreach opportunities
- Keep updated on national changes in health, welfare and support matters
- Understand local support needs to feed into the national support services team.
- Support the production and distribution of Regional and Branch newsletters
- Assist Volunteer officers with database management
- Ensure relevant Branch and Region communications are fed into or coordinated with national communications.
- Be the first point of contact for all volunteer officers across the UK

Team support duties
- To assist with the production of the BPF quarterly magazine, the bulletin including proof reading
- Support development of high quality and accessible educational resources tailored to specific targets
- Assist officers to organise and manage events
- Support fundraising bids and the work of the fundraising team
- Support the work of the Trustees and operations team for key projects to be agreed on an ongoing basis.
- Assist the operations team with events.
- Attend BPF National events as required
- Ensure that all PR, communications, and marketing opportunities are coordinated with wider staff team.
- Assist with local fundraising as needed.

**Additional Requirements**
- Offering a non-discriminatory service, available to all sections of the population which recognises, respects and values diversity of culture and background
- Making a positive contribution to the Fellowship, working within all the policies and procedures of the Fellowship and meeting all responsibilities in accordance with the Staff Handbook
- Attending staff meetings and functioning as a member of the wider team.
- Understanding the need for confidentiality when dealing with both internal and external information
- Flexibility to travel as required by your role
- Flexibility to work outside or in excess of standard hours when necessary to achieve objectives required (TOIL can be taken in accordance with BPF policies)
- Sound knowledge of the Fellowship's service offering specific to role
- Ensuring that you do not compromise the health and safety of others and yourself in the workplace and for co-operating with any legal steps the Fellowship may take to fulfil its obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act

**Person Specification**

**Essential Skills**
- Education to degree level or equivalent experience
- Demonstrated good standard of writing, clear, concise output for a wide range of readers and ages
- Searching out relevant information to assist volunteers i.e. venue finding, keeping track of changes in welfare and support matters etc
- Good communication skills over a range of media, written, web-based, multi-media presentation, phone, face-to-face meetings.
- Ability to work in a team and with external panels and collaborators
- Ability to work to deadlines
- Ability to work independently on projects.
- Demonstrated competence with PC based software such as MS Office 365
- Be a confident networker, virtually and in person.
- Good organisational skills
- Full UK Drivers License and Car

**Desired Skills**
- Experience with presenting to a range of public audiences.
- Experience working with a range of colleagues, both local and remote
- Experience with MS teams, ZOOM
- Familiar with ASI Progress., WIX, Eventbrite, MailChimp, Survey Monkey
- Demonstrated experience developing and maintaini