Award-winning Villa Vision seeks DO

Inside the Villa Vision van

A unique opportunity has arisen for a dispensing optician to work for the Aston Villa Foundation within its Villa Vision project.

Winner of the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme or Initiative in the Football Business Awards 2022, Villa Vision is part of the Aston Villa Foundation which delivers the community and social responsibility work of Aston Villa Football Club.

The foundation and its partners work with people from a variety of backgrounds in Birmingham, as well as supporting the wider ‘Aston Villa family’ through several departments including schools and education, football in the community, disability, health and wellbeing, interventions and community relations.

What is Villa Vision?

Villa Vision is the foundation’s award-winning eye health initiative, which is designed to:
• Educate children, parents and teachers on the importance of eye health
• Provide free vision screening in schools
• Enable access to free eye examinations for children, using its own eyecare van and registered optometrist
• Dispense free spectacles to children requiring a correction

With support from the Premier League/Professional Football Association, Aston University and Essilor Vision for Life, its aim is to provide children with the visual foundation to succeed.

Children are provided with two free pairs of spectacles, if required

Education and testing

Villa Vision offers classroom workshops for Years 5/6 children on understanding the importance of eye health – along with educational material and information for children, parents and teachers.

Children who receive the Villa Vision workshop are also offered vision and colour vision screening (subject to parental/guardian/carer consent) using the SchoolScreener on site at the school.

Children who are flagged following the vision and colour vision screening check are offered a comprehensive eye examination with the Villa Vision optometrist using its fully equipped eyecare van on-site at the school.

Any child found to require spectacles will be offered two free complete pairs, each supplied with thinner, lighter and fully coated lenses.

Since its conception in early 2020, Villa Vision has engaged with more than 6,500 local primary school children, up to and including the 2021-22 academic year. More than 200 pairs of spectacles have been dispensed to those who require them (two pairs per child).

New DO opportunity

Now, Villa Vision is seeking to recruit a registered dispensing optician to help support in the delivery and growth of this unique eye health initiative.

The Vision Villa DO’s main responsibilities will include teaching, motivating and inspiring participants/beneficiaries in primary, secondary schools and community settings to take proactive steps in understanding the importance of eye health.

The Villa Vision DO will also lead on the dispensing, ordering and fitting of spectacles for those reached through the project, and take ownership of frame stock, ordering and range selection of optical appliances and accessories.

For a full job specification, and details of how to apply by the closing date of 2 October 2022, visit the DO Online Jobs vacancies section.