Community Engagement Practitioner

Change lives in a life-changing career

When a child or young person is diagnosed with cancer, their whole world can feel like it’s falling apart. Independence is taken and confidence is stolen. Stability no longer exists. The future suddenly feels uncertain.

The impact of cancer on young lives is more than medical. And that impact can be felt by entire family. That’s why we exist. Our specialist social workers help children and young people with cancer and their families navigate the emotional and practical impact of cancer.

We remove barriers, solve problems and prioritise wellbeing. And we stop at nothing to make their voices heard and their unique needs understood, so they can get the right care and support at the right time.

We’re looking for a Community Engagement Practitioner to join our Research, Learning and Systems Change team.

At Young Lives vs Cancer, we are ambitious for children and young people with cancer. We believe everyone affected by cancer should feel seen, heard and able to have a voice in the support and services that impact their lives.

Through the North Star Cancer Collective, we are working alongside young people, communities and partners to tackle inequities in cancer care and improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes. The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey and our own Dartington research show that Global Majority cancer patients are more likely to have a poorer experience of cancer care – something that has also been highlighted to us by members of the Lived Experience Action and Advisory Group who use their lived experience of being affected by cancer to shape the work of the collective.

Because of this, we are starting a new project that looks at improving the psychosocial support available to young adults from the Global Majority who are going through cancer, and their loved ones. To deliver this, we need to create new ways of listening, learning and working together. This is where this role comes in.

We're looking for someone special to join us as our Community Engagement Practitioner. Someone who is passionate about equity and community-led change, and who enjoys building relationships, bringing people together and turning insights into action. You'll be a confident communicator, passionate about building trust with people from diverse backgrounds, and comfortable working across communities, charities and healthcare settings. We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with lived experience of cancer and individuals from the Global Majority.

With your skills, energy and insight, you will play a central role in ensuring that young cancer patients, loved ones and communities are genuine partners in shaping more equitable and culturally responsive cancer care. In return, you'll have the opportunity to develop your skills in community engagement, co-production, service design and systems change, while working as part of the North Star Cancer Collective, an ambitious national collective seeking to improve outcomes for young people affected by cancer.

Most importantly, you'll help ensure that the voices of those most affected by inequity are not only heard but have the power to influence lasting change.

Location:

Hybrid with regular working days and meetings in central London.

No two days are the same at Young Lives vs Cancer. So, summarising your ‘day to day’ isn’t easy. Here are some of the main things you’ll be doing, but you’ll find more details in the job description.

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with Global Majority communities, community organisations and partners.
• Help recruit, support and facilitate participation of young cancer patients and their loved ones.
• Design and deliver community engagement activities, including in person and virtual workshops, listening events and one‐to‐one conversations.
• Facilitate co‑design processes that enable communities to shape services and influence decision‑making.
• Work with Young Lives vs Cancer’s social worker teams, NHS, charity and community partners to test and improve culturally responsive approaches to care.
• Capture learning, feedback and insights from…