Background information

Social prescribing, also sometimes known as community referral, is a means of enabling professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services. Recognising that people’s health and wellbeing are determined mostly by a range of social, economic and environmental factors, social prescribing seeks to address people’s needs in a holistic way. 

 

Social prescribing connects people to community-based and community-led social, practical and emotional support, as well as statutory services. Community-centred ways of working can be more effective than more traditional services in improving the health and wellbeing of marginalised groups and vulnerable individuals. For this reason, they are an essential way of reducing health inequalities within a local area or communities.

 

Social prescribing is also one of the key practices in the NHS Long Term plan (2019) to help the NHS shift to a new service model focused on personalised care to give individuals

greater control over their own health and care and encourage collaboration between GPs, their teams and community services.

 

The role:

In Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES), we have some excellent and innovative examples of social prescribing, and are looking to build upon this by developing a shared vision and strategic framework for social prescribing across the area that enables clarification, alignment and the opportunity to collaborate effectively. 

We are looking to recruit a passionate and skilled professional to lead the development of our shared vision and framework and to lead the work that will underpin and support delivery of the framework. This will include scoping and mapping the current social prescribing offer in B&NES, and identifying service duplication, inconsistencies in provision, gaps and unmet needs, and what is required to address them.

 

It will also include bringing partners and communities together to inform the development of a shared vision and framework, and undertaking work to support the delivery of the framework in practice, including identifying opportunities and making the case for funding.

 

The postholder will be expected to advocate for social prescribing and the Third Sector, and to engage partners in supporting and utilising existing social prescribing opportunities such as those provided via the Community Wellbeing Hub, The Active Way and Wellbeing College.* The postholder will require a combination of strategic skills to support the development of social prescribing at system level, and operational skills to support the delivery of the framework in practice.

 

* B&NES Community Wellbeing Hub provides a central place for residents to access a range of support to improve their health and wellbeing through Third Sector partners and healthcare services. Residents can self-refer or be referred to a wide range of Third Sector, community services, and specialist triage to support identification of needs and services that can help in a multidisciplinary way.

 

The Active Way is a three-year pilot to promote social prescribing to active travel interventions, such as walking and cycling groups, adapted bikes, cycling skills and maintenance, and the use of digital technology and mentoring to support behaviour change. The Wellbeing College is a platform that signposts residents to free wellbeing related courses and/or interventions in B&NES.

 

Key responsibilities:

Strategic and coordination role:

• Lead and coordinate the development of the social prescribing framework for B&NES and the work required to achieve this (see below). The framework will outline the vision for social prescribing in B&NES and how it will be achieved.

• Work with partners to agree on a shared language and definition of social prescribing that all partners can work to.

• Undertake scoping and mapping to capture the current social prescribing offer in B&NES, including services, roles and responsibilities.

• Undertake gap analysis to identify service duplication, inconsistencies in provision, unmet needs, areas for improvement, including how a social prescribing offer for young people can be supported.

• Work with partners across the system to facilitate their engagement in strategic and operational discussions, and commitment to the shared vision and framework.

• Build understanding and awareness of what is required to support the effective provision of a social prescribing offer, and how social prescribing aligns with key system priorities, such as Integrated Neighbourhoods, prevention and reducing inequalities.

• Bring key stakeholders and leaders together for meetings and workshops to understand the current landscape and progress the framework. This includes leading the coordination of the multi-partner Social Prescribing Steering Group.

• Lead work with communities to ensure they are a key voice in informing the development of the framework and the work required to underpin and deliver it.

• Champion the Third Sector as a core partner in social prescribing and ensuring the sector has the tools to be central to growth.

• Work with partners across the system to identify and make the case for additional or alternative funding opportunities to provide the social prescribing infrastructure and offer required to enable the B&NES vision to be realised. Develop high quality proposals and bids related to this.

• Make good use of the evidence base to support evidence based strategy and practice.

Engagement role with social prescribers:

• Pro-actively engage with social prescribers to promote the Community Wellbeing Hub offer (including the Active Way) in relation to social prescribing, including what interventions social prescribers can refer patients to and how.

• Showcase the outcomes and impact of the social prescribing offer to support engagement of social prescribers.

• Work with the Community Wellbeing Hub Partnership and the Active Way Hub Manager to ensure they are aware of opportunities or challenges to engagement by social prescribers.

Project management role:

• Produce written reports, briefings and Powerpoint slides for presentation at the multi-partnership Social Prescribing Steering Group.

• Produce a communications plan to communicate key findings and next steps to lead on communications for the framework and related work, including the development of a Communications and Social Marketing Plan with communications colleagues in partner organisations.

• Utilise project management tools such as risk assessments and project plans to support delivery of the objectives.

Person Specification:

• Holds an appropriate degree or equivalent qualification to demonstrate expertise.

• Excellent knowledge of the Third Sector and/or health and wellbeing sector. Knowledge of social prescribing and behaviour change models, and the benefits of a person-centred approach to behaviour change.

• Strategic thinker with the ability to be proactive and spot gaps and new opportunities.

• Able to build and utilise operational knowledge to inform strategic planning and delivery.

• Excellent partnership building and interpersonal skills with experience of building trusting long-term relationships with partners and experience of inspiring, convening and supporting organisations to work in partnership.

• Ability to coordinate and lead workshops, focus groups and meetings to gather intelligence and enable partnership working.

• Experience of working with senior stakeholders, including playing a role in influencing internal and external stakeholders.

• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal, both internally with peers and senior management, and externally with partners and stakeholders.

• Great planner and project manager, able to produce project plans and co-produce delivery plans with partners, identifying risks and managing them together.

• Strong analytical skills and able to ascertain what is robust evidence and utilise it to inform strategy and delivery.

• Excellent evaluation skills with the ability to bring together multiple data sets and analyse data. Ability to present this data for a variety of audiences.

• A self-starter and a proactive, energetic leader with a collaborative mindset.

• Ability to work under pressure, prioritise work and be flexible in delivery.

• Understands the pressures that Third Sector, statutory organisations and community groups face and where resources have been stretched.

• Strong IT and web-based skills, with experience of using all applications within the Microsoft Office suite.

• Commitment to valuing equality and diversity and understanding of how this applies to the role.

3SG is an independent membership network supporting the charity, social enterprise, faith and voluntary sector operating in Bath and North East Somerset. Its aim is to raise the profile of its 220+ members, and partner companies they work within, provide 1-1 support and give organisations the chance to influence local strategic decision making. 

If you are ready for a new challenge and want to make a difference in the local Third Sector, please email your CV and a supporting statement to becky@3sg.org.uk by 5pm on 15th February 2024.  We particularly welcome applications from individuals who identify as BAME, LGBT+ or Disabled. If you have any access requirements, please let us know by contacting: contact@3sg.org.uk or call: 01225 683087.

 

How To Apply: Please email your CV and a brief supporting statement to: becky@3sg.org.uk

Application Deadline:  15th February 2024 by 5pm                             

Interview Dates:  W/c Monday, 4th March 2024

 

You can find the Job Description here. 

 

NO AGENCIES PLEASE – we prefer to fill our roles without the help of recruitment agencies, thank you for respecting this. 3SG’s objective is to ensure that individuals are selected, promoted and otherwise treated solely on the basis of their relevant aptitudes, skills and abilities.