Purpose of the post

The role sits within the Public Involvement and Engagement team in the Legal, Trust and Ethics Directorate. It will support the delivery of Take the Lead, HDR UK’s community engagement initiative.

The Community Engagement Officer will play an important role in advancing HDR UK’s mission and strengthening public trust and confidence in health data research. Take the Lead supports community organisations to deliver locally led activities that increase awareness and understanding of how health data is used in research to improve lives.

Reporting to the Public Engagement and Communications Manager, the postholder will coordinate the day-to-day delivery of the initiative. This will include administering the awards process, maintaining accurate records, managing communications with applicants and awardees, and supporting the delivery of meetings, learning sessions and events.

The postholder will also support monitoring, evaluation and learning across the programme. They will gather and organise information from awardees, monitor progress against agreed plans, contribute to the analysis and reporting of outcomes, and help capture and share learning from funded projects.

The role will work closely with community organisations, patients, members of the public and internal colleagues. It will also support the development of communications materials that promote funded projects, amplify community perspectives and share the impact and learning generated through Take the Lead.

The successful candidate will share our values, have strong collaboration skills, can work independently and act on own initiative, be comfortable with supporting multiple projects at pace in a complex organisation and have a passion for innovative public engagement activities and events.

About Take the Lead

Take the Lead is HDR UK’s first, national community engagement programme. It seeks to build health data confidence in under-served communities and diversify HDR UK’s networks of people who are engaged with health data science. The initiative was launched in September 2025, built on conversations with community leaders and funders. It offers small grants to community groups working with under-served audiences across the UK to explore how data can improve health and wellbeing.

Main responsibilities

• Coordinate Take the Lead community grants

• Collaborate with communications team to develop marketing materials for Take the Lead showcasing funded communities and their projects

• Manage communications with Take the Lead awardees

• Support the delivery of meetings and events for Take the Lead awardees

• Support evaluation and impact for Take the Lead, such as collating feedback from awardees and working with the Public Engagement and Communications Manager to write a programme evaluation report

• Support funding proposals and contribute ideas that help to expand community engagement at HDR UK

• Process honoraria and expenses for public members

• Work with team to monitor Public Involvement and Engagement inboxes, responding to relevant queries in a timely manner

• Undertake other duties as reasonably required by the line manager and wider Public Involvement and Engagement team

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