Role:Community Engagement Worker

Employer: Buzz Lockleaze. Company number 8840405

Location: Buzz Lockleaze, 6 Gainsborough Square, Lockleaze, Bristol, BS7 9XA.

Hours per week: 18.5

Days/Times: To be agreed, but to include some Saturday and possibly evening work.

Salary:£10.27 per hour or £19,759 pro rata.

About Buzz: Buzz Lockleaze is a locally born social enterprise set up with the aim of growing opportunities for the long term benefit of local people. Working within the community to address local need to improve local health & food culture, combat social isolation and increase wellbeing, through enhancing employability opportunities, enterprise activity and access to improved health and well-being through healthy food provision

We currently deliver 4 projects for the community:

• Community café, & health food shop: Offering affordable healthy food locally - as well as a welcoming place for people to meet and socialise and access support. Employing local people and providing volunteering opportunities for residents who help us cook up delicious nourishing meals.

• Community garden: We have transformed a wasteland to the rear of Buzz and established a system of raised beds for growing our own produce from spring 2017. We currently have 2 weekly volunteering groups helping us to plant our first harvest of radishes, rocket and peas.

• Employability support project: Supporting local people in overcoming the barriers to employment. We host a weekly drop in and offer 1:2:1 support to local people.

• Enterprise zone: Offering Business Support Grants to local start-ups

This post is funded as part of the Bristol Ageing Better project to address social isolation in over 50s in Bristol. The funding for this post is from the Big Lottery Fund. The post is funded for three years to develop and facilitate community led activities and initiatives with over 50s in Horfield & Lockleaze

Duties and responsibilities

  1. To reduce social isolation in Horfield and Lockleaze by increasing access to existing opportunities to connect, be active, learn, access to nature or, volunteering for over 50s; through social engagement, publicity and supporting local events and identifying and maximising opportunities to make connections between isolated people and the wider community.
  2. To carry out development work with existing groups/clubsin Horfield and Lockleazeto strengthen structure and volunteer leadership, and increase attendance by local people.
  3. To support a steering group of older peopleand facilitate them in identifying activities and groups
  4. To analyse local needs and services through community survey and other methods to identify where community service gaps exist, working in partnership with other agencies and organisations to fill these gaps.
  1. To identify under-represented groups within over 50s served by community groups and providers, working to break down potential barriers to engagement and access (particularly amongst BME residents and other isolated groups).
  1. To work closely with the team at Buzz Lockleazeand fellow BAB engagement worker at Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust with day to day tasks including general office duties, manual handling and dealing with queries.
  1. To assist the team in creating an older peoples community plan for Horfield & Lockleaze that includes building on current knowledge to develop a profile of community needs.
  1. Work closely with North Bristol Advice Centre Community Navigators Team and Community Support at Home project

Person Specification

Criteria / Application / Interview
Interest in the role, in over 50s, social isolation and/or community development / x / x
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills / x
Comfortable initiating conversation and engaging personally with local people and over 50s / x
Understanding and experience of asset based approach community development & empowerment principles / x / x
The ability to work independently, managing and prioritising own workload and working well under pressure. / x
At least two years’ experience, paid or unpaid, of community engagement work / x / x
Ability to demonstrate initiative and a creative approach to problem solving / x
The ability to present information clearly, concisely and confidently to individuals and groups / x
Experience of successful partnership working / x
Good IT skills and able to learn new IT systems / x
Understanding of the impact of lifestyle and in particular social isolation, on health and wellbeing / x
Ability to make full use of IT (including creating publicity and using social media) to communicate effectively / x / x
Marketing and Promoting skills / x
Willingness to undertake training / x
Understanding & knowledge of importance of confidentiality / x / x
An understanding and experience of equalities and working with diverse communities / x / x
Desirable
Experience of working or living in Horfield or a similar community / x / x

Application process

Please complete the application form in reference to the Job Description and Person Specification and return to

For queries about the job role call Roisin for an informal chat on 07811149239