Strategic Lead for Faith & Social Prescribing

Strategic Lead for Faith & Social Prescribing

About NASP

The National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) is a registered charity and company
limited by guarantee. Our goals are to promote social prescribing and to bring about a social
revolution in wellbeing, as set out in the NASP Strategic Plan.

To learn more about our organisation, partners, and social prescribing, please visit
socialprescribingacademy.org.uk.

At NASP, we operate a flexible, hybrid working model to support both collaboration and
individual needs. Most work is carried out remotely, with Microsoft Teams serving as our
primary platform for meetings and planning. We also provide access to an office space at
London’s Southbank Centre, which staff can use as needed.

Travel may be required for in-person meetings, site visits, events, or team away days,
ensuring opportunities for connection and shared learning. Travel requirements will vary
depending on the duties of each particular role.

Our working culture values flexibility, wellbeing, and collaboration. We are committed to
supporting our staff to work in ways that suit their roles and personal circumstances,
fostering an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to the success of the
organisation.

Inclusion at NASP

At NASP, we are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace. It’s important to that we
represent the communities that social prescribing aims to serve and therefore we welcome
applicants with lived experience of social prescribing. We also particularly welcome
applicants from global majority and LGBTQIA communities, and those who identify as
disabled and/or neurodiverse to apply.

We guarantee to interview candidates who identify as disabled as part of our Disability
Confident Scheme commitments, provided that they meet the minimum criteria for the
position.

NASP  seeks  to  be  a  truly  21st  Century  employer  and  organisation.  Supporting  our  staff’s
wellbeing is central to that goal, as our staff are one of our greatest assets.
We are committed to ensuring fairness and accessibility throughout the recruitment process
and will consider reasonable adjustments to meet individual needs. While adjustments will
depend on specific circumstances, common examples include:

•  Flexibility with interview times and formats, including location

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•  Providing documents, such as the application form, in alternative formats (e.g., large

print, braille and pre-recorded video or audio recordings)

If you require adjustments, an alternative method of application, or would like to discuss your
specific needs, please contact us at recruitment@nasp.info, and we will do our best to
support you.

How To Apply

To apply for this role, please upload a CV and covering letter, outlining how you meet the
requirements of the role and person specification, using the application link by no later than
23:59 on Monday the 6th of April 2026. If you have any questions on this process, please
email us at recruitment@nasp.info.

Initial interviews will be held w/c 13th of April, please indicate on your application if you will be
unavailable during this period. Due to the nature of the grant funding for the role, we are
hoping for the successful candidate to start in post as soon as possible.

Applications are welcomed from applicants who wish to apply for a position based on a flexible
working  arrangement.  Should  a  candidate  be  successful  after  the  interview  stage,  any
reasonable requests will be reviewed and be sought to be accommodated within the needs of
the role. All appointments are subject to proof of right to work in the UK, references and a 3-
month probationary period.

To support us with monitoring our commitments to access and inclusion, we kindly ask you
to answer our Equal Opportunities form alongside your application. Your responses will not
be shared with the panel.

For more information or an informal conversation, please email any questions to
recruitment@nasp.info. We look forward to hearing from you about the role of Strategic Lead
for Faith & Social Prescribing.

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Role Details & Staff Benefits

Salary: £51,500 gross per annum
Duration: Fixed-term until 31st July 2027
Hours: 0.8 - 1 FTE (4 – 5 days per week)
Location: Hybrid – NASP has an office space at London's Southbank Centre which can be
used by staff at any time. The role will be expected to work up to 2 days per week in the
office with the remainder at home. There may also be additional occasional travel required
for staff days and other events.

NASP offer a range of core benefits for staff on payroll, including:

•  30 days paid annual leave per annum, plus Bank Holidays
•  An additional day of paid leave per year on your birthday
•  Opportunities for Volunteering & CPD days each year
•  Opportunity to request flexible working arrangements, including compressed hours
•  Contribution to annual eye test, eyeglass purchase, and flu vaccination

Purpose of This Role:

This is a strategic role, funded by the Sir Halley Stewart Trust, to shape future policy and
practice in how faith communities support social prescribing for the benefit of local
communities. This includes exploring the role of faith as a strategic partner in the
government's neighbourhood health agenda. Building on the work of the current postholder,
and previous work by NASP and organisations like Theos and the Good Faith Partnership,
this role will take the lead at a national level by influencing, shaping and convening partners
to unlock and unleash the significant resources of faith groups in contributing towards
holistic healthcare delivered within the community.

The purpose of this role is to lead and co-ordinate NASP’s work on social prescribing with
partners across the faith sector and enable a better understanding of how to work effectively
with faith communities through social prescribing, and the role that faith and belief plays in
supporting good health and wellbeing. The role will work to improve accessibility of
community support through social prescribing by exploring the barriers and opportunities in
faith communities and the health sector. The role will have a particular emphasis on health
inequalities and explore opportunities for faith groups’ reach into deprived communities and
ethnic minority communities, recognising that faith communities may be most trusted
precisely where health inequalities are most acute.

