Local Dance to Health Coordinator

Aesop - Dance to Health Coordinator

Location: Witney, Oxfordshire

Salary: 27,500 pro rata - 2.5 days per week or equivalent

The arts can transform people's lives, improve people's health and well-being, and have a role in solving social problems. The UK has an arts sector which is world-class and wide-reaching: commercial arts such as the music industry and publishing, voluntary arts (49,000 local arts groups involving 9.4 million people) and a publicly funded sector which helps the arts to innovate, widen access and raise quality.

Aesop is a bridge-builder between the health and arts sectors helping arts enterprises in health grow. Aesop's mission is to realise this potential to transform helping health harness the powers of the arts, and helping the arts gear up to deliver health improvement. One of their key projects: Dance to Health, is a pioneering falls prevention dance programme for older people . It combines evidence based exercise with the creativity, energy and sociability of dance. Falls are traumatic for older people and a major challenge for the health system. Falls destroy confidence, increase isolation and reduce independence. They cost the NHS 2.3 billion per year.

The Local Co-ordinator is responsible for successfully developing, delivering and supporting a cluster of programmes in their region; and will contribute to the successful development of the national Dance to Health Programme.
There are currently 6 local Dance to Health programmes, which will transition to 3 Maintenance programmes, becoming ongoing, sustainable groups

Key responsibilities include:
-Develop and keep up-to-date a workplan to ensure successful delivery of the local Dance to Health programme, within the framework of national Dance to Health development
-Successful delivery of the local Dance to Health Programme (comprising Improvement Programmes, Maintenance Programmes and ongoing Dance to Health groups) including support of programme partners.
-Generating momentum for the transition of Dance to Health groups to being self-managed, financially sustainable and affiliated to Aesop, and supporting local older people and volunteers to take the lead.
-Manage effective working relationships with Health Partners, Dance Partners, Host Partners and other community networks and stakeholders.
-Recruitment of, relationship building and ongoing communication with participants - in cooperation with programme partners and colleagues.
-Recruitment and support of volunteers - in cooperation with programme partners and colleagues.
-Co-ordinate and contribute to training for volunteers and local delivery partners (in particular, dance teams
-Prompt collection and submission of monitoring and evaluation data.
-In the case of new programmes/sites: identification and recruitment of suitable Host Partners/venues.
-Propose improvement to programme elements of Dance to Health
-Governance - attending meetings of individual Dance to Health group Steering Groups and meetings of the Regional Steering Group.
-Contribute to the updating and refinement of the Dance to Health Phase 1 Roll-out Project Plan.
-Develop a good mutually supportive working relationship with colleagues, including contributing to and dovetailing with colleagues responsible for other aspects of Dance to Health Phase 1 Roll-out

Skills and Experience required:
-Prior successful community development and project management experience.
-Experience of working with older people
-Demonstrable experience of working with volunteers
-Track record of engaging with groups of hard to reach people
-Substantial and demonstrable interest in dance.
-Professional experience of working in partnership with other agencies, especially local statutory and voluntary sector organisations.
-Proven experience of motivating and supporting people effectively.
-Good understanding and knowledge of issues affecting older people, including barriers to participation.
-First class verbal and written communication skills
-Proven ability to deal with decision makers at all levels with tact and diplomacy.
-Energy, positivity, and an inspiring nature.
-Prior Dance training desirable

Closing date for applications:18th September