Background  

Sport England is investing in local communities, specifically in those places where it is hardest to be active.  

Physical activity is vital for our physical and mental health, from walking to work to playing sports with friends. 

But not all of us have the same opportunities to be active.  

When children don’t have safe spaces to run and play, when adults are working long hours and constantly worrying about making ends meet, it makes it harder to be active and healthy.  

Through placed-based working we can work deeply in a place, developing meaningful partnerships with communities and the organisations that support them – this is why we are calling the work ‘Place Partnerships’. With these partnerships in place, we can better co-design opportunities which make it easier for residents to be active when they step out of their homes.  

To achieve this, we need to:  

• work together, from community members to voluntary organisations to local government.  

• build networks and develop relationships in place  

• break down the barriers that get in the way of being active.  

• strengthen communities in a way that is reflective of their unique needs, relationships and geography.  

We are looking to build extra capacity to support the work in several places and consequently are looking to recruit for a number of roles.  

Find out more  

Just watch this film to find out more about the ethos and learning behind creating change in places.  

Values and behaviours are critical to this work.  The values, mindsets and behaviours listed below have been pulled together from learning from place-based work in other areas of the country. We are looking for people who work this way.   

• Curious and reflective  

• Open and honest (integrity)   

• Humble and approachable   

• Enthusiastic & passionate (caring to make a difference)   

• Courageous and disruptive (willing to do things differently and challenge status quo)  

• Comfortable with uncertainty and complexity, with a positive approach to risk/failure  

• Values driven and outcomes focused (purpose over process)  

• Flexible, agile and responsive    

• Resilience and perseverance   

• Collaborative, inclusive, engaging & empowering (involving people in finding solutions)  

• Empathetic (takes time to understand lived experience)  

• Genuine commitment to tackling inactivity, inequalities & discriminatory practices  

• Non-hierarchical (leadership at all levels)  

Place Partnership work in Erewash 

Erewash, and the community of Kirk Hallam, is one of the places that has been identified to be part of a bigger programme of work, funded by Sport England. This exciting new role will enable people living in the Kirk Hallam area of Erewash to be more active and lead healthier lives.    

Erewash has a strong industrial background, with many incredible people living and working there. But for a while now some people living in certain parts of the district have been finding it hard to lead a healthy lifestyle, and we want to collectively do something about this.  By working deeply in the community of Kirk Hallam, in close partnership with a range of organisations, we want to identify the barriers and co-design opportunities that make it easier for people to be active where they live, helping to improve health and wellbeing.   

This role will be employed by Active Partners Trust (the employing body for Active Derbyshire), hosted and based within Erewash Voluntary Action (CVS), with support and guidance from key partners; Erewash Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council (Public Health, Adult Social Care and Childrens Services), NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board and Erewash Primary Care Network.   

Erewash Community Engagement Lead 

This role will build strong relationships with the Kirk Hallam community, listening to and understanding the perspectives of the people who live there and how being active does or doesn’t fit into their lives.  

Erewash Community Engagement Lead will have the following areas of responsibility:  

Understanding and insight - informed by the community 

• Build relations with residents, understanding their lives and what’s important to them, drawing out their motivation, desires and wider influences on their physical activity behaviour.  

• Use these relationships to understand opportunities and barriers in relation to provision and what’s helping and hindering access.  

• Understand how residents connect with each other and to existing services and provision.  

• Understand the assets and strengths in the community and the environments that exist to be active.  

• Use your understanding and connections to engage with residents and community organisations to explore opportunities for change.  

Grow Collaboration 

• Build relationships with key community organisations, groups and networks in Kirk Hallam to understand the people who live there, the people and organisations that work there and how being active does or doesn’t fit into people’s lives. 

• Encourage and enable people and community organisations to be involved in designing activities and services that are right for them.  

Leadership and workforce development 

• Identify and support leaders within communities who have the opportunity to influence others to move more.  

Learning and evaluation 

• Regularly capture what you’re seeing and hearing and your reflections through written updates.  

• Work alongside the Erewash Place Partnership Lead and partners to help them understand the local opportunities and challenges in Kirk Hallam and what that could to create change. 

• Help the Place Partnership Marketing and Communications Lead identify stories of change.   

• Share learning with colleagues and partners in Erewash and within APT and Sport England to help improve future approaches.     

Governance, management and reporting 

• Ensure a commitment to Safeguarding and Equity and Diversity through all work internally and externally.  

We are looking for someone to join us who:  

• Is committed to reducing inequalities and understands the role physical activity can play in this. 

• Is passionate about working with communities in Erewash, prioritising Kirk Hallam. 

• Understands the importance of resident voice and lived experience in shaping opportunities. 

• Can lead authentic engagement with community partners and organisations. 

• Is able to build strong, trusted relationships with community members and organisations. 

• Able to apply the principles of co-production in enabling change. 

• Understands the importance of values and behaviours in creating the culture and environment for place-based working. 

• Is self-reflective, self-aware and adapts own behaviours. 

• Has strong interpersonal skills and understands the value of being humble. 

• Is an excellent listener – inquisitive and curious, good at asking questions and able to capture conversations. 

• Able to set up, plan and facilitate group conversations. 

• Can use a range of IT platforms and equipment. 

• Understands the value of community insight and able to collate and share it. 

• Is motivated and able to plan, organise and prioritise own workload to meet deadlines. 

• Is able to travel to meetings in Erewash and Kirk Hallam. 

Before applying, please visit Place Partnerships recruitment - Making Our Move for more details about this specific role, place partnership working and Active Partners Trust.