Participation Lead Participation Lead

At Surrey we are committed to ensuring that all children and young people with additional needs and disabilities receive an outstanding service. We are actively working towards this goal. We encourage our staff to work closely and collaboratively together in affecting timely and purposeful work that ensures the best possible outcomes for vulnerable children and young people. Relational and restorative working underpin all our practice with stakeholders, partners, clients and customers.
This role is part of the Relational Working team within the Inclusion and Additional Needs service in Surrey. This is a newly formed team working on improving relationships, trust and service delivery for children/young people with additional needs and disabilities, their families and other stakeholders including schools.
About the Role
The Participation Lead will use their relational and interpersonal skills to build professional and productive relationships with colleagues, partners and stakeholders; collaborating to implement and enhance participation strategies. This role is crucial to delivering our strategy and improvement work in collaboration with our service users and partners. It's an exciting opportunity to make a meaningful impact on service delivery and outcomes for children, young people, and their families. If you are passionate about inclusive practices and have the skills to foster strong partnerships, we would love to hear from you.
Drawing on in-depth knowledge of Surrey and the SEND system, this role focuses on supporting engagement activities with key stakeholders across the education, care, and health sectors. You will ensure that families and stakeholders have access to meaningful engagement, co-production, and participation opportunities. You will also influence professional practice and service development, ultimately enhancing service experiences and outcomes for children, young people, and their families. A crucial aspect of this work is widening participation from seldom-heard communities and those who typically do not engage in such activities.
You will be arranging and facilitating co-production opportunities that empower stakeholders to actively shape service improvements. By representing and advocating for the rights of service users, you will engage in various projects and events within the service area, ensuring that insights and feedback from families and stakeholders drive positive developments. This approach is relational and restorative, emphasizing person-centered and inclusive methods to build strong relationships with both internal and external partners.
Collaboration with other teams and organizations, such as the parent carer forum, Surrey Youth Voice, and the Local Offer team, will be essential for enhancing information and guidance for specific audiences. Additionally, you will analyse and disseminate intelligence from participation and engagement activities to inform service development and the AND Partnership priorities, ensuring that services evolve to meet the needs of the community.
Please refer to the job specification for detailed information about the role.

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team to effectively manage multiple areas of work including engagement events, market research projects and surveys.


• Ability to analyse data, identify feedback themes and create meaningful reports.


• People and influencing skills: ability to work with a wide range of people, demonstrating relational working ability, active listening, curiosity, and empathy to truly understand others' views and experiences.


• Understanding of engagement and participatory practices.


• Understanding of accessibility and equity.
  
  The starting salary for this role is £35,730 per annum based on working 36 hours per week.

This is a 12-month fixed term contract/ secondment opportunity (If applicable). If you work for Surrey and are looking at a secondment, please speak to your manager before applying
This role is open to hybrid working and as a team we split our time between working from home and working together in collaboration in the office in Reigate for a minimum of two days per week. However, from time to time, you will be expected to travel across the county. This may include occasionally working outside of office hours for events with the community. In support of our people and our greener futures strategies, we'd welcome a conversation with the successful candidate on what hybrid working may look like for you.
Rewards and Benefits

• 26 days' holiday (prorated for part time staff), rising to 28 days after 2 years' service and 30 days after 5 years' service


• Option to buy up to 10 days of additional annual leave


• An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing


• Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year


• Paternity, adoption and dependents leave


• A generous local government salary related pension


• Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more


• 2 paid volunteering days plus 1 team volunteering day per year


• Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources