Advocacy Caseworker Jobs in Barking And Dagenham, Greater London

Springfield Advice & Law Centre is a community based legal practice and a registered charity. We were formed in 1982 when we were set up to serve the mental health community.  We are based mainly on the site of Springfield University Hospital Mental Health NHS Trust.  Springfield Law Centre is unique as a working model of a health justice partnership.

We are seeking a for a new Director & Head of Legal Practice to take forward this unique, niche Law Centre.  There is an opportunity for expanding the work of the Law Centre and showcasing the worth of health justice partnerships.We are looking for an energetic and compassionate lawyer with a broad experience of either housing or community care casework and representation, who is capable of being a legal aid category supervisor in either area, who has the confidence to lead the team and to develop it so that we can continue to make a real difference within the community.

Qualifications and experience

1. 5 years’ PQE qualified lawyer, with demonstrable experience of management at a senior level.
2. Ability to meet the supervisor for the Legal Aid Agency contract in either housing or community care.
3. A track record of implementing and managing change. 
4. A track record of leading and motivating others demonstrating strong people skills.
5. A track record of innovation and problem solving.
6. Appropriate skills and experience that demonstrate an ability and commitment to manage staff effectively. This should include support, supervision, and appraisal and performance management.
7. Appropriate skills and experience to effectively handle and manage complaints.
8. Experience of managing a Legal Aid Agency Contract and Legal Help matters, with billing targets.
9. Ability to bill all types of legally-aided work and to report to the Legal Aid Agency.
10. Ability to manage a varied caseload of sufficient, appropriate matters to meet the billing target in place.
11. Ability to draft appropriate documentation in your specialist area of law.
12. Experience of giving successful training or talks, for example giving presentations, or
13. representing clients before Courts or Tribunals.
14. Skills
15. Ability to take an active role in, leading the direction of the Law Centre, developing new strategies and raising profile.
16. Ability to manage the Lexcel Quality Mark and ensure that systems and standards are maintained across the organisation so that audits are passed.
17. Ability to understand the financial viability of the Law Centre.
18. Ability to report effectively to funders and to monitor progress against grant funded projects.
19. Commitment to equality and diversity as set out in the principles and policies of the Law Centre.
20. Ability to be self-servicing: you will be expected to manage most of your own typing, filing and billing of Legal Help/Aid cases to comply with LAA requirements.
21. Ability to prioritise your workload with minimum supervision.
22. Excellent communication skills: you must be able to relate well to colleagues, clients and third parties, in person, in writing and on the telephone, despite the pressures of the role.
23. You must be very well organised, with excellent ICT skills, in order to work well under pressure without compromising standards.
24. Ability to work flexibly and outside regular office hours including attending and reporting to the trustees on the progress of the Law Centre.

Consideration will be given to requests for flexible or family friendly hours of work to include job share, part time working or specific proposals. The Management Committee consider the range and number of duties to be a full-time role and that any reduction from a full-time role will result in a division of duties to accommodate all aspects of the Law Centre’s needs and aspirations.

Founded in 1951, the Refugee Council exists to support people who come to the UK in need of safety and speak out for compassion, fairness, and kindness.

We achieve this by providing expert advice and casework, building the capacity of refugee community organisations, and working with allies across society to change government policy. Our vision for refugees to be welcome to live safe and fulfilling lives contributing to the UK has never been more urgent and needed. Today 27 million refugees and 84 million displaced people around the world need of safety, dignity and welcome. We are determined to secure public and government support for safe routes for all people seeking safety, and a fair, effective, and compassionate refugee protection system. Now is an excellent time to join the Refugee Council.

Our strategy – which you can read via our website, sets an ambitious direction which will see us defend refugee protection in the UK against the Government’s corrosive plans with refugees and like-minded allies, united in our desire to create a just, fair, and humane refugee protection system. It will also see us delivering direct services that improve people’s refugee protection journey through targeted advice and casework and strengthening and connecting Refugee Community Organisations with other service providers and advocates.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

Service Development and Management 

• To work with the Head of Integration & Employment (I & E), Business Development and Fundraising departments to create opportunities for the Integration Service to grow in line with our Integration Service Model.
• To ensure services are well planned, managed and delivered to a very high standard in accordance with organisational and funder agreements.

Staff & Volunteer Management 

• To support the recruitment of all new staff required within Refugee Council working on the Integration projects.
• To line manage a wide range of service delivery roles in accordance with the Refugee Council’s policies and procedures including carrying out supervision and appraisal and staff development.

Specialist Advice, Advocacy and Influencing 

• To support caseworkers to provide specialist advice and support to adult refugees in a sensitive, confidential, and professional manner which fully understands the needs of the individual.
• To continually develop an in-depth understanding of the issues affecting newly recognised refugees with a view to becoming and retaining specialist knowledge of refugees and the barriers that can prevent them from integrating effectively.

Equalities and Diversity 

• To provide services with due regard for equalities and for meeting the needs of all potential and actual service users. Ensuring advice services are delivered in ways which are fully accessible and in a language that they can understand.
• To work with respect and tolerance for all colleagues, refugees, and contacts, and to value diversity and difference.

General 

• To participate in Refugee Council working groups, management meetings and special projects as the need arises.
• To carry out any other duties appropriate to grade and role.

For more information on the role and to apply, please visit our website via the ‘Apply’ button.

Candidates must address ALL of the points from the person specification as part of their application.

Closing date: Monday 6th May 2024.

Location: Camden “Hybrid working”

Salary: Salary Band 2.2 (Indirect)

£26,521.88 - £28,643.63 per annum

£15,913.13- £17,186.18 Pro- rata to 22.5 hours per week.

(Please note, successful candidates are usually appointed at the bottom of the relevant band)

Hours: 22.5 hours per week

Contract: Permanent

Closing Date: 9th May 2024 at 12 noon

Virtual Interview Date: 22nd May 2024

Are you looking for a rewarding role working for an intersectional feminist organisation? If so, we have an incredible opportunity for you to join our team as Immigration Advisor at Solace Women's Aid.

We exist to end the harm done through gender-based violence. Our aim is to work to prevent violence and abuse, as well as providing services to meet the individual needs of survivors, particularly women and children. Our work is holistic and empowering, working alongside survivors to achieve independent lives, free from abuse.

Our core values reflect our history and were developed in consultation with staff and service users. Feminism and intersectionality are key to our work, and we are committed to the principles of being survivor-led, trauma-informed, empowering, diverse, anti-racist and anti-discriminatory.

About the Service

Solace’s Immigration service provides high quality immigration advice to survivors of domestic abuse who have insecure immigration status. The Immigration Service is a pan London provision working with women with insecure immigration status who have been affected by VAWG including sexually exploited and trafficked women.

About the Role

We are seeking a qualified and experienced immigration advisor to join our pan-London Immigration service in Camden.

As part of a team of legally trained advisors, you will be responsible for assisting women affected by domestic or sexual abuse with uncertain immigration status. Your role involves managing complex cases and collaborating closely with the team to provide comprehensive support to women as they rebuild their lives.

About You

We seek someone with strong caseworker skills, with a commitment to keep survivors at the centre of service delivery whilst also delivering on service targets. You will have a passion for ending violence against women and girls as well as a thorough understanding of immigration law and an understanding of the barrier’s women with insecure immigration status face in accessing legal advice and support.

We understand that you may not have all the knowledge, experience, and skills mentioned in the Job Profile Document. However, your interpersonal skills, passion to have a positive impact, commitment to our purpose, and ability to learn quickly and collaborate effectively will be equally important. If you wish to learn more about the role or if you are unsure about whether to apply, we encourage you to contact our recruitment team.

We understand that you may not have all the knowledge, experience, and skills mentioned in the Job Profile Document. However, your interpersonal skills, passion to have a positive impact, commitment to our purpose, and ability to learn quickly and collaborate effectively will be equally important. If you wish to learn more about the role or if you are unsure about whether to apply, we encourage you to contact our recruitment team.

What we can offer you

We provide a comprehensive benefits package to all our employees, including:

• Flexible working
• Focus on learning and development (internal career progression and training)
• Generous holiday entitlement
• Employer pension contribution
• Family-friendly leave and enhanced maternity pay
• Access to Inclusion Networks
• Daily clinical debriefing
• Employee Assistance Programme providing free 24/7 support and advice.
• Employee Benefits Platform offering staff discounts, benefits and savings
• Flow & Restore yoga classes.
• Meditation sessions
• Cycle to Work Scheme

How to apply

Please submit your CV and Supporting Statement through the recruitment portal. When applying for this role, kindly highlight in your Supporting Statement how your values, knowledge, transferrable skills, and experience align with each point within the following sections of the Job Profile Document:

• Values, Behaviours & Competencies
• Knowledge, Experience and Skills

Solace Women's Aid values diversity, promotes equity, and challenges discrimination. We encourage and welcome applications from candidates of diverse cultures, abilities, perspectives, and lived experiences. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay, and benefits. Our Inclusion Networks support staff with protected characteristics and offer inclusive spaces to connect.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. We anticipate and provide reasonable adjustments as needed and support employees who acquire a disability or long-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work. If you require any support to apply for this role, please email us.

This service is run by women for women and is therefore restricted to female applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, and Part 1. Section 7(2) e of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 apply. The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

As part of safer recruitment practices, we carry out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and right to work in the UK checks.

No agencies.

Provide reception and general office support for our busy team

• Be the first point of contact for members of the public contacting Glass Door, answering the phones and logging all calls; dealing with incoming enquiries by telephone, email, website feedback or voicemail; passing on queries to colleagues as appropriate.
• Manage enquiries from guests and either responding to these or referring them to caseworkers as appropriate.
• Be responsible for day-to-day management of the office by dealing with incoming and outgoing mail (including franking and delivery to the post office).
• Manage the meeting rooms and meeting room calendars.
• Monitor office equipment to ensure functionality and report any breakages or repairs needed (including IT) and re-ordering office supplies, etc.
• Be responsible for monitoring parking in front of the office and ensuring management and safe storage of keys for the charity’s motor vehicles.
• Assist the Office Manager with organising volunteer help for appropriate office tasks.
• Keep our offices organised and tidy (including storage of office materials, tea and coffee etc.).
• Carry out ad hoc tasks as requested by the Office Manager.
• Provide ad hoc support to the casework team e.g. keep in touch.

Support our Fundraising, Communications and Volunteering functions

• Help to process deliveries of physical donations; scan cheques and ensure cash donations are recorded, secured in the safe and the Fundraising and Communications (FRC) team are notified.
• Provide ad hoc support to the FRC team such as ordering stationery / supplies, sorting equipment / doing stock checks and assisting with mass mail outs. 

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Advice Session Superviser or experienced Generalist Adviser with at least 2 years’ experience looking for a development opportunity to join our dynamic team.

The successful candidate will join our team of Supervisers and contribute to the support and development of our excellent staff and volunteers.

Together with our Senior Management Team and Quality Performance Manager, you will help to ensure that we continue to provide a high quality advice service within the London Borough of Bromley.

If you are a team player, committed to supporting others, and want a job that makes a difference in people’s lives this could be the job for you.

Closing date: Monday 6th May 2024 at Midnight

Interview date: Wednesday 8 th May 2024

Citizens Advice Bromley values diversity, promotes equality and challenges discrimination. We encourage and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.

ABOUT RAHAB

Rahab Project UK is a small charity which is part of a wider global organisation that works towards seeing the lives of at risk and vulnerable women affected by prostitution and trafficking transformed. We support those who are sexually exploited with unconditional acceptance, compassion and dignity to rebuild their lives and achieve their own identity and freedom. We provide learning and development opportunities for women to engage in and offer a supportive and on-judgemental environment as they explore ways and takes steps forward in self-determining their futures.

We are a dedicated team of professionals, facilitating casework support, counselling, wellbeing and learning. As a Rahab team member you will play an essential role in developing and steering our continued growth, but more importantly you will be play a part in the transformative journeys of our beneficiaries and their recovery from exploitation and abuse.

Job title: Project Coordinator

Role type: Part-time (4 days/30 hrs per week) 

Salary: £34,000 - £37,000 Pro-rata (depending on experience) 

Contract type: Initial 1-year fixed term contract

Location: Rahab Sanctuary (London), some flexibility for hybrid working negotiable 

Reports to: Rahab Manager 

Overall Purpose: The Project Coordinator is responsible for overseeing the planning, execution, and monitoring of Rahab's projects. 
 

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES
 

Service delivery

• Ensure that all aspects of Rahab’s project activities are planned, organized and undertaken to fulfil their objectives within their required timelines.

• Develop, organize, and maintain project documentation, plans, reports, and other project-related documents to monitor and track overall progress, outputs and achievement of milestones.

• Identify, troubleshoot, and communicate project risks, delays and issues to the Project Manager and relevant stakeholders.

• Monitor project progress with team members and task as required. 

• Contribute to the development of funding applications in coordination with Rahab’s Fundraiser. 

• Support Rahab team with volunteer recruitment and training. 

• Undertake project tasks as required including supporting the team with outreach when necessary. 

• Provide administrative support such as minuting weekly team update meetings and setting up relevant meetings with external organisations. 

Data collection, record keeping, monitoring & reporting. 

• Maintain accurate data and records that capture and analyse information to (i) inform planning and delivery of casework support; (ii) monitor and evaluate wider project outcomes, (iii) to contribute data for future long-term evaluation of casework approach efficacy. 

• Produce accurate quarterly management reports. 

• Produce timely donor reports for funders within respective deadlines. 

• Facilitate a review of project progress for Rahab team at monthly update team meetings, to support project monitoring and tasking. 
   

Service development

Priority stakeholder relationships 

• Participate in and contribute to collaborative working arrangements, alongside Rahab Manager, in key stakeholder work - SI MARAC (Sex Industry Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference) - with Local Authority, Metropolitan Police and Voluntary and Community sector.

• Participation at monthly SI MARAC meetings, ensuring that the work of the group is effectively joined up with wider groups and meetings focussed on addressing risk and harm.

• Support Rahab’s Senior Caseworker where necessary to ensure SI MARAC outcomes are effectively linked up with Rahab's outreach activities, and work-with Rahab’s Project Manager to ensure team members are kept informed about SI MARAC developments. 

• Work with the team to identify and engage in new professional relationships with key organisations across different sectors, and maintain our existing networks of contacts, to (i) develop and expand Rahab’s activities and reach, and (ii) foster collaboration. 

• Represent Rahab in multi-agency working groups, meetings, and forums, sharing knowledge and learning, publicising services available and how to access support. 

Beneficiary co-production 

• Work with Manager to start developing a framework and mechanism for gathering feedback from beneficiaries to evaluate the support they are receiving. 

• Work with the team to identify opportunities for our beneficiaries’ active participation in the project in ways that are safe and empowering. 

Shared learning 

• Participate in team development and learning in relation to best practice interventions and our casework delivery for beneficiaries. 
   

Continued professional development 

• Maintain an up-to-date working knowledge of relevant legislation, regulations, guidance, and best practice. 

• Within budgetary constraints, attend training and other events to help maintain proficiency and build a network of support amongst peers. 
   

Variation clause 

Rahab reserves the right, following full and reasonable consultation with the post holder, to vary, add or alter the terms and conditions of employment. 
 

Flexibility clause 

To deliver services effectively a degree of flexibility is required, and the post holder may be required to perform work not specifically outlined above and/or outside of specified working hours. Overtime will not be paid; however, TOIL will be accrued for hours worked and staff supported to take that time. This post includes occasional evening work. 
 

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

For us it is important that you are passionate and committed and that you care for individuals who want to step away from the sex industry or who require support after exploitation and abuse. It is also important that you bring a mature outlook and hold a non-judgmental perspective. The role does not expressly require frontline experience working with this group of beneficiaries, but it does require sensitivity, a sincere desire to learn, an understanding of the complex vulnerabilities that contribute to individuals arriving in these situations and a degree of knowledge of the intersections concerned. 
The role description is a useful guide but please don’t discount yourself if you feel you don’t meet all criteria exactly but believe you have the potential. Above all, we value those who work diligently, possess effective and healthy boundaries, and who are committed to seeing lives changed.   
We embrace diversity and are committed to inclusiveness and respect of all people, irrespective of individual circumstances, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, beliefs, ability or age. We encourage people of all backgrounds to apply, including people of faith and non-faith. 
 

SUCCESS PROFILE FOR THE ROLE (Competencies) 

Skills and Experience[E] Essential, [D] Desirable 

• Experience working at coordinator level handling varied tasks and multiple priorities [E] 

• Experience working with at-risk and vulnerable individuals or experience working in an organisation with this group as its focus; or a sincere interest in learning and acquiring the skills and knowledge to support this group. [E] 

• Effective organisational skills, prioritising activities and using available resources to ensure tasks and projects are completed to budget and deadlines. [E] 

• An excellent problem solver - self-motivated and resourceful; exercises initiative and uses personal authority appropriately. [E] 

• Influencing skills and able to motivate and impact individuals and organizations and build collaborative and constructive relationships. [E] 

• Cross-cultural competency, able to relate to people from a wide variety of backgrounds with acceptance and cooperation [E] 

• Excellent spoken and written English language skills, able to effectively convey information to varying audiences. [E] 

• Knowledge of Microsoft 365 suite including SharePoint, Word, Excel and Outlook [E] 

• Experience of participating in and working collaboratively in multi-stakeholder activities, initiatives, or projects. [D] 

• Experience and or knowledge of working with UK police and local authority stakeholders [D] 

• Experience of working with Salesforce [D] 

• Knowledge of relevant legislation [D] 
   

Personal Qualities 

• Professional demeanour and attitude, conscientious and trustworthy, high personal integrity.

• Mature outlook; level-headed, open-minded and non-judgemental. 

• Takes personal responsibility for the quality and timeliness of work, proactively engaging with colleagues to achieve positive results. 

• Responds positively to change; adapts to find alternative ways and solutions in dynamic situations. 

• Effective and healthy boundaries; able to recognise limitations and voice needs. 

• Friendly and approachable; sincere and compassionate with sensitivity to the complex needs and vulnerabilities of beneficiaries. 

• A reliable and supportive team member who is inclusive and respectful. 

• Actively participates in achieving common goals; shares information and expertise; works together with others to solve problems; puts team success first. 

Leadership

• Commitment to the mission; a true ambassador for the ‘Rahab brand’ and ‘DNA’. 

• A lateral thinker; sees beyond the status quo and contributes new ideas and fresh insights. 

• Proactively seeks opportunities to advance the work; challenges appropriately to envision and empower.

Safeguarding 

We are committed to safeguarding of all beneficiaries, staff and volunteers and expect staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. We undertake enhanced disclosure checks (DBS) for all roles.