Programme Delivery and Community Engagement Lead in Blackburn

Programme Delivery and Community Engagement Lead

Accountable to: Head of Contracts and Operations

Hours: 1.0 FTE - 37 hours per week

Probationary Period: 1 month during probationary period, thereafter 2 months

Period of Notice: 1 month during probationary period, thereafter 2 months

Base: Spring North, Suite 118 King’s Court, King Street, Blackburn BB2 2DH Flexible/community-based working with frequent travel across programme areas and to partner, hub and system meetings

Closing Date: 02/10/2026

Job Purpose

The Programme Delivery and Community Engagement Lead will oversee and connect two important Spring North workstreams: operational coordination of the VCFSE-led Urgent and Emergency Care programme and inclusive community engagement for Our Shared Future. The postholder will ensure that partners are supported and held to account, pathways work in practice, communities can participate, and evidence is used to improve quality, impact and value. The role combines structured programme oversight with visible, relationship-based work in communities. It will connect delivery partners, trusted local organisations, health and care stakeholders, environmental partners and residents; identify barriers to service take-up or participation; and develop practical solutions that respond to place, culture and community need.

Duties of the Post

The UEC programme invests in trusted, community-based VCFSE services that support people earlier, address wider determinants of health, improve confidence and connect residents with appropriate local support before needs escalates into crisis or avoidable urgent and emergency care use. The VCFSE Alliance provides strategic leadership and Spring North acts as Managing Agent with delegated operational responsibility.

Our Shared Future is a five-year partnership-led climate resilience programme designed to create inclusive pathways into climate and nature activity, volunteering, green skills, stewardship and leadership. Spring North’s contribution focuses on communities across Pennine Lancashire that have historically been underserved or underrepresented in environmental activity and decision-making.

Although the programmes have different outcomes, they share a common method: trusted local relationships, strong VCSE partnerships, accessible pathways, practical barrier removal, community voice, evidence-led improvement and accountable use of resources.

4. Operating model for one FTE post

• Work to one integrated delivery plan agreed with the line manager, with clear priorities, deadlines and expected outcomes across both programmes.
• Plan around known UEC reporting, contract-review and governance cycles while protecting sufficient time for sustained community outreach, co-design and relationship-building.
• Review workload and priorities regularly, flexing effort in response to mobilisation, reporting deadlines, emerging risk, community opportunity and programme need.
• Escalate competing priorities, material scope change or capacity risk early; the post is responsible for coordination and assurance, not absorbing the operational duties of funded delivery partners.

5. Key accountabilities

• Maintain a current overview of both programmes, including delivery plans, partners, milestones, activity, pathways, engagement, risks, decisions and improvement priorities.
• Translate agreed priorities into coordinated workplans, action logs and timely follow-up, ensuring that responsibilities and deadlines are understood.
• Act as an accessible operational contact for partners and stakeholders and connect people to the appropriate Spring North or programme lead where authority sits elsewhere.
• Identify common learning, relationships, community assets and opportunities that can strengthen delivery across both portfolios without blurring their separate funding purposes.
• Maintain disciplined records and provide early warning where delivery, capacity, quality, finance or relationships are at risk.

5.2 UEC delivery-partner performance and SLA compliance

• Oversee delivery-partner performance across Blackpool, Lancaster, Morecambe, Blackburn with Darwen and Central Preston, maintaining regular contact proportionate to risk and need.
• Review delivery against contracts, SLAs, milestones, KPIs, outcomes, reporting requirements, financial expectations and agreed improvement actions.
• Provide practical support and constructive challenge where delivery, reach, recording, quality, outcomes or compliance require improvement.
• Agree and monitor proportionate recovery or improvement plans within delegated authority and escalates persistent or material underperformance.
• Maintain schedules of partner obligations, reporting dates, evidence requirements, assurance documents and review points.
• Ensure Spring North retains sufficient assurance without displacing each delivery partner’s responsibility for its staff, practice, safeguarding and contractual performance.

5.3 UEC referral pathways, utilisation and system relationships

• Map and strengthen referral, signposting and access pathways for each UEC scheme, including eligibility, geography, contact routes, consent and feedback arrangements.
• Build productive relationships with primary care, social prescribing, community services, urgent care, neighbourhood teams, housing, local authorities and other relevant partners.
• Promote appropriate referrals and warm connections, ensuring that professionals and communities understand the local offer and how to access it.
• Monitor referral volumes, reach, capacity and utilisation and investigate where scheme take-up is lower than expected.
• Develop solutions to barriers such as low awareness, unclear criteria, weak pathways, accessibility, trust, timing, transport, language or digital exclusion.
• Ensure work to improve utilisation does not compromise eligibility, consent, safeguarding, quality or appropriateness of support.

5.4 Community engagement strategy and trusted outreach

• Develop and maintain an inclusive engagement plan for Our Shared Future programme, informed by community insight, local assets and programme outcomes.
• Prioritise relationship-building with communities that have historically been underserved or underrepresented in climate, nature and environmental spaces.
• Build sustained relationships with residents, grassroots groups, faith organisations, youth services, cultural organisations and other trusted networks.
• Undertake outreach in familiar community places and existing activities rather than expecting people to enter unfamiliar environmental spaces first.
• Use active listening and trusted facilitation to understand aspirations, concerns, past experiences and practical barriers, and follow through reliably on commitments.
• Translate climate and nature opportunities into welcoming, relevant invitations connected to wellbeing, community activity, arts and culture, youth opportunity, confidence and belonging.

