Opportunities

Community Engagement Officer

Role details and requirements

Key responsibilities

Community outreach and awareness
•    Help raise awareness of USG CIC, our services, activities and community projects.
•    Identify opportunities to promote our work through local networks, community groups, schools, libraries, community centres, voluntary organisations
and other relevant settings.
•    Help distribute promotional materials and share information through appropriate community channels.
•    Identify local events, fairs, networks and activities where USG CIC could have a presence.
•    Encourage local people and families to find out more about our services and opportunities.

Building relationships and partnerships
•    Help develop positive relationships with community organisations, local groups, businesses and other potential partners.
•    Research and identify organisations that may be interested in working with us, sharing information or supporting our activities.
•    Help connect people with relevant services, activities and community opportunities.
•    Identify opportunities for joint events, workshops, activities, awareness campaigns and community projects.
•    Support relationship-building with communities that may not currently be accessing our services.

Inclusive community engagement
•    Help identify barriers that may prevent people from participating in community activities or accessing support.
•    Encourage feedback and ideas from individuals and families about what they need from local services and activities.
•    Support accessible ways for people to share their views, including informal conversations, feedback forms, group discussions and community activities.
•    Help us understand how we can reach people from different backgrounds and communities, including people who may face additional barriers to accessing SEND information and support.
•    Promote an inclusive, respectful and non-judgemental approach that recognises different communication styles, access needs and lived experiences.

Supporting activities and events
•    Assist with promoting and preparing for events, awareness days, community activities and open days.
•    Help welcome attendees and provide information about USG CIC.
•    Support community activities at Nature Nook, including opportunities for local people to get involved in gardening, sensory activities, creative projects and wellbeing sessions.
•    Encourage participation in relevant family, adult and community groups.
•    Help gather feedback following events and identify ideas for future activities.

Feedback, monitoring and reporting
•    Keep a simple record of engagement activities, contacts made, events attended and potential partnership opportunities.
•    Help collect and summarise feedback from community members.
•    Identify common themes, emerging needs and suggestions that may help improve our services.
•    Share regular updates with the management team about engagement activity, positive outcomes and areas for development.
•    Help identify ways to demonstrate the difference our community work makes.

Special Project: Ethnicity, Neurodiversity and Access to SEND Support

About the project
USG CIC is committed to ensuring that our services are accessible, inclusive and responsive to the needs of the diverse communities we support.
Our Discover You II Impact Report identified the need to better understand the experiences of people from minority ethnic backgrounds in relation to neurodiversity, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and accessing appropriate information and support.
We want to understand the barriers people may encounter, learn from their experiences and work alongside communities to identify practical ways to improve awareness, trust, engagement and access to support.
Working alongside the USG CIC management team and, where appropriate, One Walsall and local community organisations, the volunteer will support this developing research and community engagement project.

Key responsibilities
•    Community research and engagement: Support the implementation of agreed recommendations arising from the research and action plan commissioned through One Walsall.
•    Understanding lived experiences: Help gather insights from current participants and families from minority ethnic backgrounds about their experiences of neurodiversity and SEND, including accessing information, assessments, diagnosis, education support, benefits and wider services.
•    Reaching underrepresented communities: Identify and build relationships with trusted community organisations, faith and cultural groups, family networks and voluntary organisations that work with minority ethnic communities.
•    Listening beyond surveys: Help explore inclusive ways to hear people's experiences, including informal listening sessions, community discussions, feedback activities and opportunities for people to contribute their ideas to service development.
•    Identifying barriers: Help explore potential barriers such as awareness of services, language and communication needs, cultural understanding, trust, stigma, accessibility and difficulties navigating systems. These will be explored as questions rather than assumed experiences.
•    Promoting participation: Help make engagement activities welcoming, accessible and respectful, recognising that people may have different communication preferences, access requirements and levels of confidence in sharing their experiences.
•    Supporting co-design: Encourage community members to help shape recommendations and possible improvements to USG CIC's services, outreach and information resources.
•    Recording findings: Maintain appropriate records of engagement activities and help summarise anonymised feedback, recurring themes, unmet needs and suggestions for improvement.
•    Reporting and recommendations: Prepare short summaries for the management team, highlighting learning, potential actions and opportunities for future partnership working.
•    Closing the feedback loop: Where appropriate, help communicate how community feedback has informed decisions and service development, so participants can see the value of contributing.

What we hope to achieve

Through this project, we aim to:
•    Develop a better understanding of the experiences and support needs of minority ethnic communities affected by neurodiversity and SEND.
•    Identify barriers that may prevent individuals and families from accessing information, guidance and appropriate support.
•    Build relationships with trusted community organisations that can help us engage more effectively and sustainably.
•    Create meaningful opportunities for people to influence the development of our services.
•    Identify practical changes that could improve the accessibility and cultural responsiveness of our information, activities and support.
•    Strengthen the evidence base for future service development, partnership working and funding applications.

Requirements and boundaries
The volunteer should approach this work with curiosity, sensitivity and respect, without making assumptions about individuals or communities based on ethnicity, culture, religion or background.

All research and engagement activities must be agreed with the management team and follow the organisation's arrangements for consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, data protection and secure information storage. Participation must be voluntary, and feedback should be anonymised wherever appropriate.
The volunteer will not independently design or conduct formal research, access confidential participant records, or make decisions about research methods without approval. Any proposed questions, surveys, interviews or other data collection must be agreed in advance with the management team and any relevant research partner.

The purpose is to listen, understand and learn alongside communities, rather than to expect individuals to speak on behalf of an entire ethnic or cultural group.

The volunteer will receive appropriate guidance and support throughout the project.