The role
Are you passionate about making a difference in people's lives? Do you thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment? Are you ready to take on a role that impacts your community? We are currently seeking an enthusiastic and dedicated Independent Advocate to join our Banes Team.
As an Independent Advocate, you will provide crucial support to vulnerable adults facing significant health and social care challenges. Your role involves delivering persuasive verbal and written representations on behalf of clients, collaborating with public and voluntary organisations, and taking directed actions to address client issues. This role demands flexibility due to the role involving travel around Banes, excellent communication, and the ability to handle sensitive information confidently.
Hours of Work:37 hours, working between Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm
Location: Home based with travel in and around the Banes area.
(Applicants must live within the area; have a full driver’s licence and access to their own transport)
Salary: starting salary £24,242.40 per annum
Contract type: Permanent
Independent Advocate Requirements:
- Strong communication and time management skills to successfully work remotely.
- Excellent IT skills, including the use of Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel, and the ability to learn software packages such as client management databases.
- Attention to detail to ensure accurate recording of records and reporting to meet tight deadlines.
Desirable:
- Previous experience in advocacy, information and advice, or a similar role within health, social care, or the voluntary sector.
- Demonstrable experience working with vulnerable adults.
- Working knowledge of public and voluntary organisations.
Benefits:
- 25 days annual leave + Bank holiday (Rising to 30 days after 5 years’ service) with the option to buy or sell up to 5 days leave + your birthday off as an additional holiday day after 1 years’ service!
- Discretionary shutdown days at Christmas with up to 4 additional days leave.
- 1 Community Leave Day per annum.
- Cash Wellbeing Healthcare Plan which covers Optical/dental/alternative therapy and more!
- Auto enrolment Pension plan.
- Death in service cover.
Meet the Organisation: Who We Are and What We Do
At POhWER, we are committed to empowering individuals and enabling their voices to be heard. We provide advocacy and information services to support people in making effective decisions about their health and social care. Our team is dedicated to listening, exploring options, and taking action to meet our clients' best interests.
Think you are the perfect fit for this Independent Advocate role? Don't wait, click apply now!
Closing Date: 9AM, Wednesday 10th December 2025 (We reserve the right to close this vacancy early)
Interview Date: TBC
An Enhanced DBS check and National Offender Management Service vetting will be conducted for this position.
We're proud to support our colleagues from the armed forces signing the Armed Forces Covenant in August 2024.
Successful applicants will need to obtain business insurance for their own vehicle.
POhWER is an equal opportunities employer, holder of the Investors in People Silver award, and a member of the MINDFUL EMPLOYER scheme. We are a level 2 Disability confidence scheme employer, and disabled applicants who meet all the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.
POhWER is committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, cultures, and abilities, and particularly welcome candidates from groups currently underrepresented in our workforce. Our goal is to foster an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute. This includes, but is not limited to, people with disabilities, women, men, Black, Asian and other racially minoritised people, LGBTQ+ who are currently under-represented in our workforce/this team/department/job role.
To help embed inclusion for all, from day one, we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and employee networks to support people from different backgrounds.
About the role
We are recruiting for a Policy Officer to join on a full-time, permanent contract, working 35 hours per week.
This role is key to supporting Alzheimer’s Society’s ambitions to drive major system and policy change in diagnosis, care and treatment across England, Northern Ireland and Wales at an exciting time in dementia policy. Evidence-based, collaborative, engaging and innovative policymaking will be central to everything the Policy Officer does.
As Policy Officer you will play an important role in determining what the Society thinks about the big issues affecting people affected by dementia. Through robust scoping and policy development, you will help to identify the action needed to affect change and help ensure our influencing activity is evidence-driven, timely and relevant across the three nations in which we work – nationally and locally.
You will be an expert policy advisor to colleagues across the Society and support Policy Managers to deliver against agreed integrated plans, including helping to monitor progress and performance and working with others to gather evidence, insight and data to underpin our policy work. Key to the success of this role is engaging others in the policy development process, sharing analysis, opinion and insight to inspire high-quality, dynamic policymaking.
Interviews for this role have been provisionally scheduled to take place via MS Teams on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th January 2026.
About you
Joining us, you will have experience working in a complex policy environment, with sound understanding of the wider political environment, preferably in relation to health and care. You will have experience involving patients, service users and/or those living with long-term health conditions in your work.
Crucially, you will be a team player, naturally collaborative, with good attention to detail and be curious and challenging of the status quo. You will be a good communicator with the ability to use written/verbal communication skills to build positive relationships with stakeholders and produce high-quality and accessible policy content. This includes translating highly complex data and developments into insightful commentary and recommendations.
