Positive Voices Speaker (Sessional Worker)
Positive Voices - Zero Stigma
The Terrence Higgins Trust is aiming to increase engagement in prevention and care, improve wellbeing, and reduce stigma towards people living with, and at risk of HIV, within Black African and Caribbean heritage communities.
If you're living with HIV, are of Black African and/or Caribbean heritage, and are interested in sharing your story publicly - we'd love to hear from you!
We are especially interested in hearing from heterosexual men living with HIV.
As a Positive Voices Speaker, you will share your personal experience of living with HIV and serve as a role model in tackling HIV stigma. You'll have the opportunity to speak in a variety of community settings to inspire others and break down misconceptions around HIV.
*Please note that if you are successful in your application we will be asking for two references. The people you nominate will be sent a copy of this role description so will therefore be made aware of your HIV status. You must have the right to work in the UK in order to apply.
About Positive Voices
The Positive Voices Programme consists of a team of speakers who provide information talks and sessions to education, corporate, public sector and other audiences about their personal experiences of living with HIV.
If you’re living with HIV and would like to tackle HIV stigma by sharing your story, this could be the role for you.
Nearly half of UK adults still think HIV can be passed on from kissing, and over a third would feel uncomfortable going on a date with someone living with HIV. Despite fantastic advancements in HIV care, people’s understanding of HIV is often based on the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and 1990s rather than the realities of living with HIV in the 21st century.
That’s why Positive Voices Speakers share their stories with the public; their personal perspectives on what it’s like to live with HIV are a powerful way to dispel myths and challenge stigma, whilst also encouraging better understanding of HIV.
Our speakers receive professional storytelling and public speaking training and ongoing emotional support and supervision. Speakers have told us that joining Positive Voices has helped them to build confidence, gain new skills and experiences and meet peers. We work flexibly around you with opportunities to deliver talks online or in person at times that suit you.
Equity, equality, diversity and inclusion
Terrence Higgins Trust prioritises equity, equality diversity and inclusion, with a focus on reducing health inequalities. A key ambition of the Positive Voices team is to recruit a speaker pool representative of the population living with HIV in the UK.
We always endeavour to meet our speakers’ access needs. We would be happy to discuss accessibility requirements and reasonable adjustments with potential speakers.
We are required to ask all applicants to disclose unspent criminal convictions and to undergo an enhanced DBS check. However, a criminal record is not necessarily a bar to working with us, and all cases will be reviewed on an individual basis. The Positive Voices team would also like to hear from people who have experience of living with HIV in prison.
Speakers
Speakers will represent these communities by sharing their stories at talks, and film their stories and other video content for social media. They will receive professional Public Speaking and Storytelling training, as well as ongoing support for professional development throughout their involvement in the programme. Please refer to the Positive Voices Speaker JD for full details on the speaker role and recruitment process.
Communities
We will build and maintain relationships with community networks, event organisers and religious groups in order to attend events and deliver talks. We welcome input from speakers on priority areas/events for them, as well as any connections they may have to help facilitate talks.
Terrence Higgins Trust was set up in 1982 following the death of its namesake, Terry Higgins, the first named person to die of an AIDS-related illness in the UK. As an organisation we are working toward ambition goals: (1) to end the onward transmission of HIV in the UK by 2030; (2) provide support for people living with HIV; and (3) fight HIV-related stigma.
An ambitious organisation
Since 1982, we’ve acted boldly and passionately to meet the challenges of this ever-changing epidemic .We are working to end HIV transmission in the UK by 2030, support people to live with HIV and fight HIV-related stigma. It’s a critical moment – for the first time our goals are within reach. We are working together with our beneficiaries and partners to make the end of HIV transmission a reality.
A collaborative organisation
As the UK’s leading HIV charity, we are looking to take new, innovative steps to drive forward our ambition but we can achieve none of our goals alone. We do this through a strong team approach internally and working with partners externally. This might be others in the HIV or sexual health space, or organisations with very different expertise, cultural competencies or reach.
A people organisation
Terrence Higgins Trust is its people – our service users are central to our organisation and the services we provide are informed by their lives, voice and experience. Our talented staff create innovative and engaging programmes, many of whom are also living with HIV. We know that equity, diversity and inclusion are critical to the work we do. We are striving to be an anti-racist, anti-sexist, more inclusive organisation and are committed to having a workforce with people from different backgrounds.