Welcome to the start of our non-job reports for 2009. You might ask after the Street Football Coordinators of last year, how we could ever top that this year. Well, the first week in and I think we may have. An industrious TPA supporter emailed in this job that could very well be in the final top 10, brought to you from Woking Borough Council we give you the non-job of the week:
“Mind and Nutrition Leader
Up to £9999
How would you like to work part time in Woking delivering healthy lifestyle programmes to 7-13yr olds and their families?
MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition...Do it!) is a social enterprise which was established in 2004 to enable a significant, measurable and sustained reduction in global childhood overweight and obesity levels. The MEND Programme is a 10-week multi-component healthy lifestyle programme encompassing education on healthy eating, fun games to stimulate an active interest in physical activity and behaviour modification techniques to boost self-confidence.
Woking Borough Council is looking for dynamic, hard working people to deliver the MEND programme in Woking.
In this part-time, temporary post due to start in February 2009 (funding is planned for a two year post) you will deliver seven programmes over the duration of the project.
A programme will consist of 42 hours for the Mind and Nutrition Leader and 33 hours for the Exercise Leader. Each programme will be delivered term time only, with 2 x 2 hour sessions per week for 10 weeks. You will assist the programme manager to implement each programme and continually review and feedback on sessions that you put on in the local communities of Lakeview, Maybury, Sheerwater, Old Woking, Brookwood, Knaphill and South Woking.
As Mind and Nutrition Leader you will ideally, have a background in nutrition, dietetics, Public health or health promotion.
In addition you should also have experience in child and family health. Experience of managing/facilitating large groups and working with children and families would also be an advantage.
An ability to demonstrate ICT skills and multi agency working for both roles is also very important. You will require a full driving licence.
Benefits include:
*Free swimming in public sessions at Pool in the Park
*Flexible working hours
*Corporate Leisure Membership
*MEND 4 day training to assist in programme delivery
The job involves contact with children and vulnerable adults, successful applicants will be required to obtain a Disclosure Certificate from the Criminal Records Bureau. Assistance will be given by the Council and further details will be in the job application pack. The Council will consider employing more than one person for each post to allow for leave, sickness etc.
For an informal chat about the post please call Gary Cordery, Health and Well-being Development Officer on 01483 743424
Interview date - 20 January 2009
Please state on your application which post you are applying for.
Please be aware that this job closes at 05:00PM on 12/01/2009”
Probably funded by the big lottery fund, this job merely replicates the work of the health trust, schools and voluntary sector activities. But on that note, exactly how much money are the government going to take from taxpayers to nanny the population? There’s been the health drive for more nutritional school dinners. Sports drives have begun in schools to piggyback on the 2012 Olympic Games publicity (the good spin, not the over-spending incompetence). Finally, there’s voluntary sport and exercise teams people can get involved with – if they want to. If they don’t, nor you or I should pay for abstract positions to force them to do something they don’t want to.
If you’d like to take this up with the leader of Woking Borough Council, his name is Cllr John Kingsbury. See if he thinks this job - and the adverts you're paying for - add up to value for money.