Community Listener (North East Derbyshire)

Location: Field Based Across North East Derbyshire

Contract: Permanent Part Time, around 9 hours a week

Salary: £6311.55

Reporting to: Community Voice Network Facilitator

DBS Check: Enhanced

Driving Licence Required: Yes, with access to a vehicle and Business Insurance

Make sure community voices are heard and acted upon. At Rethink Mental Illness, we believe that people with lived experience are experts in their own lives. We're looking for a passionate and compassionate Community Listener to help ensure that local people shape the services, support and decisions that affect them. This is an exciting opportunity to join the Together Derbyshire programme and work directly with residents, community groups and people with lived and living experience of loneliness, isolation and mental health challenges. You'll spend time out in communities, listening to people's experiences, gathering insights, supporting engagement activities and helping turn community voices into meaningful change.

What will you be doing?

• As a Community Listener, you'll build trusted relationships with people across Derbyshire and create opportunities for them to share what matters most to them.
• Engage with local residents, community groups and Experts by Experience.
• Reach out to underrepresented and seldom-heard communities.
• Gather stories, experiences, feedback and ideas for change.
• Support community forums, listening events and engagement activities.
• Help ensure people with lived and caring experience influence local priorities and service development.
• Contribute to community insight reports and briefings.
• Promote inclusive, accessible and meaningful participation.
• Work alongside partner organisations and local stakeholders to strengthen community connections.

Who are we looking for?

We're interested in who you are as much as what you've done. You'll bring:

• Personal lived, living or caring experience relevant to mental health, loneliness or isolation.
• Experience of community engagement, participation or involvement activities.
• Excellent listening and communication skills.
• The ability to build rapport with people from diverse backgrounds.
• A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Confidence gathering and presenting community insights.
• An understanding of co-production, community development or asset-based approaches.
• A full driving licence and access to a vehicle.

It would be great if you also have:

• Experience supporting vulnerable or underrepresented groups.
• Knowledge of local voluntary, community, NHS or council services.
• Understanding of loneliness, wellbeing, social isolation or public health.
• Additional community language skills.

Why join Rethink Mental Illness?

At Rethink, people are at the heart of everything we do. We know that real change happens when communities are listened to, valued and involved in decisions that affect their lives. When you join us, you'll be part of a team that:

• Champions lived experience.
• Values diversity and inclusion.
• Supports learning and development.
• Encourages innovation and collaboration.
• Makes a genuine difference in communities every day.

Our work is guided by our CARES values: Connect. Accountable. Respect. Evolve. Success. We welcome applications from everyone. We are committed to building a diverse workforce and particularly encourage applications from people with lived experience of mental illness, carers, people from ethnic minority communities, LGBTQ+ people and disabled people. If you're passionate about listening, connecting with people and making sure community voices lead to meaningful change, we'd love to hear from you. If you have any questions or want more information, feel free to email tammy.chambers@rethink.org.

Apply today and help shape a better future for communities across Derbyshire.