JOB DESCRIPTION
1. JOB DETAILS
Job Title
:
Social Mirror Intern
Department
:
Action and Research Centre
Reports to
:
Gaia Marcus (Senior Researcher) and Steve Broome
(Director
of Research) – both based in London
Based
:
Bristol
Status
:
Part time and fixed term for 2 months from 11 February
2013
The successful candidate may also be asked to attend an
event in Bristol on 6 February 2013, for which a day back in
lieu will be provided.
2. PURPOSE OF JOB
To support the RSA Social Mirror project as it enters the piloting phase in its social
prescription project
3. KEY TASKS/RESPONSIBILITIES
 Assisting with community development and outreach work onsite in Knowle West,
Bristol

Liaising with a range of local stakeholders and supporting communications

Developing offline and online content and communicating our work through a range of
media

Helping to arrange and deliver local events
4. PERSON SPECIFICATION: KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS REQUIRED
Essential:

Some experience of events organisation and/or facilitation of events

Experience of working within communities

Some experience of project coordination and stakeholder liaison

An interest in and some knowledge of social innovation, the use of new technologies
and/or innovation in health and community services.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Some experience of social media and blog writing.

The ability to effectively manage your own time and balance priorities: working in a
different site to your line manager requires solid ‘upwards management’ skills and
excellent communication.
Desirable:
 Knowledge of (either through work, study or having lived there) of Bristol, and South
Bristol and Knowle West in particular.

Experience of working on projects that target specific age groups: especially younger
(18-25) and/or older (65+) age groups

Experience of working with community and/or healthcare practitioners

Experience of working with stakeholders involved in local public policy decision making

An understanding of the importance of people’s social and community connections for
wellbeing and health

Experience of volunteering: either as a volunteer or experience of coordinating/working
with volunteers
5. NATURE AND SCOPE
The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) is an
enlightenment organisation committed to finding innovative practical solutions to today’s
social challenges. Through its ideas, research and 27,000-strong Fellowship it seeks to
understand and enhance human capability so we can close the gap between today’s reality
and people’s hopes for a better world.
A really exciting internship opportunity has arisen to work within the RSA Connected
Communities team on the ground-breaking Social Mirror project, which is a tablet and
website-based application that you can use to measure and visualise online and offline social
and community connections. Aiding our new social prescription project in Knowle West, Bristol,
the role will include assisting us in community development and outreach work onsite, working
with a range of stakeholders – from local health practitioners to local residents, developing
offline and online content, and communicating our work through a range of media.
Connected Communities is currently testing how Social Mirror might make social prescribing
more effective and locally embedded. Social prescribing is when GPs and other health
practitioners ‘prescribe’ local activities and/or community resources instead of drugs or more
traditional medical interventions. By testing the app’s effectiveness in different contexts – such
as among GPs or other health practitioners – the RSA will evaluate the impact of social
prescriptions on people’s mental wellbeing, their sense of attachment to and participation in
the local community, and their use of public services. We will be looking for the intern to assist
us with this – namely by helping ensure that the project is effectively communicated and runs
smoothly on the ground. This will include helping with local events, helping to recruit projects
that want to take part in the pilot, liaising with local stakeholders, ensuring that our local
volunteers and champions are engaged and looked after, and helping oversee the launch of
the social prescription project in early March 2013.
The ideal applicant will be a self-starter with an interest in community-led development, social
innovation, the use of new technologies for good and/or innovation in health and community
services. An understanding of the importance of people’s social and community connections
for wellbeing and health and/or the mechanics of local public policy decision making would be
desirable, but are not essential. This opportunity would most suit someone with strong
communication skills who has a knowledge of and interest in community development,
working with volunteers (including younger and/or older people), innovation and technology.
The successful applicant will work closely with RSA staff, local partners and local people, and it
would be highly desirable for their to have a good knowledge of Bristol, and Knowle West in
particular. They must be happy with managing their own time as, whilst their work-plan will be
highly structured, a lot of their line management will be remote. Sound IT and communication
skills will be necessary.
This job description is not exhaustive and is liable to review following discussion with the job
holder. The job holder will be expected to undertake any other reasonable duties as requested
by their line manager and commensurate with the job grade.
The attention of the job holder is drawn to the following:
1.
All employees have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure that their
working environment is kept free of hazards that may prove injurious to themselves,
their colleagues and all those engaged in Society business as well as any visitors to the
Society.
2.
All employees have a duty to comply with the Society’s Equal Opportunities Policy in
their contacts with other staff, Fellows and visitors.
3.
All employees have a responsibility to ensure that their use of the RSA’s computer
systems does not jeopardise the security, integrity or legality of that system. Users
must:

maintain password confidentiality and not provide access to the system to those
not employed by the RSA or in any other way unauthorised;

not load any software onto the system themselves nor permit anyone other than
a member of the RSA’s IT department to load software onto the system;

not use any unlicensed software and report any suspected breaches of software
licensing to the RSA’s IT Manager (the Chief Operating Officer) or another
member of the Executive Team;

take the same care with e-mails as with any other written communication from
or on behalf of the RSA; and

restrict their usage of the Internet to that allowed by the RSA.
Signed by Job Holder……………………………… Date……………………………
Signed by Manager…………………………………. Date…………………………….
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
On joining the RSA you will be entitled to receive:
Annual leave
RSA employees are entitled to statutory holidays of 28 days including bank holidays (pro rata
for part time staff or new staff joining mid-way through the year). The holiday year runs from
1 April to 31 March. No holiday may normally be taken during the first three months of
employment. The RSA may designate three days during the Christmas period to be taken as
part of the annual entitlement. If this is intended, employees will usually receive at least three
months’ notice.
Life Assurance Scheme
Life Assurance for 4 times annual salary.
Library & Events
The Library and the Events Programme are open to all staff.
The Gerard Bar
Subsidised food and drink for all staff
Staff Fellow
Membership is free for all employees of the RSA throughout their employment and for the
first year following leaving the RSA.
APPLICATION DETAILS
To apply for this position please download the job description and person specification below
and send the following to interns@rsa.org.uk:

A copy of your current CV

A covering letter clearly addressing how you meet the criteria for the role as set out in
the person specification.

Short written exercise: Tell us a story about your favourite community project! Pick your
favourite community project, and put together something that tells us about it - this
could be some text (max 500 words), or a poster, or a short video (max 60 secs). You
can find instructions for uploading a unlisted video on YouTube here. We are just
interested in how you communicate your story, so do not worry too much about the
format.
The deadline for completed applications is 9am on 21 January 2013. Interviews are expected
to take place on 30 January 2013 and will be held in either London or Bristol (to be confirmed).
The expected start date for the internship is 11 February 2013.
If you require any reasonable adjustments to the application or interview process (e.g.
communication support, personal support or physical access), then please contact a member of
the HR team in confidence by calling 020 7451 6907.
The RSA is committed to equality of opportunity for all.
Registered as a charity in England and Wales no. 212424 and in Scotland no. SC037784