Community Engagement Officer (northwest England/Wigan) - Fixed Term Contract

About your role

You will be home-based, ideally in or close to Wigan, with regular travel around the northwest of England and occasional travel to the Banbury HQ. This is a fixed term contract until 31 December 2027, with the intention to extend subject to continued funding.

As our Community Engagement Officer, you will support and grow Dogs for Good’s impact across the northwest of England, building strong relationships with our staff team, communities, partners and volunteers and growing our presence. You’ll also support the establishment, delivery and promotion of high-quality animal assisted interventions and activities in and around the Wigan area, helping more people benefit from the life-changing power of the human–dog bond.

We have a proud and passionate community of volunteers, clients and supporters across the northwest and we asked them what type of person they would like to see in this role. They want someone enthusiastic about dogs and Dogs for Good, who can passionately talk about what we do and its impact and build great relationships with organisations across the region. Someone who knows the northwest so can quickly build rapport, trust, and authentic relationships with our existing community across the northwest and can find their way into the right networks, forums and conversations.

They also want someone with great people skills — approachable, empathetic, with a sense of humour, and able to work well with a diverse range of people. Someone who will listen to volunteers, value their years of experience and the ideas they bring and can help people feel connected and part of a team, even without a physical base. And, as one volunteer put it, someone who can ‘look both ways’: championing the needs and ideas of our northwest community, while also helping everyone stay connected to the wider priorities of Dogs for Good.

Your initial focus will be to link in with our existing community and develop relationships and ways of working that ensure our volunteers, clients, supporters and staff feel connected, both locally within and across the northwest and with the Dogs for Good central teams in Banbury, Oxfordshire. The second priority will be identifying and establishing opportunities and settings we can link in to with our community dog services in Wigan and the surrounding area, creating a Service Delivery hub. Partnering with specialist services and settings such as mental health, schools, stroke rehabilitation, social care or dementia support, our dogs, handlers, and practitioners can help individuals overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

About you

We're looking for someone who is:

• Person-centred and committed to individual needs
• Proactive, positive and adaptable
• Results-focused with a can-do attitude
• Self-motivated and organised
• Creative and solutions-focused
• Inclusive, collaborative and keen to learn
• Professional and committed to high standards
• Will be a positive ambassador for Dogs for Good
• Resourceful and responsive to new ideas and unexpected situations

Your responsibilities

As a Community Engagement Officer your key responsibilities will be:

• Volunteer Management: Actively recruit, support, and manage volunteers across our northwest community
• Raise Awareness: Lead initiatives to promote our work, building and developing relationships with organisations that support or connect with our key audience groups.
• Community Engagement: Be a key contact for our local Dogs for Good community, including those we support, our volunteers, and potential beneficiaries. Nurture and grow our community and help manage enquiries, provide guidance, and track interest to shape future needs.
• Service Integration: Work with the Dogs for Good team to integrate our services within the Hub for maximum impact, ensuring we have the necessary processes, tools, and materials.
• Drive targets: You’ll be trusted to drive our service delivery in your area and make sure we meet our targets.
• Evaluation and Reporting: Engage in evaluation and reporting to assess our work’s impact, providing objective feedback and ideas for improvement. Ensure data collection aligns with our Data Protection policy and partner agreements.
• Service Support: Assist our staff team, for example by finding and coordinating suitable venues for safe and effective service delivery.
• Fundraising: Seek and prepare responses to local funding opportunities and collaborate with central teams to support existing projects and develop new community fundraising initiatives.
• Safeguarding: Monitor and take appropriate steps to safeguard clients, including vulnerable children and adults, in line with our Safeguarding Policy.
• Additional Tasks: Perform any other tasks as agreed with your line manager.

Your skills, experience and approach

It's essential that you have the following skills:

• Volunteer Management: Recruiting, training, developing, and managing volunteers
• Community Engagement: Building connections with local public, voluntary, and community sector organisations, especially in Wigan and the surrounding areas
• Communication: Excellent skills in communicating with volunteers, clients, families, professional service providers, and the public
• Welcoming Environment: Creating a warm and inclusive community
• Project Skills: Objectively assessing and reporting on project progress, issues, and risks
• Client Support: Experience in supporting a diverse range of clients, with a focus on listening to their needs
• Health and Social Care Knowledge: Understanding the support landscape, particularly in Wigan and the local area
• Project Adaptability: Comfortable handling change, reporting progress, and adapting as new information arises
• Organisational Skills: Highly organised, experienced in data collection and input, using data to inform decisions
• Time Management: Ability to manage and prioritise workload to meet deadlines
• Innovation: Open to new ideas and confident in suggesting improvements to colleagues
• Teamwork: Self-motivated and effective in a dynamic team with diverse skills and experience
• IT Proficiency: Skilled in using technology to support service delivery and ensure easy access to data and records

Other knowledge and experience that would be beneficial in this role includes:

• Understanding of the services of Dogs for Good.
• Occupational Therapy, SEND provision or Social Care related skills and experience.

Other requirements

• You need to have the right to live and work in the UK.
• You have to be comfortable working around dogs.
• The ability to drive (and have access to a car) is part of the job, but where applicable, we will work with the chosen candidate to find alternative solutions where reasonable adjustments can achieve the desired outcome.
• Sometimes you may need to work flexibly so we can deliver our services effectively, and this might occasionally involve working evenings and/or at weekends. You’ll be given time off in lieu (TOIL) for this.
• As you’ll be working with vulnerable people, you’ll need to undergo a DBS check, and this will be renewed every 4 years.
• You’ll be expected to have a good understanding of safeguarding issues and how they should be applied to the work of the charity and its partner organisations. We’ll provide full training on this during your induction.

Closing date

The closing date/time for applications is noon on Friday 23 October 2026.

Interviews

1st stage interviews will be held in the Wigan area at a venue to be confirmed on Monday 2 November 2026 .

2nd stage interviews will be held at our Banbury HQ* on Monday 9 November 2026.

*Expenses for interview travel will be covered by Dogs for Good

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