Community Engagement and Insight Lead

Want your work to make a real difference? Join Activate West Wales — a small, purpose-driven team working with partners to make being active a normal part of everyday life, for everyone. Activate West Wales needs strong, consistent support for place-based, insight-led ways of working. Partners across the region, including local authorities, National Governing Bodies, health partners, schools, community organisations and the wider third sector, are at different stages in adopting more community (place) focussed approaches. As part of our move to a new approach, we are working with partners to strengthen skills and capability in understanding community needs, applying insight, collaborating effectively, telling meaningful stories of change, and measuring what truly matters. The Community Engagement & Insight Lead (Place Specialist) will connect partners, strengthen local planning, build shared understanding of community insight, support consistent impact measurement across West Wales, and support partners and communities to identify, shape and share powerful stories of change. These stories will show how people become active, stay active, and overcome barriers, and will connect lived experience to the wider system changes needed to create greater and more equitable impact. This role fills a critical capacity gap in Activate West Wales and is a key enabler of whole system change. The Organisation Activate West Wales connects people and organisations across West Wales to understand what gets in the way of being active, to share insight, and to provide leadership. We support approaches that create lasting change, particularly where opportunities to be active are not equal. Activate West Wales is not an activity provider or deliverer. Instead, it supports organisations and partnerships who support people to be more active, by providing coordination, structure and shared understanding. Our Vision: A West Wales where being active is a normal part of daily life, for everyone.

Key Responsibilities

• Partner Support & Place-Based Development Work closely with partners to help them design and deliver place-based approaches. Provide hands-on coaching to partners across local authorities, health, community and sport organisations. Support partners to understand what “place” means in practice and apply it consistently. Facilitate joint planning sessions that bring partners together around shared local priorities. Strengthen relationships between organisations working in the same communities to reduce duplication and improve coordination. Build partner capability and capacity to support a shift to place based working through a practical, responsive learning syllabus.
• Community Insight & Local Understanding Gather, organise and interpret community and partner insight to build a strong understanding of what matters in each place. Support partners to use community engagement methods that are accessible and meaningful. Translate data and insight into simple, practical information that partners can act on. Build and maintain shared place profiles and local insight summaries. Ensure community voices inform partner decision-making and future planning across the region. Identify themes, patterns and narratives within community insight that can inform learning, communications and system change.
• Impact Measurement & Learning Support partners to develop evaluation approaches that are feasible, meaningful and aligned with shared outcomes. Help partners measure what matters to communities, not just what is easiest to count. Build a consistent approach to monitoring, evaluating and learning across the region. Synthesise learning across multiple funded projects and share clear, accessible findings. Connect qualitative stories and lived experience with wider evidence to strengthen the understanding of impact. Contribute insight directly into Activate West Wales’ strategy and investment decisions.
• System Support & Connectivity Work closely with the Head of Strategic Partnerships to strengthen collaboration across the region. Support system-wide coordination by connecting local work to wider regional priorities. Support shared learning, barriers and opportunities to inform strategic conversations and system change. Facilitate links between organisations to reduce duplication and strengthen collective action. Support regional working groups, networks and learning spaces that encourage shared learning and understanding.
• Storytelling, Communications & Knowledge Exchange Gather and share community stories that show how people become active, especially where there are inequalities or barriers. Support people to tell their stories safely and confidently, with clear consent, safeguarding and respectful representation. Link personal stories to the bigger picture, showing learning, collaboration and what needs to change. Share stories in ways that inspire and inform, using digital channels and in-person events. Make sure community voices are heard fairly, reflecting commitments to equity, inclusion and respect.

Expectations

• Commit to ongoing learning and development, taking responsibility for building the skills and knowledge needed to excel in the role.
• Promote a safe and healthy working environment, fulfilling relevant responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and following good practice.
• Champion equality, diversity and inclusion, ensuring behaviours and decisions reflect fairness, respect, and a commitment to creating an inclusive culture for everyone.
• Manage information responsibly, following organisational standards and ensuring all personal or sensitive data is handled in full compliance with Data Protection legislation.
• Undertake additional duties as required, consistent with the scope and grade of the post, and contributing to the smooth running of the organisation.
• Be flexible to role requirements, including occasional evening or weekend work, travel across the region, and occasional overnight stays.

The aim of this job specification is to give guidelines on your role, and responsibilities may change in line with the needs of the business. The ability to travel across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria: Experience working with communities, partners or cross-sector systems Strong relationship-building, facilitation and partnership-working skills Experience gathering, analysing or translating community insight Ability to turn insight into practical action Experience in supporting organisations to plan personal development at an organisational level and the ability to evaluate their work Experience enabling individuals or communities to share stories or lived experience ethically and accessibly Strong judgement and awareness of risk in storytelling and communications Excellent communication skills, including producing clear and accessible summaries

Desirable Criteria: Experience in place-based, community engagement or systems-based approaches Knowledge of sport, physical activity, community development or public health Experience coordinating shared learning or evaluation across organisations Familiarity with social media platforms (particularly LinkedIn and Instagram) Experience curating learning events, showcases or community conversations.

We know that great candidates don't always meet every requirement. If you believe you can do this role, are passionate about working with communities and systems, and are excited by learning and shaping the work as we go, we would strongly encourage you to apply, or start a conversation with us!

Remuneration: £38,000 - £44,000 negotiable dependent upon experience, plus pension package.

Contract: Fixed Term Contract (24 Months)

Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week, flexible working hours within core periods. There is no expectation that the role might need to attend events/meetings outside of core periods.

Location: The post holder will adopt an agile and hybrid working arrangement in line with needs of the business; between home, in the field and at designated fixed office bases across West Wales.

How to Apply

Application Deadline: 5pm on 1st June 2026 Interviews will be: Either 11th June or 12th June 2026. As part of your application, you must submit the following: Your current CV detailing your professional experience, educational background and any other relevant information that supports your application A letter (no more than 2 pages of A4), highlighting your suitability for the role referencing the requirements found in the person specification. Both your CV and letter of application should be emailed to us at info@activate.wales Please use the subject line: Community Engagement and Insight Lead Application – (Your Full Name) Please be advised that both your CV and Letter of Application must be attached to your application to be considered. If you are shortlisted for interview you will be contacted by the 6th June 2026. Interviews will be on the 11th or 12th June. You must have the legal right to work in the UK for this position.