What you’ll focus on:
- Scoping, developing and working with others to mobilise our organisational policy positions, in line with agreed organisational priorities.
- Helping to monitor and report progress on our policy activity in line with the Evidence, Policy and Influencing integrated plan, noting how policy work is informing our approach to national and local influencing.
- Ensuring the experience and insight of people with and affected by dementia is at the heart of all our policy work.
- Embedding all work in a systems leadership approach, working across organisational and geographical boundaries to achieve objectives.
- Driving engagement, awareness and involvement in our policy work through effective communication across the Society and beyond to ensure maximum impact.
- Building impactful, sustainable relationships with external stakeholders such as partners in NHS systems, Government, think tanks and other charities, to further our strategic objectives.
About Alzheimer's Society - who are we and what’s our mission?
Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.
At Alzheimer’s Society, we’re the UK’s leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding ground-breaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.
Together with our supporters, we’re working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives. Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for.
Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as part of a minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.
Our hiring process
We want you to bring your whole self to the process. Applications are anonymised until interview stage, and we’re happy to support any adjustments. Share your feedback via our candidate survey when applying to help us improve. We may close early if we receive high interest (with 48 hours’ notice). Some roles may require a DBS check as part of our safer recruitment commitment. Thinking about using AI during the recruitment process? we know this can be helpful in many ways but remember to include your personal and authentic self too. Your voice and experience are what really set you apart.
Giving back to you
At Alzheimer’s Society, we value our people and take a total reward approach to pay and benefits. You’ll enjoy a generous double-matched pension scheme, 27 days’ annual leave (plus bank holidays and wellbeing days), and access to a free Health Shield Cash Plan, 24/7 EAP, Thrive mental wellbeing support, and virtual GP services. Our Society Plus platform offers exclusive discounts, wellbeing resources, and recognition schemes, while our flexible working, family-friendly policies, and life assurance provide peace of mind and work/life balance. We also offer a free Will-writing service and long service awards to recognise your ongoing commitment.
Salary: £28,639.85 per annum, pro-rated
Location: Remote, homeworking
Contract: Permanent, part time working 24 hours per week over 4-5 days, occasional travel to London 2-3 times a year may also be required.
Closing Date: Monday 5th January 2026. Please note we will not be shortlisting until after the vacancy is closed.
Please note this role is being advertised as a Retail Team Administrator, however on appointment your job title will be Shop Support Team Administrator.
Do you understand administrative support processes and good practice with a real desire to develop as part of an inclusive and supportive team at one of Britain’s leading housing charities? If so, then join Shelter as an Administrator in our Shop Support Team and you could soon be fulfilling your ambition and contribute towards our fight for home.
About the Role
The role will involve providing essential day-to-day support to our Shops and Retail function, acting as the first point of contact for staff, customers and supporters. A key part of your role will be managing the shop supplies order process, including price checking and placing orders to ensure our shops have what they need to operate smoothly.
It will also involve supporting a range of finance and new goods admin tasks including processing invoices, raising product codes and assisting with stock takes. You’ll play a vital role in ensuring our retail operations run efficiently, with coordinating supplies and signage for our new shop openings, maintaining till number records, updating spreadsheets and managing our online shop handbook.
About you
To succeed, you’ll need a background in admin, excellent communication and time management skills and a proven ability to work across a range of tasks simultaneously while maintaining strong attention to detail. You’ll also need a proactive approach, lots of initiative and a flair for solving problems, completing tasks and overcoming obstacles. The ability to respond quickly and positively to change is important too, as is a willingness to challenge the status quo and introduce new ideas, methods or processes where appropriate. Commercially aware, customer focused and happy to work collaboratively for the good of a business, it goes without saying that you’re proficient using Microsoft Office applications such as Word and Excel, SharePoint, Outlook and the internet.
Apply to be part of our team and be the change you want to see in society.
How to Apply
Please click ‘Apply for Job’ below. You are required to submit a CV and a supporting statement. Please provide specific examples of how you meet the criteria in the 'About you' section of this advert, following the STAR format, and ensure you demonstrate how you address the behaviours below throughout your responses:
- We prioritise diversity and have an inclusive and open mindset
Benefits
We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.
Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through our advice, support and legal services. And we campaign to make sure that, one day, no one will have to turn to us for help. We’re here so no one has to fight bad housing or homelessness on their own.
To find out more about the role and the benefits of working for Shelter please visit our website. Apply to be part of our team and be the change you want to see in society.
Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.
We are happy to talk about flexible working, personal growth, and to promote a workplace where you can be yourself and achieve success based only on your merit.
Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.