Organisation: Cumbria CVS

Salary Details: £24,242 FTE or voluntary (you choose)

Closing date for applications: 5 Sep 2025

Community Co-Researcher (HDRC Cumberland)

Salary – £24,242 FTE or voluntary (you choose)

Part-Time – 6 hours per week

Fixed Term for 2 years

Base – Home base with outreach in your community. Flexible hours of work. 

 

Overview

Do you want to help improve health and wellbeing in your community? Do you have lived experience and a passion for making a difference?

Cumbria CVS, in partnership with Cumberland Council’s Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC), is looking for Community Co-Researchers (CCRs) to support vital, community-led research across the area.

You can choose to take on this role as a paid opportunity or a voluntary one — whatever works best for you.

You don’t need any prior research experience. Full training and ongoing support will be provided. What matters most is your willingness to listen, learn, and share your insight to help ensure research reflects real lives and local voices.

There will be up to 16 CCRs, linked to the 8 Community Panels across Cumberland.

Job Purpose

As a Community Co-Researcher, you’ll play a key role in:

• Supporting research that reduces health inequalities
• Ensuring research reflects real-life experiences
• Helping build stronger, more research-active communities
• Influencing local policy and services through community insight

Key Duties

• Work with local residents to identify priorities and shape research questions
• Share lived experience to help design relevant, inclusive research
• Support others in your community to take part in research activities
• Help plan and deliver local research projects in partnership with HDRC staff
• Attend and contribute to co-production and engagement sessions
• Gather stories, feedback and insights from community members
• Support engagement across different communities of place, interest and identity
• Represent community perspectives in meetings and decision-making discussions

Training and Support

All CCRs will receive:

• Full training in community research methods
• Ongoing support from the HDRC engagement team
• Regular opportunities for peer learning, reflection and personal development

Who We’re Looking For

You don’t need to be a professional researcher. We welcome people with lived experience who are:

• Passionate about improving their community
• Curious, open-minded, and willing to learn
• Good communicators and team players
• Respectful of different views and experiences

This role could suit people from a wide range of backgrounds, including those with experience of health challenges, inequality, or community involvement.

Find out more about working for Cumbria CVS here

Download the job specification and person specification here

To arrange an informal conversation about the role, please email: hr@cumbriacvs.org.uk or hdrc@cumberland.gov.uk

How to apply

Please click here to view the Expression of Interest Form, and details of how to apply.

Applicants must also complete and return the separate Declaration Form, which can be downloaded here.

We would also be grateful if you would complete and return our Equality & Diversity Monitoring Form, which can also be here.

Please send your completed Expression of Interest form (or any other format) and completed Declaration and Equality & Diversity monitoring forms to hr@cumbriacvs.org.uk by the closing date.

Closing date for applications is Friday 5^th September, 12 noon

Interviews will be held via MS Teams. Dates to be arranged to suit individuals