Strategy update
The work to implement our new charity strategy is moving forward and gathering pace.
Recently, all charity volunteers and hearing dog partnerships received an update (8 May) from Chief Executive. This provided more detail on the work that has and will be taking place to implement our charity strategy. You can read this update here.
Some of the information within this document has been shared with you previously, and other parts were new to you all, including the new structure of the Services department.
We know this has prompted questions about what this means for you and your volunteering role, and who the team members will be leading on Hearing Link Services area of work. We hope to provide some detail here.
New Services structure
The Services directorate is led by Jane Tommy, Director of Services (as shown in the diagram above). There are four teams within this directorate, each led by an Associate Director. They are:
- Canine Healthcare led by Wendy Roberts
- Pre-Partnership (including dog training) led by Sam Bennett
- Partnership Support led by Nicci Nesbitt
- Service Design and Development led by Beka Barr.
The team which you will have the most direct involvement with in the coming months is the Service Design and Development Team, led by Beka Barr.
Beka Barr
Associate Director of Service Design & Development
Beka has been part of Hearing Dogs since 2006, working in various roles across the charity. She will be a new staff member to many of you. In our next update, you will get to know more about Beka, and dive further into the role of the team.
The purpose of this team is to ensure all the services our charity provides, are specifically designed to meet the needs of the people we are here to help . We will do that by co-designing services in partnership with lived experience support – you, our Hearing Link Services peer support volunteers, hearing dog partnerships and professionals in the sector.
We’ll also make sure that we measure the impact of those services, and improve how we work based on that insight.
There are three closely linked teams within this important area called the Impact team, Service Design team and Service Engagement team.
Who is my contact?
For the day-to-day volunteering, you will be liaising with our new Service Engagement. Introducing some familiar faces and their new roles:
Lorna Armstrong
Head of Service Engagement
Lorna has taken up this new position, leading the Service Engagement activities. This role will ensure that lived experience of our peer support volunteers, beneficiaries and professionals is captured and entwined in everything we do.
Nicholas Orpin
Service Engagement Manager
Nicholas has moved to a new role of Service Engagement Manager. He will remain your first point of contact for the day-to-day delivery of Hearing Link Services and play a key role in development of our services.
In all, the role of the Service Engagement team is to ensure the services we create, work in practice and we’ll do that in collaboration with you. All peer support volunteers will be centrally supported in this team and we have plans to grow the numbers of volunteers.
Before services development gets underway fully, staff recruitment will need to take place in the coming months to fill the vacant positions in the Impact team and Service Design teams.
Projects underway
One of the first projects underway by the Service Design and Development team is the Regionalisation Project (referred to in Tracy’s update).
This project will help the charity to understand how we work locally and regionally across the UK considering factors such as – what’s already happening, how it’s being delivered, and where there might be opportunities to join things up, reduce duplication, or make things easier for the people involved.
The aim is to bring more clarity and consistency to regional working where it’s helpful – while still recognising and supporting the unique strengths of local teams and communities.
So far, the project team has spoken to over 30 people in different teams within the charity, and across parts of the UK, to help build a clearer picture of what’s happening on the ground. We’re also speaking to other organisations to see what we can learn from how they work regionally.
What we learn from these conversations will help us fully understand what is happening now and where there may be opportunities to make positive changes for the future. Working with peer support volunteers will be essential in helping shape those changes and we will be asking for help with this in the near future.
Ultimately, this work is about supporting everyone involved – staff, volunteers, and most importantly, the people we serve through Hearing Link Services and our hearing dog partnerships – by making regional working feel more connected, supported, and effective.
Business as usual activities
A lot more work will need to take place to develop the rest of our Hearing Link Service offering. Once the full Service Design and Development team is in place, we will share opportunities for all active peer support volunteers to be involved.
In the meantime, we are carrying on, business as usual, for certain services – Helpdesk, Community Drop-ins across the UK and Helpful Hours webinars.
We will also continue to distribute small quantities of literature and update our existing website and social media channels.
We will start work on shortly on our next Helpful Hour topic, bringing together the team that successfully created and delivered our audiology and managing hearing loss webinars to date. Once a topic is ready for delivery, we will announce sessions for you to join and feedback on content.
Further questions
We thank you for your patience and understanding while we navigate new ways of working and new job roles and responsibilities.
If you have any questions about delivery of services, your volunteering role, or anything else, please contact Nicholas or Lorna.