Macmillan Cancer Support and Wellbeing Coordinator

Croydon Black Minority Ethnicity (BME) Forum in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support are working together to address the ethnic inequalities in health and social care through this project

The Macmillan Cancer Support and Wellbeing Coordinator role was created to provide personalised information, advice, and support for people living with and beyond cancer, including their families and carers.

You will signpost and refer service users to activities and services which will support their needs as part of the service delivered across six South West London Boroughs, Richmond, Kingston, Wandsworth, Merton, Croydon, and Sutton. You will work as part of a team of three, where you will be delivering support in Croydon and Merton. In addition, you will be expected to support colleagues across the other boroughs when required.

This team will be based in the community, working alongside healthcare, faith, and voluntary sector partners to provide support after a cancer diagnosis. Community engagement is an integral aspect of this role. Therefore, excellent interpersonal and communication skills are imperative.

The aim is to support, engage and empower people, affected by cancer within BME communities, so that care can be person-centered, culturally appropriate, and more effective., · Provide smooth and accessible pathways of practical, emotional, and social support for people affected by cancer. This will be achieved by identifying and addressing their health and wellbeing needs.

· Empower and engage service users to maintain or regain independence by providing accessible information and enabling them to assess their own abilities, identify goals and take charge of decisions that affect them.

· Engage with BME communities and identify barriers to support and disparities within healthcare and find ways these can be addressed.

· Signpost and refer service users, and where appropriate provide/arrange support, to access local voluntary, community, and statutory services to help meet their needs. Follow up to ensure they are happy, able to engage, included and receiving good support.

· Work within a team to organise two conferences per year.

· Gather feedback on the project at regular intervals.

· Analyse data and write evaluation reports.

· Treat service users, carers and families with dignity, empathy, understanding, diplomacy, honesty, and integrity. Respect diverse cultures, religions, and other personal characteristics at all times.

1. At least 1 year's experience in a role that involves delivering face to face support in cancer support. A/I

2. A strong understanding of health disparities within cancer, in particular the inequalities and barriers BME communities face when accessing healthcare and support after a cancer diagnosis. A/I

3. Experience in adopting a person-centred approach to meet the needs of service users and of empowering people to make informed choices. A/I

4. Experience of working in cancer services, working with people living with and beyond cancer, their families, and carers. A/I

5. Experience of working with the VCS sector (in a paid or unpaid capacity), including with volunteers and small community groups (desirable). A/I

6. Experience working and developing relationships with primary care and adult social care professionals. A/I

Knowledge

1. Knowledge of Personalised Care and cancer support services, within Primary and Secondary Care and the Voluntary sector at a local and national level. A/I

2. Understanding of personalised care and the skills required to support self-care. A/I

3. An understanding of the principles of confidentiality and how these apply when handling service user information. A/I

4. Knowledge of cancer pathways and Macmillan Cancer Support (desirable). For example, the Electronic Holistic Needs Assessment (EHNA). A/I

5. Knowledge of local healthcare structures. A/I

6. Local knowledge of VCS and community services across Southwest London Boroughs, Richmond, Kingston, Wandsworth, Merton, Croydon, and Sutton (desirable). A/I

7. Knowledge of compassionate ways of engaging with communities who may be wary of accessing healthcare support services. A/I

8. To be fully aware of the principles of safeguarding as they apply to children and vulnerable adults in relation to your work role. A/I

Aptitudes, skills and competencies

9. Good ability to use Microsoft Office, including Excel and Outlook, and use of online monitoring systems. A/I

10. Strong interpersonal skills with the ability and confidence to listen actively, motivate, support, and advocate. Able to develop effective working relationships with a wide range of customers, organisations, and partners. A/I

11. Proactive, dynamic, and able to use initiative to solve issues and implement improvements. A/I

12. Excellent organisation, planning and time management skills. A/I

13. Able to collect, monitor and analyse data accurately, producing KPIs and evaluation reports. A/I

14. Able to work unsupervised to agreed outcomes, meeting deadlines and within a targeted work environment. A/I

15. Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals. A/I

Personal qualities

16. Can demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience, and ability to work well under pressure. I

17. Commitment to working in cancer services and to improving the patient experience of these pathways. I

18. Commitment to valuing equality and diversity and understanding of how this applies to own area of work. A/I

19. Commitment to own professional and personal development and willingness to undertake training and development as appropriate to the role. A/I

20. Flexibility, able to work hours required by post including early mornings, evenings, weekends, and bank/public holidays and able to work in various settings. I

21. Holds a valid UK driving license and can commute to various service locations across the borough/(s) as required (essential). I/C,

• You will need a strong understanding of health disparities within cancer, in particular the inequalities and barriers BME communities face when accessing healthcare and support after a cancer diagnosis. Do you have such experience?


• This role requires you to have a driving licence. Do you have a driving licence?


Experience:

• face-to-face cancer support: 1 year (preferred)
  
  You will be part of a team that will organise two conferences each year, six in total, over a 3-year period. These events will enable further awareness to be raised, voices to be heard and action to be taken which will drive sustained change.