Community Coordinators Recruited to facilitate Covid recovery across Peterborough

Peterborough Council for Voluntary Service (PCVS) is working in partnership with Peterborough City Council to appoint several funded Covid Engagement Coordinators in the Voluntary and Charity Sector (VCS). The purpose of these roles will be to work with communities across the city to reduce infection rates, increase vaccination take up and design community solutions to Covid recovery.

To make the recruitment process as fair and transparent as possible, PCVS have invited their member organisations to host these positions. Members who met a certain criteria and deemed most suitable to manage these roles, have now been selected to host the various place based positions across the city. These organisations are Paston Farm Community Foundation (Paston),Family Action (Dogsthorpe/Parnwell) , Family Voice (Orton/Stanground), Barnardo’s (Westwood/Bretton), Community First Peterborough (Central/Gladstone), Latvian Community/Bharat Hindu Samaj (Central/Millfield) and Good Neighbours (Village and parishes).

Some of these host organisations are now recruiting an experienced Community Engagement Coordinator(Covid) who will be responsible for keeping abreast of the current public health situation and sharing these messages, advising on community events and encouraging communities to increase COVID 19 compliance and the uptake of the COVID 19 vaccine. Ultimately, they will be the voice of the community, raising any concerns around cohesion or tension and share lived experience relating to health inequalities and social mobility. They will also signpost those in need to relevant services to aid recovery. For example, Healthcare to help overcome mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, resulting from isolation during the various lockdowns.

To support the crucial work of the coordinators, PCVS will appoint an experienced community development professional who will be take an overall lead on the Covid recovery work. They will work with the Community Coordinators based within the individual host VCS organisations to deliver and report on outcomes, bringing them together to share knowledge and experiences.

Christina Alexander, Communities Manager at PCVS, is delighted that there is dedicated support for local communities to assist with Covid recovery, “It has been really tough for so many people throughout the pandemic and we want to help them recover as quickly as possible by helping them access the support they need, keeping them up to date with current public guidelines in particular where there are language barriers and also, assisting those most vulnerable and at risk”

If you have a desire to take part in this crucial work, have experience of working with communities to achieve positive outcomes, have a passion for engaging and connecting with people and have the vision and drive to make things happen, please email the relevant recruiting host organisation below (according to the location/position you are interested in) and they will provide you with a full job description and details of how to apply.

Name of Organisation Location Contact name email
Paston Farm Community Foundation Paston Lou pastonfarm@gmail.com

Caroline Earle  trusteespastonfarm@gmail.com
Family Action

Dogsthorpe/

Parnwell

Julie Sturgeon Julie.Sturgeon@family-action.org.uk
Family Voice Orton / Stanground Louise Ravenscroft louise@familyvoice.org
Barnardo’s Westwood/Bretton Kat Band kat.band@barnardos.org.uk
Community First (Peterborough) Central / Gladstone Helen Walkinshaw helen.walkinshaw@communityfirstpeterborough.org.uk

Mohammed Saeed vice-chair@communityfirstpeterborough.org.uk
Latvian Community/ Central / Millfield Inese Asermane inese@lcait.uk
Bharat Hindu Samaj Central / Millfield Kishor Ladwa punja_kish_ladwa@hotmail.com