As part of a University-wide network of Wellbeing Advocates, you will be a point of contact to members of staff within your own Institution/Faculty/Department/College for wellbeing issues.
Your role is broken down into four areas:
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Providing guidance and signposting about wellbeing issues
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Developing and promoting local wellbeing initiatives
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Communicating University-wide wellbeing initiatives
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Contributing to and participating in Network meetings
Advocates are expected to:
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Ensure colleagues in their department know who their Wellbeing Advocates are
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Signpost relevant services offered by the University and external services where relevant to colleagues
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Create and distribute regular updates about Wellbeing activities and events
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Represent Wellbeing issues from their department at Wellbeing Advocates network meetings
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Help promote University-wide Wellbeing events
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Attend Wellbeing Advocate network meetings
- Join the email and Yammer groups through which you will receive regular updates
Key skills required:
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A good listener
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A passion for improving wellbeing and making a difference
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A clear communicator who can engage with colleagues at all levels
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To be able to represent their department by collecting feedback and presenting information and ideas
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To be open minded and non-judgemental
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To have empathy for people struggling with wellbeing issues
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The ability to be impartial and objective
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To help others articulate wellbeing issues and projects
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The ability to contribute to learning in a group environment and network
“Don’t be afraid to accept help from people who are interested in moving wellbeing forwards – you can’t do everything yourself, you need support from others to move things forward. ” – Jane Batten, CISL
“It depends on your departmental precedent but undertaking the role need not take up a significant amount of time in my experience.” – Richard Hill, Clinical School
“Don’t be daunted at the beginning, do one small thing that might help your department. It is important to accept that you cannot force wellbeing on people. Everyone is looking for something different when it comes to wellbeing; some people are happy with being directed towards specific guidance, some people are keen to get involved in activities.” – Clare Bates, Department of Physics