Senior Strategic Improvement Coaches (Demonstrators)
* Part-time 0.5/50%
* Fixed-term contract (12 months, target start date September 2026)
* Salary: Min £38,784 FTE–Max £56,535 FTE (50% for this post)
* Closing date: Monday 13th April 2026 (external)
Positions are offered at 50% FTE for 12 months. While successful candidates may wish to be directly employed by a lead university, the nature of the roles also makes them ideal for possible secondments from policy, practice or applied research. Posts are typically based in the host organisation (a local service or social care organisation) across the four nations. Post holders will work with these organisations, as detailed below, with our Demonstrator Lead, Robin Miller and Deputy Demonstrator Leads – as well as IMPACT’s broader team and other partners.
While these are part‑time posts (with preferred working patterns between Mon‑Fri, open to mutual agreement), successful applicants will be expected to attend fortnightly meetings with the broader IMPACT team where possible – these are held on Monday mornings for one hour (11am‑12pm).
Topics and locations
Enhancing voice, choice and control through a relationship-based practice model for Self-directed Support in Scotland – Social Work Scotland
* These posts are home-based, with some travel required. Senior Strategic Improvement Coaches will be expected to attend 4 meetings in Edinburgh over the 12-month project. In addition, monthly travel will be required within Scotland.
* A relationship-based Self‑Directed‑Support practice model is being designed to bring together and build on the best of existing relationship‑based practice (RBP) and access to personal budgets to support the implementation of Scotland’s national Self‑directed Support Standards.
* There is universal backing in Scotland for a shift from the existing paradigm of care management towards relationship‑based practice from all sectors including the Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee. The work is closely aligned to Scottish Government Access to Social Care policy development and the work of the new Scottish Social Work Partnership.
* This project aims to develop and test aspects of a new practice model, supporting local areas to shift away from a transactional care management culture toward a relationship‑based approach.
Developing more strategic partnerships between adult social care and housing – In Control, Scotland
* Hybrid working, mainly remote working with occasional travel to Glasgow
* Our Demonstrator project aims to improve strategic relationships between adult social care and housing for people with complex needs. For many years the links between these sectors has often involved making the best use of new and existing housing and the creation of specialist new build accommodation.
* We are keen to explore in depth the questions about how we reach decisions about “what good looks like” to the person as well as changing the nature of discussions to focus on what questions we ask and how we plan together most productively and effectively.
* We are concentrating on proactively making decisions together that create flexible, well‑informed housing options to improve understanding of the complexities, reduce misunderstandings and support effective Human Rights and Person Led decisions on a strategic and personal level.
Building a more strategic approach to co‑production–Cartrefi Cymru Co‑operative, Wales
* Hybrid working between home and the host organisation office (one role in Bangor and one role in Swansea).
* Cartrefi Cymru Co‑operative is a large multi‑stakeholder co‑operative operating across Wales, delivering supported living and domiciliary care services to adults with learning disabilities. As a values‑driven organisation, the voice and choices of the people Cartrefi support are central to their governance and operations, and co‑production is embedded throughout their work. Instead of traditional day services, Cartrefi delivers activities that are driven by the voices of local cooperatives. The project with IMPACT will identify a methodology for this approach, helping to achieve a consistent offer across Wales, and to support Cartrefi to promote their approach and vision with all stakeholders.
Developing processes and systems that feel human, respectful and meaningful to enable and enhance collaborative communication and tackle poverty – Swansea Council Adult Services, Wales
* Hybrid working between home and the host organisation office (Guildhall, Swansea).
* This Demonstrator will examine the extent to which our current systems and processes enable effective collaborative communication, and identify where a culture of compliance may unintentionally shadow our intention to place what matters to people at the centre of practice.
* The Senior Strategic Improvement Coaches will:
o Work alongside people with lived experience, practitioners, and managers to review forms, pathways, and decision‑making processes, identifying the factors that promote or hinder dignity, clarity, and voice, choice, and control.
o Examine how experiences of poverty shape people’s interactions with services at the earliest point of contact, identifying where systems unintentionally amplify disadvantage and co‑design approaches that reduce stigma, improve equity, and ensure support is genuinely accessible.
o Identify where compliance requirements, funding conditions, or established ways of working create unnecessary barriers, and codesign practical, evidence‑informed alternatives that continue to meet statutory requirements, while remaining human and relational in approach.
o Quality assure Early Help and the “front door” to adult services to ensure that people’s first point of contact is warm, supportive, and meaningful.
o Produce evidence demonstrating whether these changes improve adults’ experiences, support better outcomes, reduce frustration, and strengthen relationships between residents and services.
Supporting race equality in the social care workforce – Persona, England
* Hybrid working between home and the host organisation office (Bury).
* Persona has committed to an inclusive recruitment process, and as a result have seen a rapid increase in the diversity of their workforce. The organisation won the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter Award for “Best Inclusive Large Employer” in 2024 and want to build on this positive progression.
* Persona will work in partnership with IMPACT to engage with employees to identify what is helping and what is hindering the achievement of an inclusive, caring and cohesive workplace for all staff. The project will work with Persona to understand the needs of their workforce as it becomes more diverse, so that they can create the conditions for people to thrive as part of a commitment to good employment which enhances people’s lives.
Promoting a culture where we genuinely value our workforce – Shrewsbury/Shropshire Council, England
* Hybrid working between home and the host organisation office (Guildhall, Shrewsbury).
* Shropshire Council recognise that a well‑trained, committed workforce is essential for staff wellbeing and for the wellbeing of people who draw on social care. Valuing their staff is visibly demonstrated through their values and practice. Shropshire has a small Professional Development Team in adult social care. Working with IMPACT, Shropshire want to grow this team and develop into a Social Care Academy so they can improve their offer to the adult social care workforce.
Working collaboratively to transform how social care is experienced by those who are most marginalised, using proactive social care models – Support Northamptonshire, England
* Hybrid working between home and the host organisation office (Wellingborough).
* We hope to accelerate progress indemonstrating how the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise sectors can collaborate to deliver proactive social care models led with communities to transform how social care is accessed and delivered for those who are most marginalised. We also hope to evidence through action research and impact analysis the value of community‑led social care models and how these can reduce pressures on stretched social care and health services. We also want to learn from other good practice nationally and collaborate for better social care outcomes for all.
Social care & climate change – Inspired Purpose, England
* Remote working with occasional travel in England and/or Wales.
* Led by Inspired Purpose, in partnership with Future Directions CIC and Learning Disability England (LDE), this project aims to ensure that people with learning disabilities are actively included in shaping climate change responses at local and national levels. Potential areas being explored are to integrate understanding of climate impacts into social care and health practice; support local planning and adaptation aligned with sustainability and equity; influence student social work training and policy development; and to address intersectional exclusions (e.g. race, gender, sexuality) and include people with profound disabilities.
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