SOUTHWARK PENSIONERS CENTRE

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Engagement Officer (Older People)

Hours: 21 hours per week

Period: 10 month contract from start date

Salary: £16,200 per annum (fte £27,000)

Office base: 305-307 Camberwell Road, London, SE5 0HQ

Job Purpose

· To support and develop the Southwark Pensioners Forum, promoting independence, consultation and engagement with older people.

· To provide governance and fundraising support to pensioner groups in Southwark to ensure their sustainability, growth and development

· To research the needs of older people in Southwark

· To work with older peoples service providers in Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham to investigate alternative localised models for service delivery, collaboration and joint project working

· To fundraise to ensure continuation and ongoing sustainability of the post

Responsibilities

Working to the Centre Director, the post-holder will:

1. Southwark Pensioners Forum

· To service all meetings of the Southwark Pensioners’ Forum, and Steering Group (sending out agendas, taking minutes, following up issues, keeping records of membership etc), and to plan agendas in consultation with the Chair and steering committee, liaising with partners about issues to be addressed.

· To liaise with the Director of SPC, and other partners, about issues arising from developments within health, social care and other areas of priority for older people, and maintaining a good knowledge of local issues affecting older people.

· To work with the steering committee to plan and publicise a programme of talks that address the issues, identifying and inviting speakers from a range of statutory and other organisations to speak at the Forum, ensuring that a wide range of older people and interested people within the local NHS and Council are aware of the forum and its views.

· To promote Southwark Pensioners’ Forum, and to grow the membership through a marketing campaign and direct engagement with pensioners groups across Southwark.

· To find ways of involving those pensioner groups who are currently under-represented in the work of the Southwark Pensioners Forum.

· To produce accessible understandable publicity material about Southwark Pensioners’ Forum.

· To promote Southwark Pensioners’ Forum regionally and nationally, including support to the members to carry out regional and national activity.

· To ensure effective two way engagement between older people, and Southwark Council and NHS so that key issues from information and involvement activities appropriately influence the Partnership Board, Health and Wellbeing Board and the content of strategy and action plans affecting older people.

· To undertake structured research and consultation with older people’s groups and individuals in Southwark on specific issues as the need arises, working in partnership with Lambeth and Lewisham Pensioners Forums and local authorities.

· To advise statutory bodies and other organisations on the best means of engaging with older people, providing assistance where appropriate.

2. Support for Southwark pensioner groups

· To design and/or deliver training and facilitated workshops on issues related to sustainable funding and organisational development for pensioner groups across the London Borough of Southwark

· To hold quarterly consultation meetings with pensioner groups across Southwark working in partnership with the voluntary sector

· To help publicise the training courses to older people to support the status of pensioners in Southwark, working with the SPC’s Marketing and Development Officer

· To ensure that impact evaluation is carried out with participants on all training courses

3. Research

· Research the needs of older people in Southwark through desk research,

consultation with local, regional and national statutory and voluntary sector

partners, and through research questionnaires, focus groups, and one to one consultations/meetings with pensioner groups/individuals/service users.

· Analysis the research data and report to the SPC Director and Trustees with

findings and recommendations for future work and programme development

4. Strategic partnership development

· Working with the SPC Director, liaise with statutory and voluntary sector older peoples service providers in Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham to investigate alternative localised models for service delivery, collaboration and joint project working

· With the SPC Director, attend the ‘Consortium of Older Peoples Services in Southwark’ (COPSINS) partnership meetings and report on research findings and project work

· Working with the Greater London Forum, local pensioners Forums, local authority commissioners, voluntary sector partners and service providers, establish a tri- Borough voluntary sector steering group to commission a research study into localised collaborative working between adult social care providers in Southwark, Lewisham and Lambeth

5. General

· To work with the SPC Director and Development Manager to fundraise to sustain the post and develop resources for pensioner groups in Southwark

· To attend supervision on a regular basis with the SPC Director and all required team and staff meetings

· To contribute information and relevant articles on work for the SPC newsletter, for other media and for the SPC website

· To represent SPC in external networks and forums appropriate to the role

· To undertake any other tasks that are commensurate with the post and which reflect the needs of the organisation.