Local Area Coordinators (x2) Ref: 01-26

Salary: Grade 9, starting salary £26,050 per annum
Hours: Full time, 37 hours per week
Place of Work: Elizabeth House / The Link, Dereham (with travel across Breckland)
Basis: 1-year fixed term, with the possibility of a one-year extension (subject to continued grant funding)

Job Summary

We have an exciting opportunity for an integrated role in partnership with Adult Social Care to help reduce, prevent and delay the need for formal care.

The team sits within Breckland Council's Communities Service, working primarily from The Link in Dereham and alongside a range of services to ensure a coordinated, holistic approach to support.

We are seeking someone who is resilient, positive and adaptable, and willing to push themselves to make a real difference for local people. This is a varied role where you'll need to learn on the go and feel comfortable working in a fast-paced environment.

This Local Area Coordinator post is a full-time position (37 hours per week), offering a flexible, remote-enabled working approach.

Main Duties of the Job

As part of the team, you'll bring lived experience and a strong understanding of community and health services. You will provide ongoing support to residents by delivering a wide range of community-based activities, including outreach assessments, community education, signposting, informal counselling, and advocacy.

You will demonstrate emotional intelligence, with the ability to actively listen and empathise, providing person-centred support in a non-judgemental way.

Previous experience of supporting individuals, families and carers in a related role is desirable, along with the ability to undertake administrative tasks, data collection, and basic reporting using IT systems.

About you

What we do matters - but how we do it matters just as much. Does this sound like you?

Collaborative: You value partnership and genuinely listen to others, building on their ideas while confidently sharing your own. You recognise the strengths of those around you and actively involve others to achieve the best outcomes.

Ambitious: You're always looking for ways to improve - asking "how could we do this better?" and taking ownership of change. You take pride in your work, act as a positive ambassador, and support others to embrace and embed new ways of working.

Results-driven: You stay focused on what matters, working towards clear outcomes with a solution-focused mindset. You show resilience when things don't go to plan and remain flexible to deliver the best possible service.

Empowering: You take responsibility for your actions, learning from challenges and using them as opportunities to grow. You're confident to seek support when needed and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement.

Supportive: You treat people with respect, kindness and empathy. You're approachable, build trust easily, and are willing to give your time to support colleagues and the community.

Why join us?

This is a unique opportunity to work in a flexible, community-based role where no two days are the same. You'll be part of a supportive, collaborative team and play a key role in improving outcomes for local people.

If you're passionate about people, community, and creating positive change - we'd love to hear from you.

Closing date: 9am Wednesday 6 May 2026

What's it like to work for us?

We are passionate about our people and pride ourselves on being a great place to work, we genuinely care and know that a happy workforce is a productive and motivated one! If you're still not sure, here are some stats from our 2025 staff survey to convince you..

• 96% said they feel trusted and empowered
• 88% of staff recommend Breckland as a great place to work
• 86% said they have had opportunities to learn and grow in the last 12 months
• 91% think Breckland provide positive action on health and wellbeing
• 86% said they feel supported

If you STILL need convincing, here's what some of our staff say...

• "Breckland is a fantastic employer, lots of opportunities and support"
• "Having only just started, it is a great place to work, everyone says hello, is smiley and chatty. I like the groups that are on, like carers shed and neurodiversity"
• "We are encouraged to take regular breaks and there are mental health first aiders and a wide range of good promotional aspects of healthy living and wellbeing."
• "In times of need the council offers excellent support."
• "BDC really does seem to care about the wellbeing and happiness of their staff."

At Breckland Council we have embraced the Government's agenda to modernise local government. Our approach is to lead change rather than follow it, and to add the best value we can to our communities. We achieve this by developing our employees to their full potential, providing them with the relevant knowledge, equipment, and authority to carry out their duties.

We are a dynamic and innovative organisation that is always testing and learning as we seek to continually improve. We have never stood still in response to the emergence of new opportunities, changing customer demands, and ongoing funding challenges. We have exciting plans for how to deliver the best possible services to our residents and businesses.

Breckland as a district is a special place nestled in the heart of rural Norfolk, spanning over 500 square miles of beautiful countryside and forest, with five Market Towns and over 140,000 residents. We care, we listen, and we support people and businesses within our district. We have big ideas and we are innovative in our approach, coming up with ways to meet the needs of the local communities that we serve. Through our actions, we want to make things better.

But we know that we can't do it alone. We are a collaborative organisation and we work together with others to make a greater impact. We are also an organisation where our employees can grow and develop and are empowered to achieve and succeed. We are proud of our area, and by driving investment and enabling opportunities, we can maximise its full potential. We want to inspire aspiration to live, work, visit, or do business here: we want our district to be one of choice.

We will support and enable growth and change in our thriving, welcoming places where people and businesses choose to be, knowing their ambitions can be not just fulfilled but exceeded. By listening to people, by understanding what they need and by working together, we can shape what we have to offer. By doing so, we can benefit those who are already here and those who choose to come to live, work, visit, or do business.

We offer excellent conditions of service, including:

• Free parking at our newly refurbished office. 
• Excellent training opportunities.
• 25 days annual leave, increasing after three years' continuous Local Authority service by one day per year up to the maximum of 28 days, plus bank holidays.
• Local Government Pension Scheme (generous employers pension contributions).
• Family friendly policies.
• Cyclesheme and assisted car purchase.

Our commitment to talent development, on the job learning and upskilling, training and professional memberships, will keep your knowledge and skills up to date.