5.5 Culturally safe, trauma-informed and accessible pathways

• Co-design engagement routes that respond to language, faith, culture, identity, disability, age, gender and community experience.
• Apply trauma-informed principles including safety, choice, collaboration, empowerment and avoidance of unnecessary re-telling or exposure.
• Use plain language and make no assumption that participants have prior environmental knowledge, confidence or experience.
• Coordinate accessible information, interpretation, reasonable adjustments and different ways to take part.
• Identify practical barriers early and arrange approved support with transport, childcare, equipment, clothing, food or other participation costs.
• Challenge arrangements that unintentionally exclude, stigmatise or place disproportionate burden on participants.

5.6 VCFSE coordination and locally connected services

• Develop a strong network of VCFSE and grassroots organisations and act as a consistent link between communities, delivery partners, programme hubs and statutory or environmental partners.
• Value local organisations as sources of expertise and trusted relationships, not simply as routes for distributing information or delivering activity.
• Clarify roles, coordinate outreach and pathways, and reduce duplication, gaps and repeated approaches to the same communities.
• Help partners connect existing wellbeing, youth, arts, cultural and community services with appropriate UEC, climate and nature opportunities.
• Facilitate partnership conversations, resolve routine delivery issues and escalates material risk, resource gaps or relationship concerns.
• Share learning, opportunities and practical resources across the network in accessible and timely ways.

5.7 Community co-design, participation and progression

• Create inclusive opportunities for residents to influence programme priorities, activities, communications, hubs and local decision-making.
• Use participatory and creative methods that do not rely solely on formal meetings, written consultation or existing confidence.
• Explain how community input has been used and be transparent where suggestions cannot be taken forward.
• Support people to progress at an appropriate pace from first engagement into sustained community activity, volunteering, practical conservation, citizen science, green skills, stewardship or leadership.
• Identify and support community champions and peer connectors without placing unpaid or unsupported expectations on them.
• Work with partners to provide warm handovers, follow up disengagement sensitively and ensure people are not lost between organisations.

5.8 Quality assurance and service improvement

• Apply proportionate quality assurance across the portfolio, considering delivery standards, participant experience, case studies, feedback, complaints, incidents, safeguarding, data quality and improvement action.
• Visit services, hubs, outreach and community activity as agreed to understand practice, build relationships and test whether reported delivery reflects experience on the ground.
• Identify opportunities to improve service models, accessibility, pathways, participation, outcome measurement and local integration.
• Facilitate focused improvement discussions and bring partners together where collective action is required.
• Ensure learning from evidence, feedback, incidents, audits and community insight results in practical, owned and measurable change.
• Support appropriate local adaptation within approved outcomes and delegated authority, recording rationale and reviewing impact.

5.9 Data, reporting, impact and value for money

• Coordinate timely collection, checking and collation of activity, outcome, equality, finance, engagement and narrative information from partners.
• Prepare clear dashboards, updates and reports for Spring North, the VCFSE Alliance, commissioners, funders and programme governance.
• Analyse trends, variance, gaps and exceptions rather than reporting activity alone, setting out implications and recommended action.
• Develop credible case studies and qualitative evidence with informed consent, protecting confidentiality and avoiding overstated attribution or extractive storytelling.
• Evidence UEC contribution to earlier support, wellbeing, confidence, appropriate service use and reduced or avoided demand, using meaningful community-based indicators alongside system measures.
• Evidence Our Shared Future reach, experience and progression, including confidence, belonging, participation, skills, stewardship and leadership.
• Assess value for money proportionately through cost, reach, quality, equity, outcomes, additional value, sustainability and use of local assets rather than lowest cost alone.
• Contribute to quarterly reporting, funder updates and annual impact reporting for the relevant programmes.

5.10 Governance, meetings and representation

• Attend and support local UEC Delivery Boards, local delivery meetings, partner reviews, Our Shared Future meetings, hub discussions and relevant system or community forums.
• Prepare concise papers, performance information, agendas, actions and follow-up where required.
• Present delivery, engagement, risk, learning and improvement information confidently and respond to challenge with evidence.
• Represent Spring North’s operational responsibilities accurately and support the VCFSE Alliance’s strategic leadership and sector narrative within UEC.
• Bring intelligence, decisions, opportunities and dependencies back to colleagues and partners, ensuring actions have owners and timescales.

5.11 Communications, branding and promotion

• Ensure programme communications follow the relevant approved framework, funder acknowledgement and accessibility requirements.
• Promote Spring North, the VCFSE Alliance, funders and delivery partners fairly and accurately, reflecting distinct roles and contributions.
• Support local promotion of UEC scheme offers and Our Shared Future opportunities through appropriate networks, events, materials and channels.
• Communicate unfamiliar health, climate and nature themes in clear, relevant and non-judgemental language.
• Gather content for communications and impact reporting and escalates politically sensitive, reputational or strategic messaging through the agreed route.

5.12 Compliance, safeguarding and risk

• Monitor and support compliance with safeguarding, equality, data protection, consent, confidentiality, health and safety, insurance, finance, branding and funding requirements.
• Recognise, record and escalates safeguarding, data, financial, fraud, service-continuity, delivery and reputational risks promptly.
• Maintain clear professional boundaries, safe lone-working practice and proportionate handling of participant and partner information.
• Act within delegated authority on routine matters and seek approval for reserved, material or strategic decisions; immediate protective action may be taken where necessary and safe.
• Participate in supervision, training, quality assurance, reflective practice and organisational learning.

6. General responsibilities

• Uphold Spring North’s values and commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and respectful partnership working.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues responsible for contracts, finance, communications, governance, safeguarding and programme leadership.
• Maintain professional development and a current understanding of community-based prevention, VCFSE delivery, inclusive engagement and the relevant health, climate and nature landscape.
• Work flexibly, including occasional early, evening or exceptional weekend activity where agreed and required for meaningful delivery or engagement.
• Undertake other reasonable duties consistent with the purpose and level of the role. The role profile may be reviewed as the programmes develop.

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