Senior Community Engagement Officer

Would you like to support the delivery of inclusive Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) activities for a leading research centre in a community organisation? Are you experienced in developing and delivering effective and inclusive PPIE activities within a community setting, evaluating the impact of activities and working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders? Do you have excellent communication and interpersonal skills with a desire to improve patient/public participation in research?

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) in partnership with the University of Leeds (UoL) manages the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Leeds Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) with funding of £22.24million until March 2028. At present, there are just under two years of the contract remaining. The NIHR Leeds BRC comprises of research groups in musculoskeletal diseases, surgical technologies, haematology (with the University of York), cardiometabolic disease, pathology, and antimicrobial resistance.

To ensure our PPIEP activities are inclusive and equitable for a wide range of groups, we have an on-going partnership with Healthwatch Leeds. Healthwatch Leeds works with members of the public to make their voice count in health and social care services in Leeds to bring people's feedback to those who plan and deliver services. This supports the development of PPIE activities with groups that are often not represented in research to ensure the PPIE activities we develop, and deliver are co produced with Public Partners (by 'Public Partners' we mean members of the public, patients, community groups and care givers who you will be working with) and are accessible, meaningful, and relevant to a wide range of audiences.

Working closely with the Community PPIEP Co ordinator you will be supporting the development and delivery of a variety of PPIE activities for the NIHR Leeds BRC. This includes focus groups, community outreach, events and any other methods to support people to get involved. As you will be based in Healthwatch Leeds you will link into their team and networks, and they will also provide operational support. You will also work closely with other PPIEP colleagues from across the University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

This is a Fixed Term position until 31 March 2028 to complete a specific task or time limited work, including the need for specific expertise or additional resource for a project.

What we offer in return

26 days holiday plus approx.16 Bank Holidays/days that the University is closed by custom (including Christmas) - That's 42 days a year!

Health and Wellbeing: Discounted staff membership options at The Edge, our state of the art Campus gym, with a pool, sauna, climbing wall, cycle circuit, and sports halls.

Personal Development: Access to courses run by our Organisational Development & Professional Learning team, and self development courses including languages, Creative Writing, Wellbeing Therapies and much more.

Access to on site childcare, shopping discounts and travel schemes are also available.

And much more!

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

Sharanjit Boughan NIHR BRC Community Engagement Lead