Best Start in Life Community Champion

Walsall Council; Walsall; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Walsall Council is seeking a Best Start in Life Community Champion to work across the borough in local communities, family hubs, schools and health venues. You will help families understand the support available, signpost to services and make warm introductions while gathering feedback and raising awareness of Best Start services and home learning.

This community-facing role focuses on engagement and connection, not on assessment or case management, requiring respectful, inclusive communication

Qualifications

• Experience engaging families or communities.
• Ability to signpost to local services and information.

Responsibilities

• Work in local communities and community spaces to engage families.
• Provide approved information and signpost to services.
• Gather parent and carer feedback and strengthen local connections.
• Ensure engagement is respectful, inclusive and culturally responsive.

Skills

Communication skills

Community engagement

Relationship building

Active listening

Job description

Best Start in Life Community Champion - Ref: CH10126

Grade: G5; Salary Range: £29,542 - £32,046

What are we looking for?

We are looking for approachable, inclusive and community-focused people who can build trusted relationships with families and communities.

You will be confident talking and listening to people from a wide range of backgrounds, including families who may be reluctant to approach services or experience barriers such as poverty, isolation, language, disability, digital exclusion, transport or lack of confidence.

You will understand the importance of working in a respectful, non-judgemental and culturally responsive way and be able to help families take practical next steps while recognising when professional or specialist support is needed.

About the job

As a Best Start in Life Community Champion, you will work in local communities and a broad range of community spaces across Walsall, including Best Start Family Hubs, early years settings, schools, health and community venues and local events.

You will help families understand the support available to them, provide approved information, signpost to services and make supported introductions and warm handovers where required.

You will also gather parent and carer views, support community engagement and co-production activities, strengthen local connections and help increase awareness of Best Start services, early education, home learning and school readiness.

This is a community-facing role focused on engagement and connection. It does not undertake assessment, specialist or statutory advice, eligibility or threshold decisions, ongoing advocacy or case management.

About you

You may bring experience from paid employment, voluntary work or lived experience. What matters is your ability to connect with families and communities, build trust and help people access opportunities and support.

You will have experience of engaging families or communities facing barriers or inequalities and building relationships with parents, carers, residents or community organisations.

You will have an understanding of the strengths and challenges affecting Walsall families and a basic understanding of child and family wellbeing from pregnancy to age five, including early development, home learning, early education and school readiness.

You will be able to communicate information clearly, listen to families, maintain appropriate professional boundaries and recognise when concerns need to be escalated.

You will have personal lived experience of supporting a child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). With an understanding of the challenges, experiences and perspectives of parents and carers.

Read more about our benefits at https://go.walsall.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers-/benefits-of-working-for-us

If you would like to know more about this role, please contact: [e-mail]

View Job Description and Employee Specification

Closing date 20th November 2026

Must be available for interviews week beginning 30th November and 7th December 2026.

This post is covered by the Government’s Code of Practice on the English Language Fluency Duty for public sector workers. The post holder will be required to communicate verbally with customers and provide advice and/or information in accurate spoken English.

Walsall Council takes seriously the responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all the children, young people and vulnerable adults entrusted to our care and it is our expectation that all staff will share this commitment. We will ensure continuous development and improvement of robust recruitment processes and procedures that promote a culture of safeguarding amongst our workforce. Completion of an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is a requirement for working with children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Applicants appointed to posts that require an enhanced DBS clearance must declare any periods of time that they have lived, studied or worked abroad and be prepared to provide an Overseas Criminal Records Certificate (OCRC) or a Statement of Good Conduct (SOGC) relating to anytime they were overseas.

At Walsall Council, we appreciate that AI can be a useful tool for ideas or guidance. However, we encourage you to make sure your application reflects your own voice and experiences. Over-reliance on AI can make responses feel less personal, and we really want to understand what makes you unique. Your experiences, skills, and perspective are what set you apart, so please ensure your application as a whole – particularly your ‘Supporting Information’ – reflects your own voice.

Walsall Council’s Children’s Services are the only Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ local authority in the Black Country. During a visit in May 2025, Inspectors described Walsall Council as a place where children were at the heart of. The council’s journey of continuous improvement started in 2017 and has since transformed into a service with a clear vision, clear priorities and a clear plan, all informed by the views of our staff and children. Staff are at the core of delivering great outcomes for children and young people in Walsall, which is underpinned by our Walsall Right 4 Children vision. The latest Ofsted inspection demonstrated that staff in children’s services are proud to work for Walsall Council and feel supported to do great work.