Virtual Community Engagement Lead

Harris Hill is delighted to be working with an award winning, family centred charity in their search for a Virtual Community Engagement Lead.

The charity is an award-winning small specialist national family-centred charity that delivers transformational, highly personalised, empowering experiences in the UK (ie. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), for children and young people with muscular dystrophy and allied neuromuscular conditions

As a result of COVID-19, the charity took the extremely difficult decision to postpone its planned 2020 activities in March 2020. They remain resolute and determined to continue their vital work into 2021 until beneficiaries and families are able to re-engage in person i.e. face to face. Families have been shielding since March 2020. They are focussed on engaging with their community across the country and reducing their Muscle Dreams wait-list in addition to offering other virtual programmes directly into the homes of beneficiaries and their families wherever possible.

In 2020, the charity also leveraged its social channels and established a virtual events programme for its Muscle Warrior community that includes an 'In Conversation With' broadcast series initiative where guests and relevant personalities and/or celebrities are invited to share insights and tips with beneficiaries and families, enabling them to feel less isolated and more connected with the outside world and by default, with the charity.

The charity is excited to be able to continue its vital work during COVID-19 and as such, we are delighted to announce this new role. This proof-of-concept project has five key goals:

Communicate with our existing community ie. beneficiaries (between ages of 8-18yrs) & families across the UK, tracking outcomes (using framework provided by charity)
Establish how we can best support our community at this time & signpost where appropriate
Share with families our COVID-19 activities, update family contact details in line with GDPR
Encourage families to participate on one or more of our virtual programmes and/or COVID-19 activities
Capture pre and post data (quantitative & qualitative) and interpretative observations (qualitative) - a framework and an appropriate tool will be provided by the charity

As a result of COVID-19 and with this new Interim Community Engagement Lead role, you will be responsible for scoping out and implementing an effective communication plan that will see you start what has now become a critically important role in directly engaging with our clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) community, in ultimately giving them hope - ideally, we are seeking someone who has experience in working with disability and vulnerable families


COMPETENCIES & Behaviours
Confident self-starter who can work independently is critical
Excellent communication skills
Excellent organisational skills with outstanding project management abilities
High levels of empathy in communicating with our clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) families
Sensitivity in listening and responding in a thoughtful / considered manner
Social media, digital skills (essential)
Experience of Mentimeter audience engagement online tool (desirable)
An eye for detail, with bags of initiative to quickly grasp what needs to be done
Outstanding admin skills, specifically recording & updating using software tools in real time
Someone that sees the big picture regarding the charity's wider aims and objectives
Collaborative in nature, team focussed and supportive
Passionate attitude that reflects the charity's vision, mission and values
A commitment to and an understanding of disability issues
A commitment to and an understanding of equal opportunities & diversity

We welcome applications from anyone who feels they meet this specification and has the enthusiasm, drive and passion to take on this key appointment at a time that continues to be extremely challenging for our clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) community.