Working with partner organisations is paramount to the continuing success and understanding of the Fire Support Networks aims and objectives. Our Partners take many forms some sponsoring specific initiatives with gifts in kind, others offering financial contributions to enable campaigns to be developed and delivered. Many partners however, support us by developing a referral system within their client base and assist us in our goal to ensure that all Merseyside homes are fitted with smoke detectors.

 

When developing our key annual campaigns and initiatives we spend considerable time researching the partner organisations that could benefit from involvement. We also look at the contribution which they could make and devise an appropriate strategy and implementation plan to ensure success for all concerned. As a prime example, our annual Winter Warm campaign enabled us to work with 7 major partners, all of which had different resources to contribute but all had a vested interest in making the event the success that it was.

 

Developing partnerships is a team effort and we are always looking for suggestions of organisations where generating a formal partnership arrangement would be beneficial to the Fire Support Network. We welcome approaches from all sectors of the community, whether commercial, government funded or of charitable status – details can be forwarded by internal mail, email or telephone.

 

Organisations and community groups that we are currently working in partnership with include Help the Aged, the CVS, Personal Assistance Dogs, Wirral Partnership Homes, Asda, Community Fire Safety, Cosmopolitan Housing Association and Merseyside Police. Working together we have achieved many objectives i.e. increased funding for the Fire Support Network’s annual fire safety initiatives, generated improved awareness of the many free services the Network is able to offer and secured important relationships with key representatives of the commercial and charitable sector.

 

The Role of a Partnership Officer

The primary role of the Partnership Officer is to mirror the success of existing cluster stations and set up appropriate partnerships throughout the Fire Support Network service delivery area. To enable this to happen, the role requires the employment of certain skills for example offering support, motivating and liaising with Volunteer team leaders, their Volunteers and other FSN SPecialist Officers in order to identify new and appropriate opportunities for partnerships. The aims of these partnerships are to assist the FSN with the delivery of its service range to agreed target audiences and local communities as a whole.

 

Partnership Officer

Name:	Isabelle Walker
Role:	Partnership Officer (Merseyside) Fire Support Network
Station Base :	Birkenhead Community Fire Station, Exmouth Street, Birkenhead, CH41 4AZ
Working Hours:	9am - 1pm (although flexible)
Contact Details:	07837 11 3330/ 0151 650 8916