Carers engagement officer jobs in kingston upon thames, surrey
Age International is recruiting for a Senior Policy Adviser with a proven background in achieving impact, for a 12-month maternity cover contract, working 28 hours per week. Salary advertised is FTE - 35 hours.
This is a superb opportunity to join a small but mighty organisation, with a strong mission to champion older people's rights internationally. Leading our external-facing policy and influencing in the areas of Gender and Climate, you will ensure the experiences and contributions of older people are central to these policy spaces.
We have made significant progress in recent years, and your evident track record will help take our work into its next stage. This is an ambitious brief, so your strategic thinking and ability to prioritise will be key.
Key purpose of the role
1. To lead the areas of Gender and Climate for Age International's policy and influencing work, in support of the organisation's strategic influencing objectives - including influencing relevant external stakeholders.
2. To line manage the Policy Adviser (Health and Humanitarian) and support other Influencing colleagues.
3. To facilitate collaborative working relationships for increased impact.
4. To ensure high quality policy analysis and communications.
Please note that due to the Hybrid nature of this role, the successful applicant will be required to commute to the central London co-working hub on a regular basis. We anticipate this being twice a week. Your travel costs to the London office are not covered by the charity.
Must haves:
The below competencies will be assessed at the indicated stage of the recruitment process: Application = A, Interview = I, Test and/or Presentation = TP
Experience
* Experience of effective communications with diverse UK and international policy stakeholders across barriers of language, culture and power dynamics. (A I)
* Experience of research and policy analysis and translating complex data and evidence into engaging written content for a variety of audiences. (A I)
* Experience of influencing stakeholders at different levels within UK political / policy and international institutions to achieve policy change. (A I)
* Experience of participating actively in and/ or coordinating civil society networks and working groups to influence decision-makers collaboratively. (A I)
* Line management experience, including enabling clear objective setting and supporting professional development. (A I)
Skills and Knowledge
* Ability to take a strategic approach to stakeholder influencing and to align policy work with influencing goals. (A I TP)
* Ability to build effective working relationships internally and externally, to consult, negotiate and build support for initiatives across teams and with partner organisations, balancing collaborative working and listening skills with the ability to promote Age International's agenda. (A I)
* Ability to represent Age International with senior-level external contacts. (I)
* Ability to deal with situations that require a high level of tact and diplomacy. (I)
* Excellent written and oral communications, matching tone and style to different audiences and occasions. (A I TP)
* Ability to attend events related to areas of focus, in the UK and very occasionally to travel internationally. (I)
Personal attributes
* Fully supportive of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. (I)
Great to haves:
Experience, Skills and Knowledge
* Knowledge of international development, including an understanding of UK, European and global institutions and their policy processes. (A I)
* Knowledge of global population ageing and the views, needs and aspirations of older people in lower and middle-income countries. (A I)
* Experience of leading projects, including managing budgets, collaborating with multiple partners and commissioning consultants. (A I)
* Experience and knowledge of the history of gender and development, and the structural issues that necessitate a feminist, decolonial approach to policy analysis. (A I)
* Ability to apply gender analysis, tools, concepts and approaches to a broad range of organisational contexts. (A)
* Understanding of climate change as it relates to older people and the globally ageing population, humanitarian contexts, as well as key concepts such as adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage and an appreciation of the key NGO calls for change. (A I)
What we offer in return
- Competitive salary, 26 days annual leave (pro-rata) + bank holidays + annual leave purchase scheme
- Excellent pension scheme, life assurance, health cashback plan and EAP
- Car Benefit Scheme, Cycle to Work Scheme and Season Ticket Loan
- Techscheme - buy any tech from Apple or Currys, up to £1000, and spread the cost over 12 months, interest free
- Blue Light Card Scheme
- You Did It Awards - recognition awards from £100-250.
Additional Information
Supporting statements and anonymisation
Candidates are expected to provide a supporting statement that explains how they meet the competencies annotated with an ‘A’ in the job description, to assess suitability for the position. Age UK acknowledges and accepts that AI may be used to support the application; we do expect candidates to personalise experience, knowledge and skills and failure to do so, may result in your application being rejected.
CVs will be anonymised by our recruitment system when you apply for a role. Our system is unable to anonymise supporting statements. Please could you remove any personal information including your name before you upload to support our inclusive recruitment process. All equalities monitoring information is also anonymised and not shared with the hiring panel. Your name and address will only be known to us if invited for interview.
Equal opportunities & Disability Confident Scheme
Age UK is an Equal Opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates, regardless of age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital/civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity. Age UK is a Disability Confident Scheme employer. Due to high numbers of applications received, Age UK reserves the right to limit the overall number of interviews offered, and therefore, it may not always be practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for the job.
Reasonable adjustments
Disabled job seekers can access reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. All requests for reasonable adjustments are considered on a case-by-case basis, in collaboration with the disabled job seeker to best meet their needs, by contacting the recruitment team. Disability disclosures will be kept confidential and only shared on a need-to-know basis to support the implementation of adjustments. Disclosures will not be used to inform hiring decisions.
Age UK is able to provide Skilled Worker sponsorship for eligible roles only. If this applies to you, please contact the recruitment team to discuss. If the role is not eligible for Skilled Worker sponsorship you will need to have a pre-existing Right to Work in the UK.
Age UK is committed to safeguarding adults at risk, and children, from abuse and neglect. We expect everyone who works with us to share this commitment.
Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert at any time.
Age UK politely requests no contact from recruitment agencies or media sales. We do not accept speculative CVs from recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.
For a full list of benefits please see our website.
Registered Charity 
Thank you!
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).
11 - 20
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.