Advisor jobs in south croydon, surrey

Project Background

Come and join our award-winning place-based volunteering programme that works with residents living across Hackney and the City of London.

You will be based out in the community - the programme is based at GP practices - to engage, support and enable local residents and patients to deliver local services for themselves, to meet local needs. We support residents to come together, to share their skills and experience for the benefit of each other, to deliver local groups and activities such as a book group, film club, exercise classes or cooking group. Residents from diverse backgrounds and demographics attend these activities together and make new connections, building strong local communities, all working together to make their area a better place to live. People, many of whom are isolated across all ages, and who have difficult life circumstances, are brought together, providing each other with mutual support and encouragement to develop new skills and pursue life goals, and to feel better able to voice their concerns to services.

You will be joining a nationally recognised project - having won an award from the Royal Society of Public Health in November 2024 - to support residents to fulfil their personal goals, make connections with others, and design activities and services that meet local needs. You will also be supporting people to improve their mental and physical health through signposting them to appropriate services and encouraging them to talk to their GP if they have concerns; and will be working in partnership with GP practice staff to co-create volunteer roles to make the practice more efficient and a better place to visit.

Who are we?

Volunteer Centre Hackney is a medium sized charity (currently 30 staff) based in the London borough of Hackney, working to support local residents to realise their skills and passions through volunteering and social action, and to share these for the benefit of others.

Our mission is to build and strengthen communities across Hackney through supporting residents of all ages and backgrounds to volunteer and build projects together.

In 2021, we were awarded the Freedom of the Borough Award by Hackney Council for our efforts to support residents during COVID, which included mobilising over 2000 volunteers to deliver food, prescriptions and essential items, provide emotional support to isolated residents and support the vaccine rollout. 

We work with hundreds of diverse community organisations and deliver various programmes to help residents share their skills and deliver their own social action projects to improve people’s lives. These include a befriending programme, volunteering brokerage matching local people to volunteer roles based on their skills, interests and goals, a specialist mental health programme, peer research and multiple resident engagement programmes at GP surgeries and estates across Hackney.

Post holders need to be enthusiastic and engaging, bringing energy to the role, be self-motivating and confident to work primarily alone, albeit with some support from the team members based at other sites.

Title: Advice Services Manager

Responsible to: Operations Manager

Hours: 35 hours per week

Salary: £36,000 - £42,000 FT (depending on experience and qualifications)

Based: Willesden, NW10 2JR; Haringey borough (including Hornsey, N8 9LP) + other locations if required

Contract: Permanent (subject to continuation of funding)

Please Note: DBS check will be required

JOB OVERVIEW

Do you want to work for an organisation that makes a real difference, every day, to people from all walks of life? This is an exciting opportunity for someone already working in an advice role and looking to take the next step in their career to join the Brent Irish Advisory Service (BIAS) as Advice Services Manager.

The Advice Services Manager will take the lead on BIAS’s day-to-day advice services, managing a small team of welfare and housing advice specialists to ensure that we provide the highest-quality service to our clients. You will need to have experience of delivering front-line benefits and/or housing advice, strong people skills and the ability to build good working relationships with staff and clients, along with excellent organisational abilities to ensure that casework and projects are delivered on time.

In 2025, BIAS is expanding its successful Brent-based welfare and housing advice service into Haringey borough. The Advice Services Manager will work closely with the Operations Manager to build and develop the new advice service in Haringey, ensuring that we replicate our excellent quality of service, strong record of positive outcomes and loyal client base.

This role will also involve working with the leadership team to help identify areas for future development and support grant applications and reporting, which will give you the opportunity to have a direct impact on shaping the organisation’s future strategy and direction.

If you are an experienced advice specialist and are looking to step up but don’t have all the skills required, please consider applying as we are willing to consider appointing the right candidate as a training and development role.

KEY WORK AREAS AND MAIN DUTIES

Staff management

• Managing a small advice team, ensuring the quality of the advice provided.
• Providing support, supervision and training to staff on the delivery of advice services, ensuring that appropriate advice is provided and casework deadlines are met.
• Ensuring good teamwork and lines of communication between staff and partner organisations.
• Creating a positive working environment in which equity and diversity are promoted and staff can do their best.

Quality and service delivery

• Leading the welfare advice services in both Brent and Haringey boroughs, and contributing to further expansion.
• Maintaining a small personal caseload (approximately one to two days’ work per week).
• Working with the Operations Manager to ensure that BIAS complies with Advice Quality Standard (AQS) requirements.
• Leading on monitoring service delivery, recording outcomes and ensuring efficient allocation of resources.
• Managing all aspects of risk relating to advice delivery, complaints handling, safeguarding and GDPR.

Operational support

• Working with the leadership team as required on operational matters, including planning, strategy for future development and grant applications and reporting.

These are the basic duties required of the Advice Services Manager. However, it is necessary for all staff to be flexible and you may be required from time to time to perform other reasonable duties which are required for the efficient running of the organisation. We will also offer training opportunities to support your career development.

Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK. This role will be based in our advice offices in Willesden and Haringey[1] but there may be some options for flexible working (i.e. one or two days per week).

ABOUT BIAS

BIAS is a local charity which has supported England’s largest Irish community in Brent for over forty-five years. We deliver our support through our welfare advice drop-in service, our active ageing clubs and our Be-a-Friend volunteer scheme. We raise over £2 million in extra income for the most vulnerable every year and have over 3000 attendances at our club services. BIAS has exciting plans for further expansion in 2025 and has a range of medium- to long-term grant funding, including from Ireland’s Emigrant Support Programme.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, please submit a CV and cover letter. Your cover letter should demonstrate how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for this role (detailed in the PDF job description), with supporting examples.

The deadline for applications is 6th June 2025 but we encourage candidates to apply as soon as possible as interviews may be carried out on a rolling basis.

[1] BIAS is currently running its Haringey advice services from the Hornsey Vale Community Centre, with plans to establish a permanent office in Haringey later in 2025.

LMK (Let Me Know) Youth Leader (Freelance Educator / Youth Worker) 

• Across London boroughs, occasional travel outside London optional 
• £200 per 2 hour workshop 
• Sessional 
• Available for a minimum of one delivery per month, pending workshop demands

About LMK

Good relationships shape our health and happiness, yet we are taught so little about them. LMK is a registered education charity on a mission to change that. We run workshops educating young people about healthy and unhealthy behaviours, so that they can avoid abuse and thrive in relationships. 

Using film and guided discussions, our workshop Leaders support children and young people in honest conversations about relationships and leave them better equipped to spot the early warning signs of abuse, inspiring them to enjoy healthy, fulfilling relationships.  We explore the 10 signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships and include practical lessons young people want to learn about (like consent) and practice scenarios in a safe, supportive and non-judgmental environment. 

LMK is a learning organisation and prides itself in supporting leaders to develop their skills. We offer training and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities, as well as peer-to-peer learning and reflective practice sessions.

About LMK Leaders

LMK Leaders are passionate and organised educators who run community workshops, aimed at young people aged between 11 and 24. Through engaging, relatable workshops, Leaders help young people identify signs of healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours, provide strategies for them to recognise the early warning signs of abuse and give them tools to keep themselves and their friends safe. 

Expectations of LMK Leaders

• Always adhere to LMK and host organisations health & safety and safeguarding practices and procedures. 
• Capable of maintaining confidentiality and professional boundaries with young people, peers, and professionals.
• Respond to comms (emails/WhatsApp) sent out by LMK team members in a timely manner, to support planning and organising of sessions.
• Plan and deliver interactive LMK workshops in educational and community settings in line with LMK delivery style and ethos. 
• Meet with co-facilitators to carry out pre-session planning, minimum three working days before delivery.
• Use your experience and knowledge of the issues affecting young people to tailor the workshops accordingly. 
• Ensure all youth participants and the adults in school/community organisations who attend a LMK workshop complete the post session feedback surveys.
• Complete a reflective post session Leader survey after each workshop to support practice and programme development.
• Debrief with LMK’s Programme Development Manager and provide ongoing feedback about your sessions through LMK’s reflective practice processes.
• Accommodate a maximum of two workshop observations by LMK staff/supporters per academic year, designed to bolster our funding and thought leadership strategy.
• Undertake relevant training associated with LMK’s work, including but not restricted to diversity and inclusion, safeguarding, violence against women and girls (VAWG).
• Undertake at least one quality assurance observation per year, completed by an LMK Programme Development Manager, and enhance practice via developmental feedback.
• Continue to learn about and develop your skills on the issues affecting young people’s relationships including domestic violence, abuse, adverse childhood experiences, trauma informed practice, gang culture and grooming, mental health, sexual exploitation, consent, sharing of nudes /sexting, bullying in person and online, tech and online safety, pornography.
• Share your knowledge and expertise by providing feedback and, where requested, co-designing training and educational resources on issues affecting young people and their relationships.
• Mandatory attendance of termly virtual Leader huddles and reflective sessions to remain connected to peers and organisational values, mission, purpose and operational matters.
• Contribute towards and keep up to date with LMK internal/external communications platforms, such as LMK newsletters and social media.
• Engage with LMK’s Youth Advisory Board Members, if and when invited to do so.
• Lead by example and promote healthy relationship behaviours in your own lives/communities and within LMK (team player; acknowledging and working with diversity; being receptive to new ideas and developmental feedback, etc)
• Use your own networks to recruit new schools and youth groups into the programme.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience required

• Extensive experience of teaching or working with young people (10 to 24 yrs old) in educational or community settings.
• Minimum 2 years’ experience co-designing, delivering and evaluating group sessions, consisting of minimum of 12 and maximum of 30 participants.
• Experience or co-designing session plans and co-facilitating with others; able to collaborate equally with others.
• A strong commitment to young people and knowledge and understanding of issues affecting their relationships.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills with the ability to create a safe and non-judgmental space, that allows young people to speak freely about their relationships and experience.
• Able to adapt and be flexible in workshops to get the best engagement from a range of participants. 

Must also:

• Be entitled to work in the UK.
• Hold a DBS certificate or be willing to let LMK undertake a check on your behalf. 
• Have a recent safeguarding qualification from a recognised provider or be willing to undertake additional training in this area.
• Be flexible to work non-traditional, after-school and occasional weekend / holiday hours.
• Comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, confidentiality, data protection and reporting concerns to an appropriate person.

LMK values the differences that a diverse workforce brings and is committed to inclusivity. We welcome all applicants from any race, ethnicity, colour, religion, gender, age, sexuality, or any other protected characteristic.

We can make reasonable adjustments throughout the application process and on the job. Please let us know, by contacting us separately if you need any adjustments or changes to be made during the recruitment process because of a disability or long-term health condition.

You can learn more about how we handle your personal data and your rights by reviewing our privacy notice (see attachements).

Please note:

In-person interviews for this role will take place on 3rd June and a mandatory (paid) 2 day, in-person training will take place on 26th and 27th June. (Both will be held at Central London locations).