Positive Lives Lead

Overview

Durham County Council currently operates a hybrid working policy where a model of 2 days in the workplace and 3 days at home/remote will apply. This model is pro-rated for part time roles and arrangements are at managers discretion, alternatively you can work all of your contracted hours within the workplace if you prefer.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We are a proud equal opportunities employer and recognise that a diverse, talented workforce brings new ideas and new perspectives, which will facilitate growth and improvements to services. We are committed to ensuring that our employment policies and processes are fair and equitable to all. We welcome job applications from everyone, and successful candidates are considered only on their skills and ability to do the job. As a Disability Confident Leader, we encourage applications from disabled people and provide support throughout the recruitment process. Take a closer look at our approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here.

Interviews

Interviews will be held week commencing 6 October 2025. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran.

You will be able to connect with strangers with empathy and compassion whilst supporting the individual to develop sufficient skills and strategies to reintegrate the individual effectively into the local community. We also require the successful candidate to be a strong negotiator, with experience of working with a wide range of stakeholders, including those from a clinical or social care background. The post is that of an agile worker who will be expected to work across the whole of County Durham. Required Qualifications: Health and Social Care Level 3 or equivalent or above. Please refer to the attached person specification for the full criteria. If successful, you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service Enhanced Disclosure.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Positive Lives Lead to develop and progress this exciting project in County Durham. The remit of the role will be to work with a rolling cohort of people, high intensity users, who attend A&E, Urgent Care Centre or who may be admitted into hospital more than expected. Many individuals use emergency services frequently due to an escalation in their social, emotional, financial or family issues. De-escalation will be facilitated by offering immediate access to an appropriate listening support service. This is an excellent opportunity to make a positive difference to people\\\’s lives. The outcomes from the project will be carefully analysed and interpreted and the Positive Lives Lead will be expected to not only lead this process but to also present their findings to the Integrated Care Board (ICB) to enable the outcomes from the pilot to be appropriately evaluated.

Rewards and Benefits

• Competitive salaries and 27 days holiday per year rising to 32 days after five years continuous local government service.
• Option to purchase up to 10 additional days annual leave per year.
• Excellent work/life balance through schemes including job sharing, compressed hours and flexi-time (allowing up to 13 flexi days per year).
• Hybrid working (home and office working).
• Excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Plus, top up options – Salary Sacrifice Shared Cost AVC scheme and standard AVC scheme for members of the LGPS.
• Wellbeing Portal and access to an Employee Assist Scheme.
• Wide range of learning and development opportunities including professional qualifications, coaching and mentoring.
• Employee Benefits Portal and Lifestyle Savings Scheme (discounts across a host of major retailers).
• Discounted DCC gym membership.
• Staff networks run by staff for our staff, including Race Equality and Diversity, Disability, LGBT+, Armed Forces, Carers, Menopause.
• Trade Union membership.
• A range of other salary sacrifice schemes such as car leasing.
• Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions. Take a closer look at our Rewards and Benefits here