Opportunity: Creative Ireland (Waterford) – Creative Arts Programme Co-ordinator

Waterford City and County Council (WCCC) is recruiting for the role of Creative Arts Programme Co-ordinator to link with Social Prescribing and other community services. 

The main aim of the role is to facilitate the roll-out of a pilot project to establish linkages between Social Prescribing services and similar support services in Waterford and the Creative Ireland Culture and Creativity Team as well as the Cultural Services of WCCC (in particular Library and Arts Departments).

This pilot is a collaborative project between Creative Ireland Waterford, WCCC Cultural Services, Waterford Health Promotion Unit and Healthy Waterford and is funded by Creative Ireland. It is expected that the pilot will run for 15 weeks from approximately July to November 2021. 

Background

Creative Ireland is a five-year culture-based programme designed to promote individual, community and national wellbeing. The core proposition is that participation in cultural activity drives personal and collective creativity, with significant implications for individual and societal wellbeing and achievement. 

Waterford City and County Council (WCCC) supports a Culture and Creativity Team who manage culture-led development in the administrative area and specifically aim to fulfil the mandate of Enabling Creativity in Every Community. 

Social Prescribing is a means of enabling doctors and other frontline healthcare professionals to refer patients to a Social Prescribing Coordinator. The Waterford Social Prescribing Service is managed by the Sacred Heart Family Resource Centre and is funded by Slaintecare. There are currently two Social Prescribing Coordinators in Waterford, one servicing the city and the other the county.

The role of the Coordinator is to provide clients with a face to face conversation during which clients can learn about the possibilities and design their own personalised solutions, i.e. ‘co-produce’ their ‘social prescription’- so that people with social, emotional or practical needs are empowered to find solutions which will improve their health and wellbeing, often using services and activities provided by the voluntary and community sector.

These activities can include activities such as physical activity; reading groups/books for health; self-help programmes; arts and creativity; Men’s Sheds; community gardening etc.

Application Process
The role specification and application process can be accessed here.

Closing date for submission of Expression of Interest: 20 July 2021.

All correspondence should be sent to creativewaterford@waterfordcouncil.ie