IMPACT Facilitators – 8 roles across the UK
* Part time 0.5/50%
* Fixed term contract (12 months, target start date September 2026)
* Salary: Min £33,020 FTE–Max £46,049 FTE (50% for this post)
* Closing date: Monday 13th April 2026 (external)
The post
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, and with our Facilitator co‑leads Karen Watchman and Kathryn Mackay – 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 (11am‑12pm) – and a fortnightly Facilitator team meeting on Wednesdays (4‑5pm).
Topics and locations
Improving the support of people with substance dependence in care homes – Aberdeen City Council, Scotland
* Hybrid working between home and the host organisation office (Aberdeen)
* Aberdeen has a range of care homes supporting individuals with substance use and other complex needs. We have found that there is a lack of education and resources to help staff understand and provide substance use support. The Facilitator project will enable the development of a coproduced action plan to improve care home support for substance dependence.
Improving communication and accessibility of information – Informing Choices NI, Northern Ireland
* Hybrid working between home and the host organisation office (Derry).
* Informing Choices NI is a pro‑choice sexual health charity. Their vision is a society where everyone’s sexual health and rights are protected and fulfilled. One of their projects, Just Ask, is a relationships and sexuality education programme for people with a learning disability and autistic people. In promoting inclusive access to support, they know that producing easy‑read information is not enough; people need help to process and understand this information. The Facilitator will work with people with a learning disability and autistic people, medical and support networks to identify what needs to change and how this can be achieved to ensure information is accessible and inclusive.
Early practical intervention/prevention to support carers, reduce ‘carer breakdown’ and reduce the consequences for people drawing on care and support and formal services – Dots/Mid and East Antrim Agewell Partnership, Northern Ireland
* Hybrid working between home and the host organisation office (Ballymena).
* Dots is the social enterprise arm of Mid & East Antrim Agewell Partnership. It was set up to provide practical home help services for older people: cleaning, transport, shopping, meal prep, and companionship. This is meeting a gap in home care services currently offered by health and social care. The Facilitator will explore with older people, family carers and frontline staff how this model might be further developed to prevent carer burnout and provide early intervention in a timely and person‑centred way.
Direct Payment implementation in Wales – Welsh Government, Wales
* Home‑based with travel across Wales required.
* Delegated health care is a key topic in the successful implementation of direct payments in Wales. It is an important factor in realising the full potential of direct payments both in social care and under the new Health & Social Care Act (2025) which will enable direct payments for healthcare for the first time in Wales from 1 April 2026. However, currently, only a very small number of social care direct payment teams in Wales allow delegated health care tasks within their direct payment packages. The IMPACT Facilitator will lead a small change project with the Welsh Government to enable us to seek broader perspectives, and hear the voices and experience of individuals in receipt of adult social care including those who already have lived experience of receiving direct payments.
Supporting older carers and their families in Powys – Credu, Wales
* Hybrid with an office base at Oasis, Spa Road, Llandrindod Wells, Powys, LD1 5ER. Welshpool is the main area of work.
* At Credu, our mission is to empower carers to thrive alongside their caring responsibilities. With over 20 years’ experience, we have seen firsthand that timely, tailored support is vital for carers to maintain their wellbeing and continue in their caring roles. Experience shows us that carer breakdown is often preceded by chronic stress, isolation, and lack of support, especially when carers cannot take breaks or access timely services. We know that when carers feel heard, valued, and have space to work towards their own outcomes, their wellbeing improves. The IMPACT Facilitator will work with Credu on a peer support change project with older carers and their families. By co‑producing this work with carers we aim to reduce demand on crisis services, improve mental health outcomes, and build sustainable, strength‑based care systems. When carers are empowered to shape the support they receive, outcomes are better for individuals, families, and the wider community.
Enhancing access to annual health checks for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities – Dimensions, England
* This project can be delivered at either Frome or Sheffield or Worcester. The post is office‑based in one of these locations with local travel required.
* Dimensions is one of the largest not‑for‑profit providers of support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people across England and Wales. Annual Health Checks are a vital tool in addressing health inequalities. They help identify treatable and preventable conditions early, improving quality of life and reducing premature mortality. However, systemic barriers in health and social care persist which disproportionately affect those with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Individuals face a significantly younger average age of death and are more likely to die from treatable conditions such as pneumonia and seizures. Dimensions will work with the IMPACT Facilitator on a small change project with the aim of better understanding challenges to accessing annual health checks for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. The project will include co‑producing information for different audiences, therefore widening access to annual health checks, improving health, and preventing avoidable hospital admissions.
Support for people whose savings/assets are reducing in a care home (‘capital depletion’) – Staffordshire County Council, England
* Hybrid working between home and the host organisation office (Stafford).
* This project will raise awareness about care funding and options before people enter residential care, helping them make informed choices early. It will also co‑produce a framework to support care home residents as their savings reduce, in order to prevent crisis decisions and promote care stability.
Building a more strategic approach to co‑production alongside people who have a learning disability – WECIL, England
* Hybrid, Bristol – hot desking office at The Vassall Centre Gill Ave, Bristol BS16 2QQ. Weekly meeting on Thursdays at Grosvenor Rd, Bristol BS2 8XJ.
* People’s Voice at WECIL was founded to ensure that people with learning disabilities and neurodivergent people are not just consulted but genuinely lead change. Co‑production is therefore not an add‑on to our work; it is our entire operating model. However, we have learned that meaningful co‑production takes time, strategy, and structure. Many of our members have experienced trauma, institutionalisation, or exclusion, which can make trust and communication fragile. Digital illiteracy and access needs can slow processes down. The funding environment often prioritises speed and output over inclusion. Developing a strategic approach to co‑production as part of a change project with the IMPACT Facilitator will help us balance care and accountability, making our model stronger, safer, and more sustainable for the future. Our priority areas include: developing a clearer strategic framework for co‑production that can be adapted by other organisations, and strengthening pathways for people with learning disabilities to move into leadership and paid co‑production role.
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