Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust

Widening Access Project Officer

The closing date is 12 October 2025

Job summary

Please note that this role is open to candidates currently working within Gloucestershire ICB, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Gloucestershire Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust.

This role is offered on a secondment basis for 6 months (possible extension to 12 months)

The postholder will be employed by Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (GHC) and will report managerially to the Widening Access, Careers Engagement & Outreach Lead. The Widening Access Programme Support Officer roles are hosted by the Trust's Learning and Development Team working on behalf of the One Gloucestershire Integrated Care System.

The Widening Access Project Officer will play a key role in supporting the successful delivery of a nationally funded widening access demonstrator (WAD) project, which aims to encourage and support young people (particularly care leavers, those not in employment, education and training, and young carers) and individuals from working class communities into health and care careers.The role will involve coordinating pre-employability engagement activities, tracking progress, liaising with stakeholders and helping ensure the programme meets its delivery and impact targets for Gloucestershire. This position is ideal for someone who is passionate about social mobility and who is motivated by helping others unlock long-term career opportunities.

Main duties of the job

The postholder will support the design and delivery of targeted outreach and pre-employment campaigns, help facilitate supported entry-level roles across health and care providers and work to remove barriers for underrepresented individuals entering the workforce. Your contribution will ensure the programme delivers both short-term engagement goals and long-term sustainable employment outcomes.

The post holder will help to attract and develop a future workforce for the County's health and care sectors with the right skills, knowledge and competence necessary to deliver safe patient/client care and to enhance quality of service delivery.

The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

About us

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Date posted

30 September 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£31,049 to £37,796 a year per annum pro rata

Contract

Secondment

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Job share, Flexible working

Reference number

327-25-808

Job locations

Shire Hall,

Westgate Street,

Gloucester,

GL1 2TG

Job description

Job responsibilities

Be part of the Widening Access, Careers Engagement & Outreach team and approach the role with enthusiasm and drive, to make encounters with young people memorable and maximise impact to inspire them to consider health and social care as a setting for their first job or future career.

Focus work according to the agreed workstreams assuming responsibility for own objectives and areas of focus to realise intended benefits.

Raise the profile of health and social care careers and related academic programme opportunities ensuring careers in social care and NHS sectors have equal importance

Support the Programme Lead with the planning, coordination, and delivery of the Widening Access Demonstrator project in Gloucestershire.

Assist in organising and monitoring pre-employment activities, including cohort tracking, programme documentation, and reporting. Liaise with internal teams (e.g. HR & TEL, workforce planning, communications) and external partners (e.g. Jobcentre Plus, local education providers, social care organisations).

Help identify and engage target groups (e.g., NEET young people, long-term unemployed) through outreach and marketing activity.

Support participants with joining instructions, signposting to support services, and pastoral care queries.

Maintain accurate data records of participants, vacancies, placements, and outcomes using agreed systems and templates.

Coordinate the logistics for information sessions, virtual inductions, workshops, and site visits.

Support the production of promotional and evaluation materials, including case studies and success stories.

Promote equality, diversity, and inclusion through all aspects of the role. Work without direct supervision to undertake careers engagement and outreach activities.

Work with members of the wider team to identify and support institutions who need careers advice and guidance support, building strong and sustainable relationships.Work closely with NHS, Social Care Providers, Further Education Colleges, local Universities, GCC and other partner organisations within Gloucestershire to deliver a coordinated approach to careers engagement activities, ensuring careers in social care and NHS sectors have equal importance.

Develop and maintain good working relationships with external organisations involved in youth engagement and outreach activities across Gloucestershire, encouraging a co-production approach to workstreams and initiatives.

Communicate information and issues, including briefings and reports to the WAD programme lead on a regular basis and input into relevant internal and external working groups/projects, services, and initiatives to provide data, information, and advice to strategic leads.

Have strategic knowledge and understanding of careers engagement and outreach policy drivers locally, regionally, and nationally, including the NHS Fit for the Future: The 10 Year Health Plan for England, Get Britain Working, The State of the Adult Social Care Sector and Workforce in England and ICS strategies.Draw upon the available evidence base to support pre-employability programmes and careers engagement and outreach activities.

This role is not eligible for sponsorship as per the Governments UK VISA and Immigration Rules and Regulations. For more information please visit https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas