Freelance Community Facilitator
Job Description
Opus Independents in partnership with Fir Vale Community Hub is looking to recruit a community facilitator for a new project called ‘Fir Vale Conversations’.
The Project aims to:
- Increase social cohesion in the area.
- Develop partnerships between individuals, groups and third sector organisations to find solutions to issues facing the local community.
The facilitator will help recruit to and facilitate a group of approximately 15 people that will meet monthly at the Fir Vale Community Hub. This group will discuss issues facing the local communities and try and facilitate solutions to these problems. The group will have access to its own small budget. The facilitator’s role is to facilitate this discussion and help the group decide how to spend resources on improving the local area. The facilitator will also seek opportunities for ways in which to consult other members of the community outside of the group.
The group will produce two newsletters about the local area and two public events which will be an open platform to discuss the work of the group. The newsletter will be written by members of the Fir Vale community and edited and coordinated by the facilitator and the project coordinator.
This role will be line-managed and supported by a project coordinator from Opus Independents. The group will meet for 14 months. The candidate will be employed on a freelance basis. The total fee available for this work is £5,400. The Group Facilitator will be employed for 13.5 hours each month with a monthly payment of £385.71.
Candidates must demonstrate the following skills and characteristics:
Essential
Candidates must have strong links to the Fir Vale area and a good knowledge of the issues facing the community.
Candidates must share Opus Independents’ mission and values.
Ability to facilitate discussion between a group of people who might have contrasting opinions.
The ability to listen to others and help them reflect on their own thoughts and feelings.
Energy and enthusiasm to find solutions to potentially complex problems.
The persistence and flexibility to thrive in a fluid and demanding environment.
The ability to be able to work on your own initiative.
Experience in leading and facilitating groups.
Beneficial
Experience of working directly in community development.
Experience of working within third sector organisations in Fir Vale.
Currently lives in the area.
Experience of writing for the general public (i.e blog posts, community newsletters, journalism).
Experience of running events and public speaking.
Clean driving licence and own car.
About Opus Independents
Opus believes we can live in a place where everyone works to make things better for each other. ‘Better’ to us means fair, diverse, accessible, independent and heard. That’s why we champion social causes, independent business, not-for-profits, emerging talent and healthy debate. Since 2008, we’ve run projects like Now Then Magazine, Wordlife and Festival of Debate – they connect us to each other and to music, arts, culture, ideas, action and conversations that will make change. To find out more about Opus Independents visit www.weareopus.org.
To apply for this position please submit a CV and a cover letter of up to one page of A4 matching your skills against the essential and desirable criteria to joe@weareopus.org. Shortlisted candidates will be selected for interview. Closing date for applications is Friday 27th March 2020.
About Fir Vale Community Hub
Firvale Community Hub is an award-winning organisation committed to improving social equalities and inclusion for communities experiencing disenfranchisement and marginalization in Sheffield. We empower groups and individuals to find their voice and find leadership, to influence and inform a more inclusive society, through targeted and deeply personalised education and confidence-based projects.
A key civil society innovator in Sheffield, we work in partnership, in promoting leadership, leading development strategy and implementing pioneering methodology in the projects we deliver in our lively community hub.
Firvale Community Hub provides: An advice and information service supporting welfare rights, immigration, debt, employment, consumer, housing and a translation and interpretation service.
Advocacy service conducting home visits and outreach sessions, volunteering opportunities offering training and work experience, information on council services, elders project, ESOL, employability and addressing the health inequality , social cohesion and integration. We are founder members of the Sheffield Roma Network and Genetics Literacy Project.
