Specialist Practitioner, Widening Participation

NHS; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent healthcare organization is seeking a Specialist Practitioner for Widening Participation to manage and develop vocational opportunities while engaging communities. The role includes designing projects aligned with strategic aims and enhancing career prospects in the Health and Social Care sector. Qualifications needed include a Level 6 education and leadership experience. This position offers a competitive salary and is based in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Qualifications

• Specialist knowledge in people development activities.
• Experience in education or similar environment.
• Ability to analyze and interpret complex situations.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and develop career opportunities.
• Design and deliver people development activities.
• Provide information and guidance related to people development.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Education

Level 6 qualification (e.g. Degree) in an appropriate subject

Teaching/Training qualification or experience

Coaching/Mentoring qualification or experience

Job description

Specialist Practitioner, Widening Participation

Closing date: 15 December 2025

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

As Specialist Practitioner for Widening Participation, you will coordinate and develop career and vocational opportunities to attract and retain both current and future workforce. You will create and implement a range of Widening Participation projects supporting education providers across Northumberland and North Tyneside and raise aspirations of the communities we serve.

The post holder will be responsible for developing efficient and effective programmes, activities and projects to support our organisational Widening Participation strategy and aspirations within our Community Promise and Corporate Social Responsibility agenda. It is essential that the post holder models compassionate and inclusive leadership by engaging, enabling and empowering others; using coaching techniques to promote ownership of learning and quality improvement; and facilitating team working and collaboration across organisational boundaries.

Main duties of the job

The main duties of this role are:

• Provide and support the best development for our people.
• Contribute to the formulation, agreement and delivery of HR and people development strategies by providing a high‑quality service for the organisation.
• Ensure appropriate people development systems and processes are in place to support the organisation, regulatory requirements and development plans.
• Deliver projects and strategies in order to provide a high‑quality service and ensure the organisation meets a range of key performance indicators.
• Contribute to the design and delivery of specialist projects and programmes linked to people development strategies and action plans.
• Support quality assurance and improvement by ensuring all data collected is accurate and supported on appropriate systems.
• Provide information, advice and guidance to service users linked to People Development needs.

About us

The successful candidate will inspire our current and future workforce, working in collaboration with wider stakeholders to continuously build on our success in promoting and supporting employability and career progression opportunities across the Health and Social Care sector. With support and guidance from the Senior Practitioner for Widening Participation, they will have trust and psychological safety to try new ideas and new ways of working in accordance with local and national guidance.

We manage three major locality hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham, plus a number of smaller community hospitals and clinics from Tynemouth to Berwick on Tweed, covering one of the largest geographical areas of any NHS trust in the country. Leading in innovation and quality – opening a state of the art Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, the first of its kind in England. Do you want to work in one of the best performing NHS organisations in England? Work in an organisation that supports its staff and focuses on staff experience as much as it does the experience of its patients? You can live and breathe in an area that has the cleanest air, cost effective living, great nightlife, some of the best schools with a wealth of history available on your doorstep. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn't, this is what you get when you work for Northumbria Healthcare – this is the Northumbria Way! Please read applicant guidance notes before submitting your application.

Job responsibilities

The main expectations and responsibilities for the role include:

• Specialist knowledge across work procedures, underpinned by theory.
• Level 6 qualification (e.g. Degree) in an appropriate subject or equivalent portfolio of experience.
• Specialist knowledge in the development and delivery of people development activities, gained through experience in an education, similar environment.
• Skills to project manage the delivery of an innovative and forward‑thinking people development activities to support the organisations strategic priorities.
• Skills and experience in leadership and management.
• Excellent communication, presentation and interpersonal skills with the ability to inspire and engage others.
• Holds a valid driving licence and is either a car owner or able to use a car for work purposes.

It is also essential that the post holder can:

• Provide and receive complex/highly complex, sensitive or contentious information.
• Present complex, sensitive or contentious information to large groups.
• Develop networks and partnerships with internal and external groups, to coordinate and deliver a range of people development activities across the organisation.
• Provide and receive strategic reports as a method of giving assurance, making improvements and developing the service.
• Analyse and interpret complex facts or situations, compare a range of options and coordinate activities and projects requiring analysis and interpretation. Make judgements or escalating matters as and when required.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Level 6 qualification (e.g. Degree) in an appropriate subject such as education, careers or a health or equivalent portfolio of experience.
• Careers qualification or CEIAG experience.
• Leadership and Management qualification.
• Teaching/Training qualification or experience.
• Coaching/Mentoring qualification or experience.

Other

• It is an essential requirement of the role that the post holder has a valid driving licence and is either a car owner and able to use the car for work purposes, or has a Trust personal lease vehicle which may be used for the role. The Trust would consider making reasonable adjustments to the role, if necessary, to enable a disabled person to undertake the role.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

£38,682 to £46,580 a year – pro rata per annum