Job Number
BU03821
School/Department
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Grade
7
Contract Duration
2 years
Responsible to
Director of Research, Impact & Engagement
Overview
The Deaf Health Wales project (DHW) is a three-year, £1.04 million pound project which brings together an interdisciplinary team consisting of hearing and deaf colleagues from Bangor, Swansea, the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), the University of Graz in Austria, the British Deaf Association, Public Health Wales Cardiff, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Centre of Sign Sight Sound in Colwyn Bay and the Wales Council for Deaf People.
The aim of the project is to focus on interventions to address the health disparities that Welsh deaf individuals experience in Wales. The project has been split into six Hubs, each of which focuses on a particular area related to health in Wales. While there are six distinct Hubs, they do overlap in some shape and form.
The Hubs are Public Health, Mental Health, Interpreting Services, Language and Communication, Natural Resources, and Law and Human Rights. Examples of interventions include working with Public Health Wales to ensure that health information is accessible, improving the provision of deaf mental health services in Wales, increasing the number of interpreters in Wales, developing a BSL corpus of Welsh regional signs, improving access to the national resources of Wales, and addressing issues in raising complaints when things go wrong.
The project also includes a Lived Experience Panel (LEAP) whose membership consists of 5 deaf Welsh participants who advise the DHW team on a range of matters including ethics, best practices, and the impact of the team’s work on deaf communities.
The Project
The team is comprised of experts and specialists in language and communication, deaf mental health, deaf health and well-being, interpreting services, the law, and environmental access and well-being. Working together with members of the deaf community, they will co-design, co-construct, implement, and evaluate community-led solutions for their communities in Wales.
This project aims to improve health and healthcare services at every stage through work with deaf people, the NHS, health boards and other service providers. In addition, we will also be developing an online dictionary and resources to help interpreters, service providers and those interested in signed languages and signed language research. We are also developing video guide apps to improve access to Eryri National Park (Snowdonia), the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (Brecon Beacons).
Purpose of the Job
This two-year post is intended to support an established team working in the area of Welsh deaf health and wellbeing. The postholder will work with an interdisciplinary research team on a three-year AHRC grant on issues affecting the health and wellbeing of the Welsh deaf community and developing interventions and proposals to address identified inequalities and issues.
The postholder will contribute to and help the team manage, plan and coordinate its research, impact and engagement activities. They will also be responsible, among other things, for helping to manage the overall project and the work done in each of its six research hubs, to assist with communication with team members and community / partners, to help with project documentation, and to assist with progress monitoring. The postholder will also help with the project’s communication and social media engagement.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
You will be responsible for overseeing the project through the lifecycle including the day-to-day contact with the project teams, ensuring that objectives are clearly defined and achieved within the agreed time, cost and quality constraints. This will cover a diverse range of activities including the co-ordination of project plans, engaging and communicating with stakeholders, monitoring and reporting, data analysis and administration at different stages of the project
Key responsibilities include:
1. Leading on project, research hub and Lived Experience Panel (LEAP) management, planning and coordination.
2. Communications - lead stakeholder mapping and engagement and ensure internal and external stakeholder interests are identified and addressed as appropriate, communicating with/between team members, LEAP members, partners, community members and event organisers and update all as to activities, outcomes, events etc. on a rolling and timely basis.
3. Administration - ensure project documentation and project files are accurate and kept up to date (e.g. invoices, interpreter booking, decisions, meeting minutes, etc).
4. Attending project team meetings, providing direction and guidance to colleagues. Supporting both the discussion and shaping of the project.
5. Risks and issues – Assist in identifying, monitoring and managing project risks and issues. Develop mitigating actions and escalate as appropriate. Identify and work with related hubs to manage interdependencies.
6. Developing and updating vlogs, blogs, the Circle platform and webpage content, team reports, about the project, ongoing events, and activities. Assisting with project monitoring (helping to review project timelines, budgets, and outputs relative to the projects goals and plans).
7. Maintain and enhance links with the professional institutions and other related bodies.
8. Observe best-practice protocols in maintenance and retention of research records as indicated by HEI and Research Councils records management guidance. This includes ensuring project log-book records are deposited with the University/Principal Investigator on completion of the work.
Other Duties and Responsibilities
• The post holder will be expected to participate in performance review and developmental activities.
• The post holder will be expected to comply with the University’s equality policies and statements and Dignity at Work and Study Policy.
• The post holder has a general and legal duty of care in relation to health, safety and wellbeing and must take all reasonable steps to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for them selves and for other members of staff, students and visitors affected by their actions or inactions. The post holder is also required to comply with all applicable health and safety policies, procedures and risk assessments.
• The post holder must comply with relevant legal and financial policies and procedures and be aware of their responsibilities in terms of the legal requirements of their post.
Person Specification
Qualifications/Training
Essential
• Educated to PhD level or near completion in a relevant discipline to one or more of the project’s six research hubs.
OR
• Fluent in English and British Sign Language (minimum BSL Level 3) OR a native signer
Desirable
• BSL Level 6.
Experience/Knowledge
Essential
• Knowledge of working with deaf communities.
• Track record in organising and managing events within the deaf community.
• Proven experience managing projects of any size including experience of data handling, management, curation and analysis.
• Proven experience handling multiple tasks and deadlines effectively with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team
• Experience engaging with communities or working in participatory projects.
Desirable
• Evidence of networking with deaf communities in Wales.
•Experience of working with marginalised or underrepresented groups and lived experience of culturally deaf people.
• Experience with managing BSL interpreters
• Up to date training in data security and data management.
• Familiarity with research methods (qualitative/quantitative).
• Experience with Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes or ethical research principles. • Experience of managing digital communication platforms.
Skills/Abilities
Essential
• Demonstrate proven project management skills.
• The ability to communicate with a variety of deaf people in Wales.
• Good written English skills.
• IT literacy including MS Office, PowerPoint, Excel. Including experience with social media platforms (posting, content management).
Desirable
• The ability to speak Welsh.
• An understanding of multicultural and multilingual working environments.
Other
Desirable
• UK driving licence and access to a vehicle.
General
The University is committed to supporting and promoting equality and diversity and to creating an inclusive working environment. We believe this can be achieved through attracting, developing, and retaining a diverse range of staff from many different backgrounds. We strive to develop a workforce from all sections of the community regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, trans identity, relationship status, religion or belief, caring responsibilities, or age. We promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language through our progressive Welsh Language Policy.
Disclosure & Barring Service: