Care & Learning Support Workers (Adults/Children)

Want to be part of something and make a difference?

Have these troubling times made you think of a career change?

St Elizabeth’s is a compassionate and aspirational organisation that is proud to have kept our staff and vulnerable residents safe during these challenging times.

Care & Learning Support Workers (Adults/Children)

£17,227 - £21,691 per annum (£8.86- £11.20 per hour) plus weekend enhancements and overtime opportunities.

We currently have exciting Care & Learning Support Worker vacancies in our Adult Home, Children’s Home, College and School supporting our residents to live their lives as independently as possible in our well-equipped on-site bungalows. Our teams assist with leisure activities such as horse-riding and swimming, alongside general domestic duties and personal care.

You don’t need experience in care to join us – but you do need to be dedicated, caring and passionate about people. Our on-site training team will support you to achieve fully funded recognised qualifications in Adult Care & Residential Child Care (level 2 & level 3). If you’re an excellent communicator with the desire, resilience, patience and motivation to support others we can offer you an incredibly rewarding role.

St Elizabeth’s is situated in 68 acres of Hertfordshire parkland between Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford. We support people with Epilepsy and other complex needs from the age of 5 through to 78 in our Children’s Home, School, College, Residential Homes with nursing and Day Centre. Over 150 adults and children call St Elizabeth’s their home making us an inspirational place to do great work.

We offer a mixture of early and late shifts (7.15am – 2.45pm and 2.15pm – 9.45pm), night positions, and weekend work across our full- time, part-time, casual roles and an excellent range of staff benefits, including:

• Currently a 40% uplift on your salary for working overtime on a Saturday & Sunday for full-time permanent employees
• Fully paid for DBS
• Opportunity to pursue recognised qualifications of your own
• Fabulous staff development – fully funded for you by the Centre
• Free on-site parking
• Subsidised restaurant
• High Street retail/leisure discounts
• Generous holidays
• Discounted gym membership
• Free Life assurance

To apply and to find out more information about St Elizabeth’s, please visit our website

Offers are subject to pre-employment checks including an enhanced DBS check paid for by the centre. Please note we are not on a public transport route. Salary is dependent on the role, qualifications and experience.

Registered Charity 1176777

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is a leading conservation charity in the UK and has an excellent reputation for the development of ‘green prescriptions’, working to improve people’s wellbeing through engagement with the natural environment.  This work is the basis of our alternative education provision and has proved successful and popular with a wide range of students and their carers.  Due to this we are looking for enthusiastic and experienced Team Leaders to support and shape our expanding Care Farm provision.

We are seeking to recruit two inspiring, knowledgeable and committed Team Leaders to supervise and support the daily operation of Lakeside and The Willows Care Farms. The post holders will be responsible for leading the delivery of nature-based therapeutic activities for children, young people and adults with additional needs, mental health, social and communication difficulties and those in need of emotional support.

Working alongside the Care Farms’ Manager and our experienced staff team, we are seeking oneTeam Leader to take responsibility for students at The Willows and one Team Leader to take responsibility for horticulture, animals, housekeeping and site infrastructure at Lakeside.

Experience of working with children and young people with additional needs is essential, as is an understanding of person-centred practice and the use of nature, animals and creativity to support the holistic education of the children and young people we work with.

Senior Support Worker

*Please note that this vacancy is for current staff only*

Are you currently a Support Worker looking to move into a Senior Support Worker position? Do you feel that you have received enough development to help you excel as a Senior Support Worker?

They are currently looking to appoint an experienced Support Worker who is looking to develop into a Senior Support Worker post. You will support the Deputy and Residential Manager in supervising a team of staff with the aim to help their young people move into independent living in the future.

You will be based at Stubble Bank where you will work shifts over a 37.5 hour week consisting of earlies, lates and sleep-ins.

Company Benefits

- 22 days holiday + 8 bank holidays
- Excellent Learning and Development opportunities (NVQ Level 3 in Adult Health & Social Care)
- Enhanced company pension
- Enhanced maternity/paternity leave
- Paid Induction (Running over 7 days)
- Free on-site parking
- Paid Enhanced DBS check
- Employee Assistance Programme / 24-hour Counselling Service
- Online shopping discounts, free eye tests and various other benefits
- The opportunity for internal promotions & progression
- Refer a Friend Scheme (Up to £500 per referral)
- Regular social events and recognition schemes (‘Employee of the year awards’, Summer & Christmas parties)

Your role as a Senior Support Worker

- To carry out direct and indirect care of young people with complex mental health needs
- To work in a team, giving the highest standard of care possible to the young people.
- To work alongside the Deputy and Residential Manager to support with the management of staff and smooth running of the home
- To closely follow individual care plans and support young people with education, shopping, and social and leisure activities.
- To carry out multiple interventions involving the delivery of care to young people
- To promote independence amongst the young people
- To provide support, advice and information to the young people, parents and other carers
- To carry out further duties as per our attached document (Writing reports, general office admin etc)

Requirements of a Senior Support Worker

- NVQ Level 2 qualification or equivalent within Care
- Flexibility - Your role will involve working shifts including sleep ins/weekends/Bank Holidays
- Good verbal communication skills and the ability to listen to others
- Good written skills and the ability to write basic reports and record information accurately
- IT Literate (Able to write emails and use Microsoft Office)
- An understanding of the issues around confidentiality
- An understanding of safeguarding
- Professional working boundaries between staff and service users
- Ability to remain calm in emergencies, supporting others during difficult situations

Desirable Criteria

- Full UK Driving Licence
- Previous experience of working with young people who have mental health needs

Due to the current climate regarding the Covid-19, all of their interviews are now taking place as a Video/Audio Interview over Microsoft Teams.

The closing date for this position is Saturday 25th July 2020, so if you are interested in developing and supporting young people and young adults with complex difficulties then please ensure you apply before this date.

Our client operates a safer recruitment process and as part of this process the successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.

They are an equal opportunities employer who values diversity and positively encourages applications of all ages from all sections of the community.

They reserve the right to close the advert early, should they appoint a suitable candidate.

Ref: 93377

We are seeking a Carers Service Manager to cover maternity leave for up to one year.  This exciting opportunity will provide the right candidate with a chance to develop their leadership and management skills in a well-established carers charity in Central London.  The successful candidate will have previous experience of managing teams in a social care setting and will have extensive knowledge of the Social Care Act 2014 and experience in carrying out carer's assessments.

Salary: £31,000

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Job Type: 12 months maternity contract

Location: Homeworking and City of Westminster and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London

Application deadline: 21st July 2020

Interviews: w/b 3rd August 2020

Duties will include

• Ensure the smooth running of the Carers Hub and any other services in allocated boroughs, including planning, assigning and overseeing work to ensure contract targets are met
• Line manage front-line staff of 4 Caseworkers (3 in Westminster, 1 in Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea)
• Coordinate a regular programme of training for carers.
• Work with the Communications and Marketing Officer to devise excellent and relevant content for carers' events 
• Lead on actively developing strong relationships with local organisations and external stakeholders
• Lead on relationships with sub-contracted and partner organisations 
• Lead on delivering training about carers to professionals as required, including giving presentations, in partnership with carers.
• Ensure that carers’ rights, needs and views are included in all relevant local strategies and initiatives.
• Facilitate the coproduction of activities with carers through a variety of methods.
• Manage a demanding level of administrative work to a high standard
• Undertake a limited amount of direct work with carers – carry out detailed carers assessment and support plans that address carers’ needs in line with the Care Act 2014.
• Carry out casework with carers, including liaising with other agencies such as Local Authorities, NHS bodies and other voluntary organisations.

Person Specification 

Please write a covering letter detailing how you meet the criteria below – give examples of your work.  Candidates who do not provide a covering letter covering these points may not be shortlisted.

1. At least three years’ experience or working in the voluntary or charity sector.
2. Experience of public-facing service or project management in a similar field of work.
3. At least two years’ experience of line-managing teams of frontline staff.
4. Experience of building external partnership relationships through outreach, networking and influencing.
5. Substantial experience of working with a diverse range of clients with differing levels of needs.
6. Substantial experience of managing own caseload including maintaining detailed case notes.
7. Ability to balance a range of tasks with competing demands.
8. Ability to build, coach and manage effective teams.
9. Excellent IT skills, including use of Microsoft programmes and working with databases to run reports.
10. Ability to manage a high level of written and administrative work, including report-writing for a range of audiences.
11. Presentation skills.       
12. Knowledge of issues affecting unpaid carers.
13. Knowledge of relevant legislation, including the Care Act 2014, GDPR and Safeguarding.
14. Flexible, positive approach to work in a small team.
15. Passionate about providing high quality services to carers.
16. Proactive working style, attention to detail.
17. Commitment to equality and diversity.

We want to hear from all interested candidates, and to be considered for the position we strongly recommend submitting a detailed covering letter along with your CV, outlining why you're right for the role.

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South Wales Victim Focus is looking for a Victim Care Officer to provide support to victims of crime ensuring that South Wales Victim Focus realise their aim of helping people cope and recover from the effects of crime.

Victim Support (VS) is an independent charity for people affected by crime in England and Wales. We work towards a world where people affected by crime or traumatic events get the support they need and respect they deserve.

South Wales Victim Focus serves diverse communities, many of whom experience a range of barriers that may impact on their ability to cope and recover from what they have experienced. These can include financial distress; social isolation; reduced mobility; mental and physical health issues; substance use and lack of opportunity. South Wales Victim Focus aims to identify what matters to service users and empower them to take control of their journey. The nature of service required will vary depending on individual circumstances and will range from short term intervention to deal with specific issues to more regular on-going interventions addressing a range of needs and/or supporting individuals through a lengthy criminal justice process.

The purpose of this role is to support victims, ensuring that South Wales Victim Focus realise their aim of helping people cope and recover from the effects of crime.

The ideal candidate will have a can do attitude and be ready to use their initiative to support a busy and evolving service in their vision to help victims cope and recover from their experiences.

Victim Support offers competitive rewards and benefits including pension and life assurance, 25 days annual leave (pro-rata), voluntary benefits such as season ticket loans, and the opportunity to play a key role in a national charity providing world-class services to victims and witnesses and being a vital force for change.

Applications should be explicit enough to provide good evidence against the shortlisting criteria, which are marked in the person specification as A. In order to apply, please create a profile in our website (jobs section), complete and submit an online application form.

If you have the drive to make a difference within an organisation which makes a difference we look forward to hearing from you.

Victim Support are committed to recruiting with care and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Background checks and Disclosed Barring Service checks will be required

Victim Support is committed to providing an inclusive and supportive environment for our staff. We believe having a diverse workforce at all levels allows us to represent the communities we serve and connect better with people affected by crime. We welcome applicants from all communities and as part of our commitment to the we would particularly welcome applicants from BAME communities.

Job Title: Children and Families Bereavement Therapist x 4
Responsible to: Chief Executive
Accountable to: Assistant Head of Operations
Reporting to: Therapy Services Coordinator
Salary: £21,589 (pro rata)
Location: Based at Gaddum’s Salford Hub (King’s Court) with travel
across Salford
Hours: 17.5 hours per week

Job Summary:
To work as a member of Gaddum's Therapeutic Services which includes counsellors and play therapists. You will manage your own caseload and will need to travel throughout Greater Manchester as required.

Job Purpose:
To provide therapeutic support to children and young people who have become stuck in their grieving process following the bereavement of a significant other. This will include one to one and group work which will usually take place at Gaddum House, the child's school or home. Effective working relationships with parents, carers and other professionals is a crucial element of the role.

Qualifications and Experience
Therapists must possess as psychotherapeutic qualification and have experience of working with children and families in a therapeutic setting.

To apply, please fill out the application form and demographic form below and return to the email address upon it.

Closing date:Noon, Monday 13 July

Provisional Interview Date - Monday 21 July 2020

Supported Living Services Manager (Mental Health)

Essex (Benfleet) 

£32,077 per annum 

Permanent, Full Time (37.5 hours per week) 

Our client is currently seeking an experienced Services Manager to be responsible for the delivery of a high quality, innovative service(s). In this key role you will demonstrate your strong significant knowledge within mental health services and apply this to meet the needs and aspirations of our service users, commissioners and regulatory authorities. 

Their supported living schemes support adults with enduring mental health needs, they specialise in person centred support in order to provide excellent quality services for their residents. Individuals are supported to undertake activities of their choice, to maintain their independence and seek opportunities for a fulfilled and meaningful quality of life. 

Can you help them achieve this? 

Key responsibilities for this role also include: 

● Positively contribute to the directorates business plan and corporate objectives and to facilitate the active participation of Support Assistants in achieving objectives 

● Develop, maintain and work in partnership with a network of key stakeholders in order to deliver safe, high quality services 

● To identify recommend and implement improvements to the service given CQC and commissioning requirements, best practice and business plan priorities to achieve distinct, high quality service provision 

● To be responsible for the recruitment, development and management of staff in order to provide them with the skills, experience and behaviours necessary to provide a safe, high quality services 

For this role candidates must have: 

● Effective leadership skills or you’ll have significant experience as a deputy/team leader within mental health services, and are now ready for a bigger challenge. 

● Motivation and drive to identify and implement initiatives that will lead to service improvements and efficiencies 

● Excellent people management skills. You’ll have the ability to a high performing Team and therefore meet the needs of each individual who they support. 

● You will have already obtained or are committed to achieving QCF/RQF Level 5 in Management. 

In return for your hard work, we will provide you with ongoing training and support, excellent staff rewards and an exciting future in our services. 

If you are seeking a new and exciting opportunity, apply today! 

Value-based recruitment our client has a value-based recruitment policy which means their selection process is aligned with their core values of Excellence, Care and Innovation - this ensures that, when recruiting, they find the right person with the right values and expected behaviours for the job, who will strive to provide excellent services to the people they support. This supplements their requirements for essential and desirable skills, knowledge and abilities for each role. 

Safeguarding & Recruitment they are committed to safeguarding and practices safer recruitment standards and expects all staff to share the commitment to safeguarding children and people with care and support needs. The successful applicant will be required to provide proof of eligibility to work in the UK. These posts are also subject to satisfactory enhanced DBS checks. 

Equality & Diversity they value inclusiveness and we are committed to embedding equality and diversity at the heart of their work. They aim to be an inclusive organisation, where individual differences are respected, where staff, people who use services, as well as their families and carers, are treated with dignity and on the basis of their merits, abilities and needs, and where everyone has a fair opportunity to fulfil their potential without suffering discrimination or disadvantage 

Are you passionate about making a lasting difference to the lives of vulnerable adults?

About the role

Somewhere Safe to Stay (SSTS) is a new initiative being set up in response to the government’s National Rough Sleeping Strategy and aims to prevent people from sleeping rough. For Oxford, the SSTS service is based in a purpose developed building that will host a range of multi-agency services all aimed at tackling rough sleeping in the city.

The SSTS service focuses on helping people who are at imminent risk of sleeping. Our challenge is to quickly help avoid rough sleeping or off of the streets quickly and, through our assessment hubs, help them find alternative accommodation so they can avoid the dangers of rough sleeping.

Your focus will be on carrying out comprehensive assessments for those at imminent risk of rough sleeping and quickly helping to reconnect them with supported networks in their home area or where they have a proven link.  We’ll also rely on you to provide each client with personalised case management support and turn their assessment into a practical action plan that fully involves them.

What we’re looking for

Ideally, you’ll have experience of working with vulnerable people or an understanding of the needs of street homeless people.

However, what’s more important is your systematic; yet at the same time flexible approach and ability to work collaboratively with others. Strong communication, influencing and reasoning skills are also key, as is a flair for solving problems. Other qualities include knowing how to network and build effective relationships with people at every level.

What we offer

• Excellent Development and Growth Opportunities

St Mungo’s employees are encouraged to consider opportunities to develop new skills or progress including; secondments, internal transfers, application to new roles in the organisation or just to get involved in various projects happening within the organisation.

As a result last year 35% of our vacancies were filled by promotions. In 2019 we achieved We Invest in People Gold level accreditation and are one of just 3% of housing associations to achieve this standard; 82% of staff who took part in the IIP survey say St Mungo’s is a great place to work.

• A Diverse and Inclusive Work Place

At St Mungo’s, equality, diversity and inclusion are central to the organisation's values and how we work. We are proud of our commitment to diversity and inclusion and have 8 great Diversity Networks to support clients and staff from different backgrounds so they are able to be their best selves. Our Networks include: BAME, Carer’s and Parent’s, Lived Experience, LGBTQIA+, Disability Awareness, South West, Irish and Women’s Action.

• Pay and Other Benefits

St Mungo’s is proud to pay client facing staff above average for the sector. We run a cycle to work scheme and also offer season tickets loans to all staff.

St Mungo’s contribute 4% of your gross annual salary, and you are able to enrol in the Defined Contribution scheme following a successful probationary period in which the employer contribution is 6%.

For this role staff can claim an additional 20% pay premium for unsocial hours worked as part of a day shift after 8pm or before 8am Monday to Friday as well as for all hours during day shifts worked on Saturday and Sunday.

What we do

At St Mungo’s our vision is that everyone has a place to call home and can fulfil their hopes and ambitions. As a homelessness charity and housing association, our clients are at the heart of what we do, and in 2019 we supported nearly 30,000 people who were either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Our staff are crucial to making this happen.

How to apply

To find out more and apply please go to the St Mungo’s careers page on our website. 

To view the job description and guidance on completing your application form, please click on the document available tab at the top of the advert page on our website.

Closing date: 10am on 21 July 2020

Interview and assessments on: TBC, via video call

It is a requirement for this post that an enhanced DBS disclosure check will be undertaken for the successful candidate.

Please be advised that all appointments will be made on St Mungo’s current standard Terms and Conditions (T&Cs); this also applies to any internal candidates.

For more than 26 years PostScript360 has been working with people to overcome prescription drugs dependence by helping them build positive and productive lives, whatever their past. Our charity has supported thousands of people with a history of dependence and withdrawal of benzodiazepines and other similar drugs through our therapy and support services.

As a Recovery and Wellbeing Practitioner you will work with adults on an individual face-to-face basis, telephone support service and host therapy groups with people from all backgrounds and ages.

You will work as part of a team providing information, advice, assessments, group work and, recovery management of people who have a dependency or misuse of benzodiazepines and/or other similar drugs.

You will support individuals to enable them to self-manage their recovery, to make positive choices and healthy changes to their lifestyle through their journey of recovery of overcoming prescription drug dependence.

You will be liaising with voluntary, statutory agencies and health professionals on behalf of the clients. You must have a flexible approach, committed to the principles of confidentiality and keep up to date client records.

Do you have the skills, knowledge and experience of supporting individuals that have experienced drugs dependence? If yes, we would very much like to hear from you.

Business Manager – Community Solutions (Registered Manager)

Full time - 35 hours per week (Salary circa £34,000)

and other exciting benefits

About Us: Harrow Mencap is a campaigning organisation and a multi-project service provider supporting adults, young people and children with learning disabilities, autism and their families and carers – to ensure their needs, rights and aspirations are met. Community Solutions is our CQC registered domiciliary care agency, delivering high quality, person centered support to people with learning disabilities, mental health and older people to maximise their independence and quality of life within a safe environment. We also offer respite, outreach and bespoke services to clients and families. We are pacesetting, professional and passionate in all that we do.  As part of the Senior Leadership Team you will have:

Reporting to: Deputy Chief Executive, responsibilities include:

• Overall accountability for the operational performance of Care Agency services across Harrow while ensuring attainment of targets and business sustainability
• Act as the Registered Manager for Community Solutions Domiciliary Care Agency.
• Develop and implement cost effective means of delivering services, optimising operations and delivering within budget.
• Innovate and develop the service offer including, growing clientele base and geographical coverage while meeting agreed targets.
• Lead a team of support workers and professionals in a multidisciplinary team that deliver best practice, achieving quality outcomes for clients and families
• Lead in clients safeguarding initiatives, regulatory compliance and quality assurance assessments.
• To foster and maintain excellent collaborative, strategic and operational relationships with partners from the public, private and voluntary sector to enhance and develop services and provisions
• Develop positive and effective relationships with the Board, Executives and staff and promote the organisational brand and ethos in a strong and positive manner in the wider community.

This post is ideal for those with significant senior management level experience within the voluntary, public or private sector, with a proven track record of success in leading a reputable brand of health and social care services for people with learning disabilities and mental health issues. Possession of Registered Care Manager qualifications is a prerequisite for this role and must demonstrate very good knowledge and application of CQC standards for domiciliary care services. An inspirational leader able to motivate flexible work teams and delivering quality outcomes that are both innovative and responsive. We are interested in hearing from people who share our ethos in campaigning for the rights and supporting disabled people to enhance their independence.

We are committed to safeguarding, equal opportunity and welcome applicants from all sections of the community. Applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the post are guaranteed an interview.

An innovative mental health and employment service in West London offers an exciting opportunity to join a professional caring team.

The charity SMART has been commissioned by West London Clinical Commissioning Group (NHS) to deliver an integrated mental health employment pathway covering Kensington & Chelsea and the Queens Park and Paddington areas.

This service is a prominent part of the wider, emerging ‘Community Living Well’ service.  It operates with the principle of ‘No Wrong Door’; a single, portable assessment process and support plan that is personalised and travels with the individual.  It will be based on need, not diagnosis.

We are looking for an experienced Employment Advisor. Based at various locations in Kensington & Chelsea, the successful candidate will be expected to support adults with mental health needs in choosing, getting and keeping opportunities in employment, vocational training, further education or voluntary work. They will also support people with mental health needs who need to retain their employment. A further feature of the role will be to provide people with severe mental health problems with a structured holistic support service in keeping with the individual placement and support (IPS) model.

The successful candidates will:
Have worked with people who have mental health needs/emotional difficulties, preferably in an employment setting OR have significant similar experience
Be experienced in negotiating with professionals at all levels
We particularly welcome applications from people who have lived experience of mental ill health as a user of services or as carer.

Since YGAM was founded five years ago, we have quickly established ourselves as a leading educational charity which builds digital resilience in young and vulnerable people, by training professionals to raise awareness of the potential of gaming and gambling-related harm; making resources available for parents and delivering impactful student campaigns with partner universities. Last year alone, we have reached approximately 364,918 young people, students and parents and we have collaborated with almost 2,488 educational organisations (schools, colleges, universities and charities) to deliver our programmes.

YGAM are incredibly proud to be working with all stakeholders in this space, from the gambling & gaming operators who make products available to the public; education professionals who support young people & students learning; the criminal justice sector; partner universities; public health; third sector organisations; sports clubs; Local Authorities and young people, students and parents themselves.

It is a very busy time in YGAM currently and we have a unique opportunity for an experienced, hands-on Head of Corporate Partnerships fundraiser to join the YGAM team to foster new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partnerships and income from the gaming, tech & mobile sectors. This post is being offered as a full-time position with a salary of £38,000 - £40,000 (plus London Weighting if applicable).  It is a home-based role and you will be required to travel on a regular basis as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

The principal purpose of the post is to devise and implement a successful programme of corporate fundraising securing at least £50,000 and one high-profile CSR partnership in your first six-months.  As a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) you will assume overall responsibility of income generation for the charity as your knowledge of YGAM and our social purpose increases. The role will be demanding, highly rewarding and best suited to an experienced corporate fundraiser who wants to grow and develop their career within corporate fundraising, taking their experience to a national level. Being highly organised, having an absolute eye for detail and the drive and ambition to make this opportunity a success are critical qualities.

To apply for the role please send a copy of your curriculum-vitae along with a supporting statement (max two sides of A4) outlining your experience and how your skills match those in the person specification to the email address below.

The closing date for applications is Monday 20 July 2020 at 1200 noon. Shortlisted applicants
will be invited to attend a face-to-face interview which is planned to take place on
Tuesday 11 August 2020 in London. Depending on Covid-19 restrictions this might be a video conference
interview instead and there will be a pre-interview task for you to complete if shortlisted. Please ensure you can attend on this date before applying. YGAM are proud to be recognised as an Investors in People organisation, guaranteeing you a purposeful job with plenty of training and career opportunities for the right person.

Thank you for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you

Job Title: Independent Mental Health Advocate

Accountable to:   Head of Operations

Responsible to:   Advocacy Services Manager

Reporting to: Independent Mental Health Advocacy Team Leader

Location: Gaddum House, professional and community settings

Salary: £21,589

Hours: 35 hours a week with expectation to provide shared duty cover.

Contract: Permanent (subject to funding)

Job Summary

Gaddum Advocacy (formerly: The Manchester Advocacy Hub) provides all statutory advocacy services across Manchester and we are looking for an energetic and passionate advocate to join our team.

The Independent Mental Health Advocate is responsible for responding to advocacy referrals under the Mental Health Act as necessary.

Our Advocates work in partnership with the people they support and take their side. Gaddum Advocacy promotes social inclusion, equality and social justice.

Job Purpose

• To provide independent advocacy support to people who are subject to the Mental Health Act in either hospital or community settings to ensure that they understand their rights under the Act
• To promote social inclusion, equality and social justice through advocacy.

Applications for Flexible/Job Sharing work will be taken into consideration

For informal discussion about the role please contact our Advocacy Services Manager, Lily Huggins..

To apply, please fill out the application form and demographic form below and return to the email address upon it.

Closing date: Noon, Monday 6th July

Interview date:  Week starting Monday 13th July

About the Youth Endowment Fund

The Youth Endowment Fund is a bold new attempt to put early intervention at the heart of efforts to tackle youth offending.

Over the last few years, evidence suggests that growing numbers of children and young people have been affected by violent crime. More children have been found carrying knives and a growing number have been recorded as victims. We believe that each individual child is an important member of our community and society has a duty to protect them.

The Youth Endowment Fund is a charity with a £200m endowment and a mission that matters. Founded by youth charity Impetus and its partners the Early Intervention Foundation and the Social Investment Business, we exist to prevent children and young people from getting caught up in violent crime. We do this by finding the very best ways to prevent youth violence, funding great initiatives and working to scale them up and spread great ideas.

Making this happen is a massive challenge. We will only succeed if we build a fantastic body of knowledge about youth violence and make it very accessible. This knowledge must be rigorous but also highly relevant to those making decisions about how to support vulnerable young people.  We need to be excellent at finding out what works and what doesn’t, at building a deep understanding of the lives of vulnerable young people and at using data and data science to map and predict violent crime.                

We are looking for someone to build and lead the team to do this.

Key responsibilities

Most fundamentally, your job is to ensure that the Youth Endowment Fund builds and shares a deep understanding of youth violence. To do this, you will:

• Lead a high-performing team of researchers and building with them a culture of intellectual rigour, compassion for children who feel unsafe, determination to get to the facts, ambition for what can be learnt, humility about what we know and what we don’t, passion for the importance of evidence-based decision-making and very high quality, easy to understand communication.
• Create a single hub of knowledge about youth violence which includes
• A highly accessible, regularly updated ‘toolkit’ which summarises what works to prevent and reduce youth violence
• A clear picture of the lives and experiences of young people and their families who are most vulnerable to youth violence
• An up to date view of levels, trends and spread of youth violence and an understanding of their drivers
• Spread this knowledge far and wide by ensuring that you and your team
  • Produce easy to understand but rigorous briefings and reports
  • Make the case that evidence must be used when deciding how to support vulnerable young people.
  • Build and maintain close relationships with our top priority audiences which include Violence Reduction Units, Local Authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners, Elected Mayors, Local Authorities, Whitehall and Welsh Government Officials and Youth Sector umbrella bodies.
  • Maintain regular repeating meetings with Ministers across government
• Ensure that all our work at the Youth Endowment Fund is informed by the cutting-edge knowledge that you are building. Before we launch a new funding round you make sure that we have a very clear understanding of what existing evidence says.
• As a senior leader in the organisation you will also:
  • Build and lead your team, providing clear direction, agility, high-quality outputs and a culture where it is natural to perform well and support colleagues brilliantly.
  • Lead the organisation as a core member of the Leadership Team, setting the strategy, delivering results and building and modelling the culture that we need to succeed.

About You

You are this sort of person:

• You have a good level of knowledge and understanding of crime or serious violence. You know the facts, understand the issues, know the key people, can discuss the theories. You are knowledgeable on this topic, are seen as credible and will be very at ease discussing it with experts.
• You have led teams that produced high quality, accessible research which can drive change. You have led a team that was very well respected for the quality of research that it produced and the impact that that research had. You know how to get evidence used and are familiar with the methods for doing this.  The outputs your team produced rarely just sat on a shelf. They were discussed, debated and led to change happening.
• You are a real expert on evidence standards and evaluation. You have a real expertise in the evidence standards that underpin a What Works Centre’s activity. Ideally this would include expertise in the standards used to guide evaluation design and analytical choices in individual evaluations, as well as the standards needed to carry out evidence synthesis.
• You are very at ease with data and have a real interest in data science: You are highly numerate and very comfortable with data. You may not be an expert but you have a real interest in data science and machine learning and how it might be used to help understand, predict and prevent crime.
• You make change happen. You have experience of leading people and teams in delivering results. You especially excel in situations of ambiguity where there are not clear rules to follow, previous patterns to copy or clear evidence of what will work. You care about evidence and information but you are just as passionate about making change happen because of that information.
• You win people over. People tend to warm to you and respect you. You have built good relationships with very senior people and with very junior people. You are comfortable talking to a Secretary of State, a leading professor of criminology, a youth worker, a company CEO, a teacher and a 15-year-old student. Listening to people from all backgrounds matters to you.
• You learn fast but remain humble. You are very quick at getting your head around things. You like learning. You are very good at synthesising information. You know how much you don't know. You know that you can learn more. You know that it's easy to assume you know when you don't. You care more that good things happen than who gets the credit. You are a great and supportive team player.
• You are fascinated and thoughtful on how people engage with information. You have the cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence and experience to find the ways to make present information so that people find it engaging, use it, recommend it to others and return to it. You are thoughtful and interested on what we can learn from behavioural science on how people make decisions. You understand why people resist making evidence-based decisions and interested in how to disrupt this. You come alive talking about to make information and evidence really accessible so that people change what they do.
• You are an excellent strategic thinker. People say that you are good at seeing the big picture. You have experience of wrestling into place a strategy for a project or organisation. You are good at thinking logically but you are also creative. You have ideas but are happy rejecting a lot of them. You like seeing things from different points of view.
• You don't want your days to pass without making a difference. You want to play a significant part in reducing the level of youth violence.
• You are at ease with policy makers. You are very comfortable and experienced talking to and exploring policies with policy makers whether junior civil servants, senior civil servants, advisers or Ministers. You are very effective in these conversations and good at communicating often complex research evidence very simply. 
• You are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.

While it is not a criteria, we are especially interested to hear from applicants who have lived experience of youth violence.

It is also important to us that the people we hire do not discriminate. We believe in being inclusive and giving everyone an equal chance to succeed. Applications are welcome from all regardless of age, sex, gender identity, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, race, sexual orientation, transgender status or social economic background.

To Apply

Apply by 9am 12th July 2020

You should also include the contact details of two referees, one of whom must be your current or most recent employer. Referees will only be approached with your express permission. You will also be required to provide proof of your eligibility to work in the UK. As part of our commitment to flexible working we will consider a range of options for the successful applicant. All options can be discussed at interview stage.

Interview week commencing 20th July

Panel interview week commencing 27th July

Due to the large number of applications we receive, it is not possible to write to you should you not be shortlisted. If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion.

Your personal data will be shared for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes our HR team, interviewers (who may include other partners in the project and independent advisors), relevant team managers and our IT service provider if access to the data is necessary for performance of their roles. We do not share your data with other third parties, unless your application for employment is successful and we make you an offer of employment. We will then share your data with former employers to obtain references for you. We do not transfer your data outside the European Economic Area.