Job Description

Please email recruitment@bmeforum.org for an application pack and check your spam/junk folder.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN), South London, is committed to improving the representation and equitable participation of communities that are traditionally under-represented in health-related research, which includes racial and ethnic minority groups.

The main objective of the EDI Healthcare and Research Coordinator is increasing the promotion of research in underrepresented groups from the Croydon-based communities.

The aims and objectives are:

1. Bring Public and Patient Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) teams from CRN South London, Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South London, Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London, participants, and research champions (with experience from acute, primary care, community and social care settings) together to ensure we are continually identifying underserved communities and working to build trust and engagement with these groups.

2. Build a network of community groups to provide peer support and streamline two-way communication back to the Inclusivity Panel. These groups might include the ARC South London Research Panel, schools, young people, new mums, RDS, LGBTQ+ groups, disability action groups, Utopia Now and the RDS. Please note: this list is not exhaustive.

3. Work to understand financial barriers affecting community groups and individuals' participation in EDI work and explore the funding available to support inclusivity in research

4. Explore and contribute to workforce diversity knowledge and support inclusivity in workforce planning

Project background:

Evidence highlights those members of racial and ethnic communities, also recognised as 'under-served communities', are more likely to experience poverty and the detrimental outcomes this causes. This includes poorer physical and mental health, as well as reduced life expectancy. These communities experience greater challenges and barriers to inequitable access to health services and needs-led interventions.

In addition, they are often underrepresented in health-related research including prioritising and being consulted on research topics and key research questions, advising on research implementation and being participants. This project aims to explore some of the factors underpinning these issues in our local communities in Croydon. The longer-term objective is to ensure underserved communities are given equitable access to evidence-based healthcare.

Job Summary and Purpose:

We are seeking an organised EDI Healthcare and Research Coordinator who has an in-depth understanding of health inequalities in UK racial and ethnic minority groups. The post holder will work across community and health settings and with different stakeholders.

You will work closely with community members and organisations to ensure their voices are heard and reflected in research proposals and approved studies, as well as explore some of the individual, community and organisational factors behind the underrepresentation of the underserved communities in research proposals and studies, to facilitate improvement in the inclusivity of underserved communities within clinical research.

As a community facilitator, you will work with specific populations to develop goals and strategies to improve healthcare initiatives and provide education. This will help facilitate research to be conducted more efficiently and be more inclusive of the local community.

You will support research, analyse results, and generate original ideas for research enquiry. Additionally, you will be expected to evidence your work with monthly reports, which will then be used to inform the development of the annual report.

We are looking for someone who can:

Lead stakeholder consultation events using different approaches including focus groups, surveys and listening events Enter data into computer databases and other software to help facilitate analysis. Facilitate development workshops Support members of the community to identify and action on current healthcare challenges to make positive changes in the community Design strategy implementations and focus groups utilising the collected data as determined by the CEO Lead smaller projects that are related to the EDI Schedule appointments with members of the community over the phone and through email Perform administrative tasks such as managing client records, answering phone calls and organising and scheduling consultation events Summarise consultation data for different audiences (e.g. peer-reviewed journal publication) and using different formats e.g. (infographics) Writing up research reports for publication Provide effective two-way engagement between communities and essential services they will need to engage with on a frequent basis (e.g. healthcare services)

Duties and Responsibilities:

The pose holder will

Promote the Croydon BME Forum within the Borough Recruit two Community Health Champions to help with research and engagement within the community To hold focus groups in the community Promote clinical research engagement within the local community Ensure effective two-way engagement between communities and statutory services Advise statutory bodies and other organisations on the best means of engaging with marginalised communities Engage with health providers in Croydon and signpost participants as appropriate Ensure that impact evaluation is carried out with participants on all training courses Undertake outreach within the minoritised communities in Croydon and to promote good practice amongst groups who work with BME communities Monitor current projects and coordinate all team members involved to keep workflow on track Undertake any other tasks that are commensurate with the post, and which reflect the needs of the organisation Work toward equality and diversity in all the activities carried out

Person Specification:

Essential

Undergraduate degree Previous experience in undertaking research and community consultation events Previous experience in project management Experience of working in a community setting Excellent written and verbal communication skills Competent in Microsoft Office Suite and cloud-based filing and have a strong and thorough knowledge of researching resources on the internet Able to work effectively under pressure and produce quality work with strict deadlines Flexible and able to multitask on several different aspects of a project Have previous experience in delivering health-related projects Have previous experience in delivering partnership projects Have experience of programme monitoring and evaluation Have previous experience of working with marginalised communities Be able to work with a diverse range of stakeholders including the National Health Service, Clinical Commissioning Group, Council, Voluntary Community Sector and public

Desirable

Postgraduate degree course in relevant area Evidence of research activity and published research is desirable
Job Types: Part-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 5 months

Pay: 17.00 per hour

Expected hours: 21 per week

Application question(s):

Do you have experience working with marginalised or underserved communities, particularly in a health or research setting? Have you previously managed or coordinated projects involving multiple stakeholders (e.g., NHS, councils, community groups)? Do you have experience delivering health-related projects and engaging communities through methods such as focus groups or consultation events?
Work Location: In person