Healthwatch Engagement Officer

Healthwatch Sunderland Engagement Officer

Contract Type: Fixed term

Role Type: Employment

Hours: Part time

Final date to receive applications: Sunday, January 4, 2026 - 00:00

Location: Sunderland, Tyne and Wear

Healthwatch is the independent consumer champion for Health and Social Care. We ensure that NHS and social care leaders hear the voices of those who use their services and use feedback to improve care.

We are looking to recruit an Engagement Officer to join a well‑established team working across and representing the local community within Sunderland. The role involves engaging with diverse communities, designing and evaluating community based engagement activities, and building positive working relationships with organisations within the voluntary and community sector.

• Engage with a wide range of communities of interest.
• Design, deliver and evaluate a range of community based engagement activities.
• Develop effective and positive working relationships with organisations and networks within the voluntary and community sector.
• Gather, analyse and present the views of local people in user‑friendly reports.
• Collaborate with local health and care providers.
• Proactively engage with members of the local community, especially those facing the greatest health inequalities, to listen to and collect feedback.
• Organise and deliver community based engagement activities, including events, workshops and outreach activities.
• Design and evaluate engagement activities that are delivered in the local community.
• Support the analysis of engagement findings and produce and present research reports to a range of audiences.
• Support the delivery of the HWS Youthwatch workplan, including the delivery of Youthwatch meetings.
• Identify opportunities for co‑production and collaboration with key partners to support the delivery of HWS work.
• Facilitate consultation and co‑production activity to ensure voices are heard and acted upon in service design and delivery.
• Support recruitment, support, training and motivation of volunteers.
• Identify and develop effective positive relationships with other organisations, networks and forums.
• Work in partnership with local health and care providers to improve services.
• Contribute to marketing activity via promotional materials, social media, website, press releases, e‑newsletters, etc.
• Attend external meetings, forums and events to represent and promote HWS.
• Support the continued collection and collation of up‑to‑date local information for signposting.
• Lead on dissemination of key and relevant information to residents of Sunderland.
• Provide evidence‑based ideas for the workplan to HWS Advisory board.
• Conduct personal, venue and activity risk assessments as required.
• Work flexibly as part of the Healthwatch team, providing cover for colleagues as required.
• Contribute to recording engagement data into monitoring and reporting systems, including inputting information into databases.

• Access to a car and a full, clean UK driving licence.
• Ability to work outside of office hours on occasion.
• Passion for capturing the voice of local people to improve health and care services.

To book an informal discussion with Anna Gillingham (Project Lead) or Helen Dent (Project Development Manager), please email  or

Closing date for applications:
Sunday, 4th January 2026 at midnight.

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