Participation & Co-Production Co-ordinator

Norwich, East of England, United Kingdom Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people's and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and want to reflect the diversity of our local communities within our teams. We welcome applications from all talented individuals with the relevant qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience.

Please note due to the nature of our roles and patient demographic, you will be required to undertake physical intervention training and remain trained, as required by your role.

Job overview

Participation & Co-Production Co-ordinator

The Band 4 Participation and Co-production Co-ordinator plays a vital role in championing inclusive involvement across the Trust. Working within the Patient Experience Team, the post holder will support and coordinate safe and meaningful opportunities for people with lived experience to shape the planning, delivery, and improvement of services.
This role ensures participation activities are accessible, well-organised, and aligned with Trust values and policies. Acting as a welcoming first point of contact, the post holder will register individuals interested in involvement, maintain accurate records, and support recruitment to the involvement register. They will work collaboratively with staff to embed co-production principles, offering guidance and resources that promote equality, diversity, and shared decision-making.
The post holder will also deliver training to participants, including Interview Panel Member Training and co-production workshops, and may provide day-to-day supervision for an Administrator. By supporting effective communication and coordination, they will help create safe, inclusive spaces where all voices are valued.
Based at County Hall, Norwich, the role involves attending team anchor days and working from Trust premises when not supporting workshops, events, or community meetings.

Main duties of the job

This role supports the delivery of safe, inclusive and accessible co-production, involvement, and engagement activities across the Trust. You will work closely with service users, carers, and community groups to build respectful, recovery-focused relationships and create positive channels for two-way communication. A key part of the role is organising the practical elements of events and sessions-whether large-scale programmes or smaller workshops-including venues, technology, materials, and access support.
You will maintain accurate records of involvement activities, manage the registration process for people with lived experience, and coordinate attendance at meetings and workshops. Ensuring compliance with Trust policies on safeguarding, data protection, inclusion, and reimbursement is essential. The role also involves preparing documentation for governance purposes, supporting internal reporting, and drafting communications to promote involvement opportunities.
Acting as an ambassador for participation, you will attend events, deliver training to participants and staff and help staff understand their responsibilities around co-production. You will contribute to developing tools and resources, maintain team platforms and materials, and support feedback processes such as the Friends and Family Test. Continuous learning and sharing insights to improve participation practices are integral to this role.

Working for our organisation

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you'll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We're an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please note that this role does not meet the UKVI eligibility requirements for a skilled worker visa. The Trust will not be able to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship, so any successfully appointed candidate will need to maintain their own independent right to work for the duration of their role. If you require sponsorship and apply for this role, regrettably, your application will be withdrawn.

Please find attached our Job Description and Person Specification for more detail on your Key Accountabilities, then if you feel you have what it takes to make a difference in your local communities, click APPLY!

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent qualification/experience
• GCSEs or equivalent including English and Maths (Grade C/4 of above)

Desirable criteria

• Relevant qualification in health and social care.
• Foundation- level qualification in project management. (PRINCE2 Foundation or equivalent qualification/experience

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of working in an administrative, project support or coordination role
• Experience of working with members of the public or people with lived experience in a supportive or enabling role
• Experience of delivering training to different audiences.
• Personal lived experience of mental ill health, or experience of supporting others, with awareness of own recovery and ability to use experiences to inform approaches within role.

Desirable criteria

• Experience working within a healthcare, mental health, voluntary sector or public service setting.
• Experience supporting or implementing policies, procedures or quality processes.

Skills

Essential criteria

• Excellent organisational and administrative skills with ability to prioritise workload and meet deadlines
• Proactive, self-motivated and able to work independently when required, and within a team on individual or shared tasks.
• Ability to produce accessible written content such as emails, web text, or invitations for involvement activities
• Good written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders

Desirable criteria

• Understanding of NHS values and the role of patient experience in improving services
• Understanding of inclusive communication principles (e.g. plain English, accessible formats, tone of voice)
• Familiarity with basic project coordination tools and practices

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of equality