Job Description

We are looking for a Health and Wellbeing Coach to support our Social Prescribing Project. You will be passionate about supporting people with long-term conditions. We are particularly interested in a candidate with lived experience of managing, or have independently reversed, a long-term condition such as Diabetes, heart disease or chronic kidney disease. Your role will be supporting residents to increase their ability to self-manage long-term conditions and encourage them to take pro-active steps to improve the way they manage their physical and mental health, centred around what matters to them. This could include working with local Voluntary Sector groups to connect residents to the right support or exploring new opportunities in partnership with other voluntary organisations. We are looking for a dynamic, vibrant candidate that can inspire and motivate people to make lasting changes to people’s lifestyle and health.

Your average working day will involve speaking with residents and motivating them to make positive lifestyle changes to improve their health and wellbeing. You’ll share existing opportunities within the voluntary and community sector and encourage residents to access support. You’ll work closely alongside BVSC team, other voluntary sector partners and GP Practice Staff and be speaking directly to Bexley residents within community settings, such as GP surgeries, to support residents to make improvements to their health and wellbeing. You will be speaking to residents directly to find out what action they can take, with your support, to improve their long-term health and potentially improve or reverse their diagnosis. You will be working alongside GP’s, Social Prescribing and the Voluntary sector to link residents to support.

Key Duties:

• Manage a caseload of patients, working with them in a person-centred approach, encouraging commitment to life-style changes.

• Work alongside Community Connect/Social Prescribing link-workers and PCNs to provide an all-encompassing approach to personalised care. 

• Provide one to one and group support to a variety of people with one or more long-term conditions with the aim of empowering people to manage their own health and improve health outcomes.

• Share feedback, themes, barriers with your team, GP Practices and commissioners.

• Develop strong links with local VCSE organisations to encourage residents to access the voluntary sector.

• Present information about projects, initiatives and services to a wide range of stakeholders in a formal setting.

• Commit to working and engaging constructively with internal and external stakeholders on a range of contentious issues.

• Nurture key relationships and maintain networks internally and externally, including national networks.

• Assist with public relations and marketing activities.

• Attend staff meetings, supervision, and training as required.

• Identify, report, and monitor any safeguarding concerns in accordance with the latest local procedures relating to the appropriate service.

• To comply with, and share responsibility for ensuring the implementation of, BVSC policies and procedures and key legislation such as GDPR and Safeguarding.

• Undertake any other duties that may reasonably be assigned from time to time including travel throughout the borough to attend events, occasionally on evenings/weekends, meet with volunteers and organisations.

These are the normal duties which are required of the position; however, we do require that all staff be flexible and may be required to perform other duties to ensure the efficient running of services. 

Please note that the base for this role is Engine House, Bexley, but will involve frequent travel to GP surgeries and community spaces.

Person Specification

Essential

Experience of working in a person-centred way in charity, health or care services

Lived experience of a long-term health condition e.g. diabetes or heart disease that has been successfully managed

Good knowledge and experience of living well through healthy eating, exercise and care

Committed to improving lives and communities

Excellent interpersonal skills with experience of working with people from diverse backgrounds.  Ability to build rapport with a wide range of young people demonstrating empathy and understanding

Experience of working within a framework of confidentiality and with access to sensitive personal data

Excellent IT skills including previous use of Microsoft Office and CRM database systems

Experience of demonstrating impact and user outcomes

A creative problem solver and able to prioritise a varied workload, managing conflicting priorities to meet deadlines

Ability to develop and maintain relationships with professionals and voluntary sector providers across the borough

Enthusiasm, flexibility and a positive ‘can do’ attitude

Experience of working with professionals to lead and manage change

Desirable

Existing knowledge of local voluntary services and resources

An understanding of health inequalities at a local, London-wide and national level.

An understanding of Health and Social Care Services

Must have access to own transport (car, motorbike, bicycle) and able to travel efficiently across the borough

Lived experience of managing long-term conditions such as a diabetes and hypertension.  

An understanding of volunteering policies and procedures

organisational values, who have the right experience and skills for the role.

This position will be subject to satisfactory references and DBS check.