Job summary

Description of duties

Primary Objectives 

• To undertake proactive and holistic assessments of the health and social needs of individuals and families residing in Dereham and across Breckland
• To provide information, advice and guidance in a range of formats to enable people to access appropriate services.
• To deliver personalised support to individuals and families.
• To provide lifestyle information such as in relation to stopping smoking, alcohol consumption, healthy diet and physical exercise.
• To identify household determinants of ill health and health seeking behaviours and play an active role in resolving these through linkage to the health and social care system.
• Support households to navigate the health and care social system and access the appropriate services for their needs.
• Adopt health coaching and motivational approaches, including problem solving and goal setting.
• Keep digital records that reflect household and community need, on a shared system
• Update records with the collected community data.
• Contribute and communicate your work to the local organisations as appropriate and multidisciplinary teams.
• Facilitate networks within communities to strengthen sources of informal support.
• To provide as appropriate, client advocacy for those experiencing difficulties due to language/cultural barriers and to engage with service providers and local authorities.
• Provide information packs to residents on a range of subjects.
• Liaise with a range of service providers to help them understand relevant issues that may need to be considered or impact on someone's ability to access a service.
• To act promptly to report all Safeguarding concerns in accordance with agreed procedures.
• Support referral agencies to provide appropriate information about the person they are referring. Provide appropriate feedback to referral agencies about the people they referred.
• Attend Breckland Collaboration Meetings, adding to cases and bringing cases with consent.
• Co-ordinate and plan community events.
• Engage with community groups and services, attending these when appropriate.
• Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner.
• Liaise with a range of stakeholders to enhance the Local Area Coordinator role and profile.
• Work with the Housing and Community wider teams to meet the needs of the population.
• Attend Integrated networking events.
• Contribute to changing and fast paced learning environments.

Duties may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility.

On occasion there may be the need to work one day at the weekend

Primary Line / Performance Management Objectives

• N/A
   

This job description is not exhaustive.

The job description outlines the current position and will be subject to review in the light of development within the service, in consultation with the post holder as detailed in your Contract of Employment.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

Skills & Experience

• Evidence of collaborating and relationship building, with either professionals, residents or organisations to reach a common goal.
• Experience of supporting people, families and carers in a related or similar role (including unpaid work)
• Ability to actively listen, empathise with people and provide person centred support in a non -judgemental way, to gain outcomes giving the resident choice.
• Administration and/or scheduling experience.
• Able to support people in a way that inspires trust and confidence.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with people, their families, carers, community groups, partner agencies and stakeholders.
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals.
• Can demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience, and ability to work well under pressure.
• Good problem solving with creative thinking and self-awareness.
• Strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to health professional/agencies when the persons needs are beyond the scope of the role.

Knowledge & Understanding

• Basic understand how the health and care system is constructed and the importance of integration to change outcomes for residents in Breckland.
• In depth knowledge of the community and local services/organisations
• Understanding of basic reporting.
• Knowledge of local community agencies, services, resources, demographics and culture.
• Knowledge of, and ability to work to, policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, GDPR, and information governance, and health and safety.

Desirable

Skills & Experience

• Evidence of planning community outreach sessions.
• Basic Knowledge of project management.
• Understanding of child development
• Knowledge of the NHS and broader services
• Knowledge of basic health promotion and protection.
• Community experience providing advocacy and support which has included public contact.

Qualifications

Essential

• Demonstrate commitment to professional and personal development.
• Computer skills and basic data entry, including documentation of visits.
• Full UK Driving Licence.
• Access to a car.

Desirable

• Have some knowledge of other cultures and speak other languages.

Essential Behaviours

Collaborative:

• I look for ways to work in partnership with colleagues across services, Members and external partners.
• I listen supportively to the ideas of others, building on their ideas, while sharing my views and knowledge.

Ambitious:

• I always ask myself how could we do this better?
• I am proud ambassador for the Council, taking pride and responsibility for the work we do encouraging others to do the same.

Results Driven:

• I make sure I am clear on what I need to achieve, keeping focus on results and solutions.
• I am flexible ensuing I provide the best possible service, whenever and wherever is best for the customer

Empowering:

• I embrace new technology and look for new ways for our service to become digital not forgetting to be accessible for all.
• I take responsibility if things don't go well and learn from it for my own and for the organisations development.

Supportive:

• I treat others as I would want to be treated myself ensuring I am welcoming, friendly and approachable.
• I treat everyone with kindness, dignity and respect, valuing their thoughts, background and experience.

Health & Safety (exposure to risk)

• Frequent use of VDU Screens, with various reporting and case management systems.
• Moderate exposure to individuals in residents' homes, with unexpected or unpredictable situations, these might be smell, noise, situations that are distressing.
• Moderate exposure to weather conditions
• Infrequent lone working.
• Working within a noisy environment which may have poor lighting.
• Remote enabled working is not part of this role.

If you would like an informal chat regarding this role please contact Sarah Illsley, Health & Wellbeing Team Leader, by emailing: sarah.illsley@breckland.gov.uk

Closing date - 09:00 Monday 4 May 2026

Apply Online

Equal Opportunities

We are committed to being an Equal Opportunities employer, recognising the benefits of sustaining a workforce that reflects the diversity of the community we serve. We welcome applications from anyone who feels they meet the requirements of our vacancies. These are listed as essential requirements on the person specification.

DBS Requirement

Please be aware that if you are selected for this role there will be a requirement to undertake a DBS check as part of pre-employment checks.