Lived Experience Consultant - London

User Voice is looking for a passionate, committed individual with personal lived experience of the criminal justice system to join our team as a Lived Experience Consultant.

This roles is central to ensuring that the voices of people in the justice system shape the services that affect them. You’ll work directly across our Prison Councils in HMP Altcourse and HMP Forest Bank, as well as a range of community‑based projects regionally, and occasionally national. Some projects will require significant travel, so flexibility is essential. You must be off-license to apply, as this role is subject to prison clearance.

Terms  & Conditions 

• Full Time
• Permanent 
• £25k- £30k depending on experience 
• Bank holidays plus 25 days holiday 
• You must be off community order / prison license
• Probationary period: Six months

Duties & Responsibilities

 This is a fantastic opportunity to work in an innovative and growing charity. We are looking for a dynamic, authentic, and inspiring individual to join our team. 

At the national level there is a crucial need for insights from people with lived experience of crime, addiction and homelessness to inform system reform as this voice is often absent. 

At the same time User Voice has an unrivalled and significant footprint across the country engaging with the hardest to reach people, through elected and trained service users who can provide the information to fill this void. 

There is no one better placed to identify what works or what doesn’t, and to be part of identifying the solution than people with current and recent experience of the system. More significantly, there has never been a time when it has been more important and timelier that service users are given the platform to be heard, and to be part of transforming services and systems. 

User Voice peer research projects, delivered by Lived Experience Consultants, will use this insight to both influence fundamental changes to the policy and public debate, to innovate new services, and to reform systems. 

User Voice peer research and consultations projects have a positive impact on individual participants as a result of the peer-led approach, change institutions along the way by providing them with real time insight and give policy makers a massive reality check.

The successful candidate will be results and outcome-orientated with knowledge of the criminal justice sector and a have their own lived experience. 

We are looking for passionate and motivated staff willing to go above and beyond!

This role involves a significant amount of travelling as it is a front-line role, delivering research, consultation and other service user engagement activities.

Key Responsibilities

The Lived Experience Consultant will be responsible for:

• Leading the delivery of User Voice youth and adult projects and consultations
• Engaging with children and adults in both secure and community settings
• Liaising with research partners, prisons, probation and other stakeholders to gain access to children and adults, to support the delivery of User Voice projects
• Playing and active role in project planning and management
• Recruiting, training, and supporting children and adults to be involved throughout research, consultation, and other engagement projects
• Actively recruiting, training, coordinating and supervising groups of volunteers across our youth and adult projects.
• Conducting interviews, surveys and focus groups and other engagement activities with children and adults.
• Supporting the analysis, reporting and dissemination of project information/data.
• Supporting the delivery of other User Voice Councils & projects as needed
 

In addition, the post holder will be required to perform other duties which are assigned from time to time to meet need. However, such other duties will be reasonable in relation to skills, abilities and grade. 

Flexible working hours will be expected in order to accommodate varying travel distances and engagement opportunities.