The role sits in the National Leads & Evidence team, led by the Executive Director of
Strategy and Partnerships. The postholder will work alongside NASP colleagues who lead
on Healthcare integration; Evidence and Insights; International Social Prescribing; and
connections with sectors that provide community activities and support such as the natural
environment, physical activity, historic environment and arts and culture.

Person Specification:

Experience & Knowledge:

•  Excellent knowledge of the health sector and/or the VCFSE (Voluntary, Community,

Faith and Social Enterprise) sector

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•  Experience of working in a senior level role at the health and community interface

that has included involvement with different faith groups or an understanding of their
perspectives. This might be in a delivery or policy role.

•  An appreciation of the role of the VCFSE sector in the health and wellbeing of the
population and ideally an understanding of the changing healthcare landscape in
England at national or local level.

•  Understanding of the challenges and opportunities for faith organisations, health and
care agencies, local authorities, VCFSE organisations and community groups.

•  Excellent partnership building and interpersonal skills with experience of building

trusting long-term relationships with partners and experience of inspiring, convening
and supporting organisations to work in partnership.

•  Excellent communication skills, written and verbal, both internally with peers and

senior management, and externally with partners and stakeholders.

•  Experience of planning and leading successful and innovative projects. Able to

produce project plans and budgets and co-produce delivery plans with colleagues
and partners, identifying risks and managing them together.

•  Able to work independently in the role, while harnessing, contributing to, and shaping

the work of the wider team, and the organisation.

•  Experience in writing funding applications and developing new donor relationships to
secure new funds would be an advantage. Willingness to do so will be essential.

Skills & Attributes:

•  Affinity with NASP’s Values as defined in the NASP Strategic Plan
•  A self-starter with a collaborative mindset.
•  Strategic thinker with the ability to be proactive and spot new opportunities.
•  Ability to work under pressure, prioritise work and be flexible in delivery.

Responsibilities:

Role Overview:

•  Act as the faith lead within NASP, being the point of contact and key advocate for
faith communities’ involvement in social prescribing, across all major traditions.
•  Represent and develop faith groups’ engagement in NASP’s existing activities,

programmes and events including workstreams in NASP to build the capacity of
Social Prescribing Link workers (SPLWs); support the community assets that
SPLW’s harness in their work; and connecting across different Government
Departments to explore how social prescribing connects with strategies related to
employment, youth, education and community cohesion.

•  Have a specific focus of how faith communities can work with social prescribers to

support those experiencing health inequalities.

•  Support and inform the development of NASP’s wider workstreams and the

implementation of its strategy.

•  Lead and co-ordinate NASP’s national work on social prescribing with partners

across the faith sector, including the Good Faith Partnership.

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•  Build understanding and awareness within NASP and across other sectors of what is
required to support the effective provision of services, activities and information in the
faith sector to promote health and wellbeing through social prescribing.

•  Liaise with, and support, new and existing initiatives to build an evidence base for

faith-based social prescribing.

•  Convene and lead a national Faith and Social Prescribing Advisory Group, drawing

together faith leaders, health system partners and VCFSE organisations to advise on
priorities and act as ambassadors for social prescribing within faith communities.
•  Ensure engagement of faith communities themselves in developing social prescribing

strategy and policy, working with relevant partners.

•  Provide high quality advice and insight on faith activity and services in support of

NASP’s strategy development, communications and external briefings and meetings.

•  Enable NASP’s healthcare integration team to support the strategic development of
social prescribing into faith assets at Integrated Care System level and make the
case for place-based investment.

•  Map current tools, resources, guides and evidence and work with the

Communications team to publish and promote these and to develop new resources.

•  Build consensus on the key policies required for the scale and spread of social

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prescribing for faith communities across stakeholders; a joint vision of ‘good faith-
based SP’.
Identify and shape partnership opportunities to secure additional funding and
resources to help build capacity to enable future social prescribing activity to better
support people’s health and wellbeing outcomes.

•  Enable awareness raising, shared learning, training and best practice within the faith

and health sector. This includes working with NASP's workforce development team
and the Link Worker Advisory Group to integrate faith and social prescribing into
information and training for Social Prescribing Link Workers.

•  Support other areas of NASP’s work and strategy development. In particular, identify
and harness commonalities with other sectors supporting social prescribing e.g.
nature, arts and culture and heritage.

•  Brief and advise the Board and Executive Leadership Team as needed.
•  Budget Management - including day-to-day management, raising and processing

payments and reporting.

Reporting To: Executive Director of Strategy & Partnerships

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