Careers
Please check regularly for exciting opportunities to join our successful charity team.
Unit doctor roles
Great Western Air Ambulance Charity is offering appropriately skilled and qualified Consultants the opportunity to become part of the Critical Care Team, based in South Gloucestershire, and working under the clinical direction of South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust.
The team is dispatched by helicopter or critical care car to the most serious incidents and medical emergencies – 1,887 in 2018. GWAAC is one of the busiest air ambulances in the country, covering rural and urban areas, adults and children, and dealing with an even split of trauma and medical incidents. This role offers un-paralleled clinical experience and the opportunity to further develop your skills alongside a team of highly respected Specialist Paramedics and Consultants in Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care, Anaesthesia and Paediatrics. Each team consists of a Critical Care Doctor, a Specialist Paramedic in Critical Care, and if using the helicopter, an experienced pilot. At GWAAC the emphasis is on working as a team, acknowledging that each profession has different skills, but that together we are stronger than the sum of our parts.
GWAAC is a training unit, one of the few air ambulances accredited as a PHEM training centre, and expects formal training to be completed on every shift. Crew members are expected to help with the running of the unit and supporting the charitable aspects of the work – the need to raise over £3m each year means that the team is often in demand for media interviews and visits from ex-patients. Responsibilities for various tasks and developments are usually shared between team members, and there are a number of leadership positions which doctors and paramedics fill alongside their clinical shifts. This means that working with GWAAC is diverse, fun, challenging and very rewarding.
The GWAAC service covers the 2.1m people in Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, North Somerset and surrounding areas. It was formed in 2008 and since its inception has delivered the Gold Standard of Critical Care via car or helicopter. In 2018 GWAAC moved into a purpose built airbase, which we now own. This provides enhanced facilities for the crew and a stable home for the future.
To apply, please review the attached role description and person specification, and send a CV and covering letter explaining how you meet this specification to our Lead Doctor, Ed Valentine, at ed.valentine@gwaac.com by 9am on 8th July 2019. If you would like to discuss this before applying, please email Ed with suggested availability for a telephone conversation.
Why work for Great Western Air Ambulance Charity?
When you work for Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, you feel part of something special. By the time you come into work in the morning, our crew may well have saved the life of someone you know, someone living in your local community.
From fundraisers to highly skilled paramedics and senior consultants, we are a team, working to save lives that would otherwise be lost. The job can be high pressure, but it is deeply satisfying, and every member of the team is committed to this service, and to saving as many lives as we can.
We pride ourselves on being an excellent employer – with only 16 employed staff we are small enough to feel like a family, but as we raise £3m a year to keep our service running, we are large enough to have a professional set-up and invest in our team members.
Although we think the biggest perk to working with us is knowing you are helping to save lives*, there are some other benefits for our employees:
25 days annual leave, plus Bank Holidays, plus a day off near your birthday and at Christmas (non-contractual)
A 35 hour working week, with the option to pick your working hours between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday
A friendly, open plan office with as much tea and coffee as you can drink *(we know what’s important)
Free car parking, and access to pool cars, courtesy of Smart Bristol, for work trips
Pension contributions of up to 4% of eligible earnings
Laptop and smart phone for relevant roles
The chance to go to new places, meet interesting people and have experiences that you wouldn’t otherwise have!
Lottery Canvassers
Great Western Air Ambulance Charity (GWAAC) is looking to expand the number of lottery canvassers in the region recruiting players for our highly successful weekly lottery.
there are vacancies for both part-time and full-time roles and any successful candidate will play a vital role as an ambassador of our charity. Your remit will be to engage with the public, either by canvassing door-to-door or by obtaining private site bookings, in the hope of getting people in the region to join our lottery for either £1 or £2 a week. You are free to choose your own hours of work and the regions within our boundaries that you recruit new members in, and most importantly you will be helping our fantastic charity generate some much-needed income.
The GWAAC weekly lottery is a vital source of revenue to the charity and we are aiming to expand our membership over the coming years. With all members joining by either direct debit or cheque payment, this regular income plays a vital part in keeping the charity flying. If the role is of interest to you, please contact Mark Harris on 0333 577 5707 or e-mail mark.harris@towerlotteries.com. Tower Lotteries run and administrate the draw on behalf of GWAAC.
Volunteers - Join our Ground Crew!
We’re also always looking to welcome new volunteers to our team. It’s the local people who kindly give up some of their precious time who mean we are able to keep saving local lives. Everyone who works here at GWAAC is committed, enthusiastic and dedicated to keeping us flying. We enjoy what we do because it really makes a difference – and we would love to have you as part of our team. Whether you would like to help out in our offices, would like to volunteer at a fundraising event, or put on an event of your own, we would love to hear from you. Can you help us save lives?