Inclusion and engagement manager (for ‘On track for inclusive train travel’ project)

Role purpose:

We are seeking a dynamic, experienced manager to manage our part in “On track for inclusive train travel”, a research, scoping and piloting project, aiming to make rail travel more accessible and inclusive for disabled people.  This project is being delivered alongside RNIB as lead partner, and funded by Motability Foundation, working with our members Community Rail Lancashire (CRL) and Gloucestershire & Oxfordshire CRP (GOCRP) to engage disabled people and shine a light on lived experience. 

You will work closely with RNIB and their project manager, forming part of a small project team to ensure the success of this exciting project. You will support CRL & GOCRP in their coordination of local engagement with disabled people, helping to facilitate a pan-disability, empowering approach that draws on and champions expertise by experience. Ensuring excellent collaboration with railway partners is also key to this role, enabling us to co-create an effective, adaptable model for training, learning and culture change that can be deployed across the railways as they are reformed and renationalised.

Responsibilities

Project and local engagement coordination

• Work closely with the RNIB project manager and as part of the project team to help ensure effective planning, coordination, management, communication and the overall success of this project, in line with its purpose and aims;
• Ensure excellent coordination and communication with the two community rail partnerships, supporting their delivery of empowering, high-quality engagement, in line with project plans, requirements and objectives;
• Ensure CRL and GOCRP are enabled to play their part effectively, using their expertise and local relationships to bring the experiences, ideas and voices of disabled people to the fore, while engaging railway staff constructively, to research, develop and test our model, and forge ongoing dialogue and understanding between the disabled community and railway;
• Take a particular lead in utilising and championing co-creation principles and empowering ways of working, across this project and its partners, and in building a legacy;
• Coordinate closely with our core railway partners helping to develop and test our model, and work across the rail industry, including engaging existing inclusion and accessibility forums and networks, to support the research phase and generally build on community rail’s positive relationships and ability to support inclusive railway practices;
• Manage Community Rail Network’s budget and monitor the CRPs’ budgets in partnership with their project leads, ensuring these are in line with agreed grant funding;
• Maintain and uphold our partner agreements and MoU with RNIB. 

​ Research, evaluation and reporting

• Work as part of the project team to engage railway partners and jointly deliver effective research, as part of the ‘discovery’ phase, to understand current practices and issues within the railway around accessibility and inclusion, and opportunities to improve this;
• Support the CRPs and their interaction with RNIB’s research and innovation staff and our academic advisor, helping them play a strong part in the discovery phase, and model development and testing, involving the disabled community and railway staff members;
• Support effective recording and evaluation by the CRPs, ensuring this is in line with project requirements, and serves our goals around legacy-building and empowering those involved;
• Advise and feed into RNIB on the completion of grant reports and financial statements, including coordinating and reviewing input, data and reports from the CRPs;
• Maintain strong relations with Motability, as part of the project team.

Legacy building, communications and influencing

• Continually feed into our senior team and the project board on insights emerging from the programme to help us advocate for more inclusive, confident (rail) travel for disabled people;
• Support and feed into Community Rail Network and RNIB’s strategic work engaging with rail reform and transformation, such as attending meetings and providing briefings, reports and recommendations, to help us seize opportunities to advocate for positive change;
• Attend and speak at community rail and other relevant events to develop awareness of the project, share its lessons, and promote our model;
• Work with Community Rail Network and RNIB’s communications teams, and other colleagues and partners, to promote the project and its achievements, and amplify the voices/views/needs of disabled people, across our networks and build a legacy.

General team working

• Contribute to the wider objectives and development of Community Rail Network, especially by sharing project progress and learnings, and offering advice and input.  
• Help our member support & development team to embed lessons from the project on involving and empowering disabled people.
• Contribute to the maintenance and development of our internal systems (e.g. shared drive, CRM) such as by data capturing relevant contacts and saving documentation. 
• As a member of the Community Rail Network team, assist with more general work as needed.

Skills and competencies

1. A proven track record in project management, including coordinating between multiple delivery partners and ensuring project/funding requirements are met, and supporting/overseeing effective monitoring and evaluation.
2. Demonstrable experience in supporting community engagement, ideally related to inclusion, disability and/or mobility, and a good understanding of and confidence using engagement, project planning, and evaluation techniques to develop and support such initiatives.
3. The ability to collaborate and communicate with community groups and other local partners, draw on their views and expertise, and support them to build capacity and confidence.
4. Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work confidently with stakeholders at all levels and facilitate positive discussion; articulate and assertive, and a great team player.
5. A proven ability to bring partners and groups together, develop and maintain mutually-beneficial partnerships, deliver joint activities, and form professional networks.
6. Good writing, research and analysis skills, including the ability to draw on quantitative and qualitative evidence, produce case studies, briefings and reports.
7. Awareness of accessibility, social mobility and social inclusion issues, and an appreciation of the importance of rail, sustainable travel and mobility to communities and disabled people.
8. A demonstrable ability to manage time effectively and juggle a range of activities in an organised, professional, productive manner, including planning and scheduling, coordinating with colleagues and partners, and bringing projects to fruition. 
9. Proactive, positive and self-motivated, able to work on own initiative and inspire and enthuse others, and overcome hurdles to achieve results.
10. IT literate with a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office and the internet.

Other information

This post is home-based, but with travel (including occasional overnight stays) for project meetings, events and external meetings. Applicants will need local access to a train station to enable rail-based travel for work as needed.

This is a fixed term contract and includes a probationary period of three months from the date of appointment. Successful applicants will need to provide proof that they have the right to work in the UK and provide two references.   

Community Rail Network is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to being a flexible, supportive, inclusive and understanding employer. We welcome applications from disabled people, who meet the skills for this role, and support positive representation within our workforce. We will provide reasonable adjustments for interviews as required.