Holsworthy & District Community Forum need a new Chairperson, starting in June when our long standing Chairman is stepping down. Please see full job role description below. If you are interested and would like a chat about the position, please email me. Role description: ‘One Community’ Chairperson:
Introduction
One Communities are place-based, cross-sector partnerships that work together to tackle health inequalities and improve the health & wellbeing of the local community.
The One Northern Devon Communities group is the forum where representatives from the One Communities meet to share information, ideas and discuss common barriers. Where solutions can’t be found, these are escalated to the One Northern Devon partners.
One Northern Devon, an alliance of partner organisations, from across Northern Devon, that work together to reduce health inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of the people and communities of North Devon & Torridge.
Role description
The role of a One Community Chairperson combines the duty to chair the One Community (OC) meetings effectively, with the opportunity to support Community Developemnt activities and externally represent and advocate for the One Community.
Aligned with the principles and values of Community Development, the Chairperson will help create the conditions necessary for effective, collaborative partnerships that:
•support communities to recognise and use their own assets to improve community life
•helps communities and public bodies work together to improve how services are run and how decisions are made
Key responsibilities
The Chairperson plays a key role in promoting:
1.Shared vision and goals: communicating the OND and OC’s long-term vision and goals to help build motivation, clarity and collective ownership about what the group wants to achieve together.
2.Healthy trusting relationships: Shaping a diverse, inclusive and fair culture by modelling shared values to hold the tension between common purpose and diverse perspectives.
3.Shared learning culture: supporting the group to make sense of the changing context around us and reflecting on insights from community work.
4.Awareness of proposed outcomes: Supporting the CD and OC members to effectively identify and communicate the difference the work will make to the local community.
5.Collaborative ‘systems’ mindset: the belief that we, and the challenges we face, are all connected; we are interdependent with each other and our environment. A determination that we will go further together by fostering curiosity and open-mindednessthrough collaborations that balance organisational/personal priorities with those of OND and the wider community (asking for declarations of interest and social value propositions).
Promote collaborative work that is co-produced with people with lived experience (staff, service users, managers etc).
Lines of responsibility
To ensure the role’s success, the Chair must cultivate effective working relationships with the Community developer (CD), the CD employer, OC members and with the OND Communities Support and Development Manager.
Tasks and time commitment:
The role requires approximately 2hrs per week
Chair OC meetings (required)
Chair the OC meetings in line with the OC terms of reference 2hrs every 6 weeks
Support CD to plan the agenda for the OC meetings 1hr per month
Ensure effective minutes are circulated to the OC members following meetings 2hrs per month
This is a voluntary position and so there is flexibility around what you may wish to additionally offer:
Support Community development (optional)
Read the CD report and communicate with the CD to discuss OC progress and needs of the membership
2hrs every 6 weeks
Support the CD to co-produce a community action plan with OC members (as workshops during/after the OC meeting) 1hr every 6 weeks
Attend ‘CD workplan meeting’ with the CD and CD Employer 1hr p/month
Represent/Advocate for your One Community (optional)
Attend ‘OND One Communities Group meeting’, alongside other OC chairs and CDs 1hrs every 6 weeks
Attend ‘OND Board meeting’ - report to the OND Board on behalf of all seven OC’s Optional - 6 hrs per year
Person specification
•Ability to operate as an impartial Chair / facilitate (declaring any interests – may need to delegate a co-chair if unable to remain impartial for an item)
•Good knowledge of the local community Understanding and passion for community development
•Ability to plan and chair meetings effectively and achieve appropriate decisions
•Good facilitator – drawing out, and attending, to other people’s views and taking them into consideration when speaking/ making decisions
•Being open-minded – seeking ways to draw out the best from everyone in the One Town Community group
•Good people skills - with a wide range of differing personalities in different situations and positions
•Good listening and oral communication – making points clearly and sensitively in varying circumstances
•Appropriate writing styles - to meet a variety of different needs
•Emotionally intelligent – being able to build peaceful, effective relationships across disparate groups
•IT literate – across a range of programmes
•Being willing to learn and seek advice
•Willingness to travel - as required