Description ABOUT THE ROLE The post holder will provide one to one support and signposting for Converge participants and work both with the team and independently to design and deliver a range of opportunities as part of the Converge offer. This will include codesigning personal progression plans for individuals, seeking and securing volunteering roles within the community. The role also includes collaboration with external partners across sectors to identify and create and extend the offer beyond the university. Further information is available in the job description. This is a fixed term role that is currently funded until the end of March 2027, we will endeavour to secure further funding during this time period. It’s 14.8 hours, preferable days between Tuesday -Thursday as this is when our main activity takes place. This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 therefore the successful candidate will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check ABOUT THE TEAM A small but expanding team; the post holder will work closely with the Project Director, Student Engagement Coordinator and wider staff team and will be principally located in city campus east, within the Design school in the centre of Newcastle. However, they will be expected to attend all University Sites including Coach Lane Campus. The role can be fast paced, challenging at times whilst also being very rewarding. We work within a small team environment as part of the larger ADSS team across the university. The successful candidate will engage within our University & Converge community across numerous faculties & external partners & agencies. About Converge The Converge model was founded by York St John in 2008 and established with a pilot at Northumbria University in 2016. It is a unique creative education programme that connects people with mental health challenges with their local university and community partners to become Converge Northumbria Students. Converge Northumbria students are adults (18 and over) who study non-accredited courses and access the same academic staff, learning resources, and well-being services as university students. Creative courses are taught by staff, students, creative practitioners, and former Converge Northumbria students, on campus and in local cultural venues, with progression into further study, volunteering or work as directed by the individuals themselves. Converge Northumbria works with students not patients, offers education not therapy, with the whole person. It is community-led and always in partnership. Above all, the overall aim is for every Converge student to be ordinary, extraordinary, and to be themselves. Converge Northumbria is dedicated to the delivery of university based educational opportunities for individuals who use mental health services. We do this through an innovative partnership across the public and voluntary sectors across the region. Our purpose is guided by the following principles of a community of learners: • Build a community where we learn from each other. • Provide a supportive and inclusive environment that enables all learners to achieve success and progression that is meaningful to them. • Respect others and value ourselves • Engage and enhance the responsibility and commitment of the university and wider community. Further information can be found by following the link - Converge at Northumbria University ABOUT YOU To be successful in the role you will have a strong awareness of the local political landscape and social economic factors that impact the wider community. Have experience of contributing to successful service delivery, showing initiative in improving service delivery to meet the needs of key stakeholders. At Converge Northumbria we have a vision to empower individuals and provide opportunities, a vision we would want the role holder to share. We are seeking a motivated and enthusiastic individual to apply their expertise and experience to work effectively and positively across different sectors, with a confident ability to work independently on own initiative, and as part of a team Further information about the role is available in the person specification If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact: Converge Director - Ally Hunter-Byron ally2.hunternorthumbria.ac.uk To apply for this vacancy please click 'Apply Now'. Your application should include a covering letter and a CV. ABOUT US Northumbria University is a research-intensive university that unlocks potential for all. We change lives regionally, nationally, and internationally through education and research, tackling the global challenges of our age to transform society and the economy. Find out why we were named Times Higher Education’s University of the Year in 2022 and Modern University of the Year in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025. Northumbria recorded the biggest rise of any UK university for research power in the Research Excellence Framework for the second time in 2021 and is now ranked top 25 in the UK for this measure. One of the largest universities in the UK with over 37,000 students from more than 140 countries, filled with world-leading research, award-winning partnerships, and students at the heart of an outstanding experience. Discover more about us. Northumbria University is a great place to work. We empower our exceptional people to achieve shared ambitions and promote a positive work life balance. We offer a wide range of benefits including excellent pension schemes, flexible working, a generous holiday entitlement, continued commitment to your learning and development and more. Our Northumbria Values are guiding principles that define who we are, what we do and what is important to us. Our Values are: Academic Excellence; Innovation; Inclusivity; Collaboration ; and Ambition. Our Behaviours describe how we do things and how we work together at Northumbria, reflecting our culture and our decision-making. Our Behaviours are: We listen and learn, we support one another to success, we respect everyone and their contributions, we trust in ourselves and each other and we are bold. Our Values and Behaviours were co-created by colleagues from a range of roles across the University, who worked collaboratively to consider what it feels like to work for Northumbria, and where we need to continue to transform together to achieve what’s important to us. Please visit Our Values and Behaviours page to find out more. We are an on-campus organisation where colleagues work regular patterns of hours and on campus, with some flexibility on the timing of their hours and the location of their work in discussion with their manager. Our campus locations include our City and Coach Lane Campuses in Newcastle upon Tyne and our London campus. Northumbria University is committed to creating an inclusive culture where we take pride in, and value, the diversity of our staff. We encourage and welcome applications from all members of the community. The University holds bronze Athena Swan and Race Equality Charter awards in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender and race equality, we are a Disability Confident Leader and are participating in the Stonewall Diversity Champion Programme. We also hold the HR Excellence in Research award for implementing the concordat supporting the career Development of Researchers and are members of the Euraxess initiative to deliver information and support to professional researchers. The University has implemented a range of flexible working arrangements, and we are happy to explore candidate requirements as part of the recruitment process. We are committed to keeping your data safe so it's important for you to know how we use any personal data you give us. For more detailed information, access our