Find your place in the field of good food

Our goal is to connect good people with good food. We advertise sustainable food jobs and training opportunities to help jobseekers and employers find each other.

Roots to Work is a project of Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming.

Job description

Job Description: Community Health and Wellbeing Worker 

Organization: Growing Links CIC

Location: Penzance 

Hours: Full time 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday 

Hourly Rate: £13.23 

Length of contract: Fixed term – 3 Years 

About Growing Links: 

Growing Links is a Community Interest Company dedicated to fostering a more sustainable, resilient, and accessible local food system. Our mission is to bridge community needs with initiatives that address food poverty, inequality, and social vulnerability, all while promoting biodiversity and reducing environmental impact. 

Job Summary: 

As a community health and wellbeing worker (CHWW) you will be working in and understand your local community. The outreach work of a CHWW is essential in helping to address the rising inequities in health and social care and in identifying unmet need in your community. The CHWW will help provide a bridge between community, health and care as well as supporting people to access the right services for them. 

The CHWW will need to build long-term trusted relationships with a range of householders (pre-identified). You will develop consistent relationships with people in the households identified with the aim of improving the health and wellbeing of each of the individuals you work with. It is an innovative way of working that will rely on passion and personality to support certain households in a set area. 

As a CHWW, you will have a level of self-confidence and personal robustness to enable you to work with the community, and to help people overcome their barriers with a coaching approach. You will have insight into the challenges that people can face, which might come from personal lived experience, from volunteering or from other employment. You will maintain a culture of inclusivity and learn to work in a trauma informed way. 

This is an exciting opportunity to work in collaboration with organisations across the voluntary sector and health sector, focusing on what matters to people and empowering them to find local solutions, whilst shaping a new role to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 

Main Duties and Responsibilities: 

Regular household visits (monthly or more frequent) within a specific geographical area (called a micro area). Visits will be focused on building relationships and providing relevant knowledge to individual householders as required, to be proactive and provide the best support available from the various agencies available. 

Relationships 

• Develop meaningful relationships within the local community including the Community Hubs 
• Getting to know the wider support services e.g., housing, education, and employment at regular training sessions 
• Build strong relationships with local GP practices and the PCN health and wellbeing teams to gain an understanding of pressures on the healthcare system and feedback what matters most to patients, enabling them to access the care they need 
• Build close relationships with the CHWWs from the other sites across the integrated care area via monthly training sessions 

Support 

• Good listener 
• Use a trauma informed approach to supporting each householder (training provided) 
• Adopt low level health coaching and motivational interviewing approaches including goal setting as necessary (training provided) 
• Engage and empower people to become activated and gain a sense of control over their health 

Navigational 

• Support households to navigate the community and statutory services appropriate to their needs 
• Signpost and refer into to existing services as necessary including housing, education, employment and financial support 

Community engagement 

• Identify local community assets and promote a community-based prevention working closely with the local social prescribing team 
• Identify and advocate for the needs of individuals and the community by sharing this information within the local multi-agency/disciplinary team 
• Support engagement in activities in the neighbourhood which you are working 

Educational 

• Linked to what matters to the person, provide lifestyle advice such as smoking cessation, alcohol consumption, healthy diet, and physical exercise as necessary (training provided) 
• Promote the benefits of health creation and support residents to adapt to the challenges of climate change 

Health awareness 

• As directed by the local GP practice, prompt and proved practical support to householders with regards to immunisation, health screening appointments and general appointments 

Data collection 

• Complete notes on each household visit on a template (paper and electronic) 
• Record activity into the relevant computer database 
• Contribute your work and findings to the local multidisciplinary team as necessary 

Personal specification: 

Attitude/Approach 

• Training will be available to support CHWW with the following; 
• Values – at the core of your work, will be values of what matter to people, the importance of place-based services, choice, inclusion, advocacy, and ethical practice. 
• Unbiased – you will provide the same high-quality service to all community members, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or age. 
• Professional – you will be professional but approachable in all your interactions with the community. 
• Confidentiality – You will maintain confidentiality, security and integrity of information relating to individuals at all times. 
• Data Protection – you will be aware of your obligations with regards to the Data Protection Act 2018. 
• Safety – you will be aware of your role in the safeguarding of adults and children. You will also be aware of how to maintain your own safety in lone working and other situations. 

Qualifications 

The knowledge and skills listed below may be acquired through various types of education, training, or experience. 

Minimum requirements: 

• Good computer skills 
• Must be able to use speadsheets 
• Desirable additional requirements 
• Community based experience providing advocacy and support which has included public contact 
• Volunteer experience or other community experience 

Knowledge, skills, and qualities 

• Knowledge and/or lived experience of the barriers people in the community are facing (essential) 
• Understanding how to overcome the barriers for people from the communities where the workers are based, and those with multiple and complex needs (desirable) 
• Understanding of responsibilities around confidentiality (essential) 
• Positivity and enthusiasm for improving the local community (essential) 
• Relationship building (essential) 
• Knowledge of local community demographics and culture (essential) 
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (essential) 
• The ability to complete basic data entry and documentation of visits (essential) 
• Social perceptiveness and observational skills (essential) 
• The ability to work effectively with a wide range of teams in a diverse community (essential) 
• Self-awareness and resilience (essential) 
• Knowledge of local community agencies, services, and resources (essential) 
• Commitment to mitigation of climate change and making the best use of resources (essential) 
• Good creative thinking (essential) 
• Strong time management skills (essential) 
• Knowledge of basic health promotion and protection (desirable) 
• Knowledge of the NHS and broader services (desirable) 
• Basic understanding of child development (desirable) 
• Knowledge of local languages (desirable) 

Benefits 

• A comprehensive induction and training programme will be provided as well as ongoing, on-the job, professional development through regular meetings 
• Skills developed during the role will support career progression in the future 
• Debrief and reflective sessions (this will be a combination of the line manager and CHWW project manager) 
• A real opportunity to influence this new way of supporting people in their own communities 
• Weekly organic veg bag 

 

 

Application information

Please email you CV and cover letter to Hello@growinglinks.org.uk

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