Lived Experience Coordinator

Lived Experience Coordinator

Fixed Term, Full Time

£32,878 to £38,680 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Anywhere worker

Closing Date: 24th August 2025

Interview Date: 2nd September 2025

This is an 18 month Fixed Term Contract 

The Role 

As a Lived Experience Co-ordinator, you will work closely with the Children and Families Commissioning Team, taking the lead on coordinating and delivering activities that enables the voice and lived experience of families, children and young people with a range needs and vulnerabilities to influence, shape and improve systems, policy and practice, in all the work we do.

This role plays a very important part across Children and Family’s commissioning portfolios co-producing solutions that supports outcome focused and evidence-based commissioning activities.

The role will be critical in facilitating a collaborative approach to service design, development, and evaluation by involving communities and people with lived experience, in an equal partnership, ensuring inclusivity and shared decision-making.

Accountabilitie

• The role will ensure strategy, services and outcomes are shaped by robust evidence and understanding of the lived experience of children, young people, and families.
• As a Lived Experience Co-ordinator, you will develop creative and diverse ways to ensure appropriate engagement with children, young people and families, especially for people with protected characteristics and those from underserved communities to ensure meaningful co-production.
• Work with the Children and Families Commissioning team, to identify and facilitate engagement and co-production opportunities with children, young people and families across all programmes of work (for example, yet not limited to; domestic abuse, parenting, exploitation, early help).
• Lead, develop and deliver opportunities for children, young people and families to participate in a range of activities which will enable them to influence, shape and improve systems, services and practice.
• Facilitate discussions between children, young people and families and relevant services and organisations, to ensure their feedback and experiences are a catalyst for improved outcomes.
• Share good practice with key stakeholders and relevant partners on what works when engaging with children, young people and families.
• Employ a range of innovative approaches to effectively work with a wide range of partners and directly with children, young people and families, in the design, delivery, governance and evaluation of services to agreed service standards.  
• Apply best practice to deliver high quality ethical involvement activities, using intellectual curiosity to proactively explore ideas with children, young people and families, potentially offering new insight and discovery to the Commissioning Team and the Council.
• Support partners to proactively engage with children, young people, and families to seek out their views, actively listen and support them to engage in co-production opportunities.
• Build and maintain good working relationships both internally and externally to the organisation.  Work in collaboration with families and partners (for example with, but not limited to, providers of services, schools, social care teams, health, voluntary and community groups and District/Borough/City Councils).
• Respond quickly to new challenges and opportunities ensuring that risks and opportunities are identified and managed and comply with all external and internal regulation.
• Coordinate collaborative work to develop and maintain effective relationships with children, young people and families making sure that their views and experiences are embedded in service performance and intelligence.
• Develop new and relevant approaches in embedding the voice of children, young people and families in the work of the Commissioning Team.

Skills and Knowledge

• Educated to Degree level or equivalent by experience with specialist knowledge of Children and Families.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional areas.
• Practical experience and knowledge of successfully delivering primary and/or secondary research and involvement activity that has led to the improvement of outcomes and/or services as a result of co-production.
• Practical experience and knowledge of direct work with children, young people and families involving a range of approaches and strategies.
• Ability to work effectively and communicate clearly and appropriately with a range of internal and external stakeholders and partners and provide appropriate challenge.
• Knowledge and experience of using a variety of methods, tools and technology to work alongside children, young people and families to understand views and experiences, and to appropriately and safely share information.
• Robust knowledge and experience of safeguarding procedures and how these are considered when working with children, young people and families.
• Knowledge of governance requirements around quantitative and qualitative research methodology, including excellent working knowledge of the Data Protection Act.
• Excellent collaboration, communication, influencing and networking skills.
• Strong report writing skills, including the ability to present summary information in a clear and concise format.
• Evidence of working in fast paced changing environments.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Children & Families

Please take a look at our ‘No Magic’ Children & Families video

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

The role requires you to be mobile throughout a wider operational area including travelling around the county of Essex and beyond, transporting service users and their belongings and to be able to do so in an emergency.  Driving licence and car or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means is essential.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service.  The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate.  This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained.  For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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