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Please note that this job is open only to current Cardiff University staff who are eligible for Redeployment.

IMPACT vacancies 2026-27 - Cardiff University

We have 6 amazing opportunities to join our growing team, as IMPACT Facilitators and as Senior Strategic Improvement Coaches (Demonstrators).

As IMPACT moves into the fourth year of its delivery phase, these exciting roles have been created to work on our 2026/27 projects, across the UK. Successful candidates will play a pivotal part in helping to get evidence of what works used in adult social care to improve services and lives.

To apply, you must:
1) Send a CV and cover letter to impactcentre@contacts.bham.ac.uk, clearly detailing the role, project and location you are applying for in the subject of the email. Your cover letter should be no more than two sides of A4, drawing attention to the key skills, values and experiences you would bring to the role, if successful, and the ways in which your CV to date fits with the requirements of the role and the host setting.

If you wish to apply for more than one role, please submit one CV plus one cover letter per role you wish to be considered for.

2) Complete our mandatory additional information form. Applicants that do not complete the form will not be considered.

Redeployees can apply 16-20 February 2026.
Internal-only staff can apply in the following week 23-27 February 2026.
External applicants' deadline is Monday 13 April 2026.

Informal enquires can be sent to impactcentre@contacts.bham.ac.uk

Interviews for redeployees will likely be held week commencing 23rd March
Interviews for external applicants will likely be held between 6th and 22nd May 2026.

Shortlisted candidates invited to online interview will be asked to prepare a short presentation about the challenges and opportunities of the role and project they are applying to.

Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this role, all successful applicants will be subject to a satisfactory DBS clearance prior to appointment.

As part of IMPACT's commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion we are particularly keen to receive applications from people from black and minority ethnic communities and will be operating the 'Rooney' rule*. We are also keen to receive applications from people who have lived experience of drawing on care and support, are carers or are front-line practitioners, as well as from people who have experience of working with groups whose voices are seldom heard.

We value diversity and inclusion at the University of Birmingham and welcome applications from all sections of the community and are open to discussions around all forms of flexible working. If travel is agreed to locations other than the normal place of work - typically the host organisation's office - travel will be reimbursed between the place of work and the location.

Vacancies may be removed if they are filled by redeployment candidates.
(* at least one person from a black and minority ethnic community background will be shortlisted where they meet the essential criteria for the role)

Senior Strategic Improvement Coaches (Demonstrators)
(20 roles across the UK)
• Part time 0.5/50%
• Fixed term contract (12 months, target start date September 2026)
• Salary: Min - £38,784 FTE Max - £56,535 FTE (50% for this post)
• Closing date: Monday 2nd March 2026 (redeployees); Monday 13th April 2026 (external)

THE POST
Positions are offered at 50% FTE for 12 months. While successful candidates may wish to be directly employed by a lead University, the nature of the roles also makes them ideal for possible secondments from policy, practice or applied research. Posts are typically based in the host organisation (a local service or social care organisation) across the four nations. Post holders will work with these organisations, as detailed below, with our Demonstrator Lead, Robin Miller and Deputy Demonstrator Leads - as well as IMPACT's broader team and other partners.

While these are part-time posts (with preferred working patterns between Mon-Fri, open to mutual agreement), successful applicants will be expected to attend fortnightly meetings with the broader IMPACT team where possible - these are held on Monday mornings (11am-12), for one hour.

THE TOPICS AND LOCATIONS
• Building a more strategic approach to co-production - Cartrefi Cymru Co-operative, Wales

o Hybrid working between home and the host organisation office (one role in Bangor and one role in Swansea).

o Cartrefi Cymru Co-operative is a large multi-stakeholder co-operative operating across Wales, delivering supported living and domiciliary care services to adults with learning disabilities. As a values-driven organisation, the voice and choices of the people Cartrefi support are central to their governance and operations, and co-production is embedded throughout their work. Instead of traditional day services, Cartrefi deliver activities that are driven by the voices of local cooperatives. The project with IMPACT will identify a methodology for this approach, helping to achieve a consistent offer across Wales, and to support Cartrefi to promote their approach and vision with all stakeholders.

• Developing process and systems that feel human, respectful and meaningful to enable and enhance collaborative communication - Swansea Council Adult Services, Wales

o Two Coaches, hybrid working between home and the host organisation office (Guildhall, Swansea).

o This Demonstrator will examine the extent to which our current systems and processes enable effective collaborative communication, and identify where a culture of compliance may unintentionally overshadow our intention to place what matters to people at the centre of practice.

The Senior Strategic Improvement Coaches will:
• Work alongside people with lived experience, practitioners, and managers to review forms, pathways, and decision making processes, identifying the factors that promote or hinder dignity, clarity, and voice, choice, and control.
• Examine how experiences of poverty shape people's interactions with services at the earliest point of contact, identifying where systems unintentionally amplify disadvantage and co design approaches that reduce stigma, improve equity, and ensure support is genuinely accessible.
• Identify where compliance requirements, funding conditions, or established ways of working create unnecessary barriers, and co design practical, evidence informed alternatives that continue to meet statutory requirements, while remaining human and relational in approach.
• Quality assure Early Help and the "front door'' to adult services to ensure that people's first point of contact is warm, supportive, and meaningful.
• Produce evidence demonstrating whether these changes improve adults' experiences, support better outcomes, reduce frustration, and strengthen relationships between residents and services.

Job Description

IMPACT Senior Strategic Improvement Coach

IMPACT Demonstrators focus on a large, strategic issue in a host organisation or local system, helping to get evidence of what works used in practice to make a difference to services and to people's lives. They involve using change management, organisational development and leadership skills to bring about evidence-informed change, in partnership with people who draw on care and support, families, social care services and policy makers.

Each Demonstrator is typically supported by two Senior Strategic Improvement Coaches. In each pair of coaches, one appointee will often have a background in strategy / improvement and have experience of applied research, organisational development or behavioural science. The other may well have experience of drawing on care, being a carer or working in front-line roles. We recognise that we all have multiple aspects to our identity, and that some candidates may bring a combination of these different backgrounds and experiences.

Details of the recruiting Universities, host locations and the areas of adult social care are on IMPACT's website. The coaches appointed for each project are typically based on site within the relevant host organisation.

Main duties/responsibilities
• Supported by IMPACT's national Demonstrator lead, lead negotiation with the Demonstrator site regarding what support will be provided by IMPACT and how this will complement the local site's responsibilities (the 'contracting' process)
• Supported by other members of IMPACT staff, support the implementation of insights from the evidence. [Reviews of the evidence are typically conducted by other members of the team ahead of projects starting, but some projects can sometimes involve additional reviewing and synthesis, with support]
• Work with local stakeholders to design the change project and articulate a local 'theory of change' to help structure the project. [This will set out key features of the current context, the change process, expected outputs and outcomes, and the underlying assumptions of how change will be achieved]
• Facilitate the change project on the ground, bringing together key stakeholders from across the local site to design, deliver and sustain local change
• Ensure that the local site/service commits to the active and meaningful involvement of people whose voices are seldom heard and to co-production at all stages of the project, challenging and rectifying power imbalances where needed and working sensitively but courageously with issues of power, equality, diversity and inclusion
• Work with the local site to develop a joint approach to formative evaluation of developments related to the Demonstrator project based on the theory of change [The role of the coaches is to support this local evaluation, not to carry out the evaluation themselves]
• Work with national policy and practice partners to embed lessons learned nationally (across all four nations of the UK)
• Be the main point of contact for IMPACT's work with the Demonstrator site
• Have overall responsibility for co-ordinating the activity of IMPACT within the Demonstrator site, representing IMPACT and its values locally and nationally
• Act as a coach and role model in strategic improvement projects in adult social care through demonstrating excellent practice and, where appropriate, mentoring colleagues
• Contribute to the overall success of IMPACT through engaging with its wider activities and participating in sharing of learning and development opportunities

Additional Information

Summary of role

IMPACT is the UK centre for implementing evidence in adult social care, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Health Foundation. IMPACT draws on knowledge from different types of research, the lived experience of people who draw on care and support and carers, and the practice knowledge of social care staff.

Positions are offered at 50% FTE for 12 months, and will be based primarily in the Demonstrator site/host organisation. While successful candidates are often employed by the lead University in each nation (Stirling, Ulster, Cardiff, Birmingham, or Sheffield), the nature of our Coach roles also make them ideal for possible secondments from policy, practice, applied research or citizen-led organisations. This can help people build on current skills and experiences while also developing new ones, supporting the longer-term development of more 'hybrid' research-practice roles.

As part of IMPACT's commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion throughout our practice we are particularly keen to receive applications from people from black and minority ethnic communities, and will be operating the 'Rooney' rule (i.e. at least one person from a black and minority ethnic community background will be shortlisted where they meet the essential criteria for the role). We are also keen to receive applications from people who have lived experience of drawing on care and support, are carers or are front-line practitioners, as well as from people who have experience of working with groups whose voices are seldom heard.

While these are part-time and very flexible posts, successful applicants will be expected to attend fortnightly online meetings with the broader IMPACT team where possible - these are held on Monday mornings (11am-12) for one hour. There will be an induction in Birmingham on Wednesday 23rd September 2026.

DORA declaration
Cardiff University is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions we will evaluate applicants on the quality of their research, not publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which the research is published. More information is available at: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/research/our-research-environment/integrity-and-ethics/responsible-research-assessment.

Cardiff Business School
Cardiff Business School is a leading business and management school in the UK, holding AACSB and AMBA accreditations and ranked 1st for its Research Environment and 2nd on Research Power (REF2021). The School has a Public Value purpose and focuses on the co-creation of high quality, interdisciplinary education and knowledge that delivers economic, social and environmental value. The School's activities are oriented towards five Grand Challenges: Decent work, fair and sustainable economies, future organisations, good governance, and responsible innovation.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

• Senior experience as a manager or practitioner, or as an applied researcher, management consultant or improvement coach in relevant fields
• Extensive experience of leading and designing strategic improvement projects within adult social care or in a field relevant to adult social care
• Demonstrable commitment to the values of co-production and knowledge of how to embed these values in practice
• First degree OR equivalent professional qualification OR sufficient practical experience to demonstrate relevant knowledge and skills
• An understanding of the factors that enable or prevent change in adult social care and how evidence can be used to increase likelihood of success
• Excellent presentation skills, both verbal and written, with an ability to communicate effectively with social care stakeholders including people drawing on care and support, carers, local communities, practitioners, managers, academics and policy makers
• High level of personal organisation and motivation
• Collaborative and flexible approach to work and excellent inter-personal skills
• An awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses in leading projects and an ability to work reflexively
• Ability to assess and organise resources effectively
• Experience of championing co-production, equality, diversity and inclusion in own work area

Successful candidates will also need to demonstrate that they can apply these skills within the context and topic of the project in question (they don't need to be subject experts, but do need to be credible with the host organisation and partners, and show that they could work effectively within the specifics of the project to implement evidence-informed change).

Cardiff University is a public research university located in Cardiff, Wales providing undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes across a broad subject range.