Community Referral Officer
Are you passionate about community engagement and helping others? Do you want a rewarding role where you can make a real impact and be part of something special? If so we want to hear from you!
Position Community Referral Officer
Location Greater Preston & wider Lancashire/North West – community-based (with limited home admin), flexible working
Salary £25,664 + excellent benefits
Hours 35 hours per week (flexible working)
Status Fixed term to 30 September 2027
Closing date 5 October 2025
We are expanding our Home Energy Advice Team (HEAT) services and are looking for dedicated individuals to join us.
Be the connector that helps households reach the right support, faster - The Wise Group is expanding HEAT across the Greater Preston area. We’re looking for a proactive, people-centred Community Referral Officer to build referral pathways and connect households experiencing fuel poverty with our Energy Mentors and partner services—improving comfort, health and financial resilience.
Our Mission: Warmer homes, healthier lives, and brighter futures. By breaking down barriers for those who need it most, we’re creating lasting change.
What you’ll do
- Generate and manage referrals: Engage residents at community venues and events.
- Build partnerships: Develop relationships with local councils, housing providers, VCSEs, health services and energy stakeholders to create a steady, high-quality referral pipeline.
- Targeted outreach: Plan and run pop-ups, hub events and campaigns to reach priority groups across Greater Preston/Lancashire.
- Smooth handovers: Provide complete, accurate referral information so Energy Mentors can deliver bespoke advice and interventions quickly.
- Track outcomes & report: Maintain our CRM, monitor referral volumes/quality and conversion to outcomes, and share feedback with partners.
- Safeguarding & quality: Follow lone-working, data protection and safeguarding procedures on every interaction.
What you’ll bring:
- Community confidence: Comfortable approaching people, running events/pop-ups and presenting to partners.
- Relationship builder: You create trust fast and maintain professional partnerships that deliver results.
- Organised & data-savvy: You keep quality records, manage a mobile schedule and use tech/CRM well.
- Problem-solver: You spot barriers and help people navigate to the right support promptly.
- Nice to have: Knowledge of support services in the North West; experience in community outreach, housing, energy, welfare, or VCSE settings.
Why Join Us?
- Purpose: warmer homes, healthier lives, brighter futures.
- Culture & values: Ambition, Kindness, Collaboration, Learning, Going the Distance.
- Benefits: Great leave, wellbeing support, L&D, pension, and flexibility where the role allows.
- Progression: Development and a clear pathway to grow.
If you’re looking for your next role and want it to be one where you can truly make a difference, apply now! Let’s work together to inspire change and support those who need it most.
View the Role Profile for full details about this opportunity.
- Team
- Business Operations
- Role
- Partnership Executive
- Locations
- England
- Remote status
- Hybrid
- Yearly salary
- £25,664
You'll like it here
We want to make a lasting and positive difference in people’s lives, starting with our colleagues. We believe you can’t pour from an empty cup; that’s why we do everything we can to set our colleagues up for success to allow us to go on and help the most vulnerable in our society.
Find out more about:
If your experience looks a little different from what we've identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd still love to learn more about you.
About The Wise Group
The Wise Group is a leading UK social enterprise working to lift people out of poverty by inspiring positive change through relational mentoring.