Independent Mental Health Advocate Jobs in East Of England
About us:
Action for M.E. is the only charity in the UK providing direct support including healthcare to children and adults with M.E.. We provide vital support services, campaign for change and invest in ground-breaking research to help put an end to the ignorance, injustice and neglect experienced by people with M.E.
Opportunity:
Having been paused to new referrals, Action for M.E.’s free, independent, Adults Advocacy service will soon be re-opening. It’s one of our range of free Support Services that work with adults, young people, and/or families living with M.E. We support colleagues across the team to take part in and share reflective practice, self-care, peer-support and training.
Our Adults Advocacy service offers non-statutory, single-issue, instructed advocacy for adults with a confirmed diagnosis of M.E. We encourage self-advocacy where possible, though many of our clients are too severely affected by M.E. to be able to take undertake this.
As an Adults Advocate, you will manage a caseload of clients, as well as inputting and contributing to the triage process along with your Advocacy colleagues. You will meet with clients by phone, email, Zoom and/or SMS; we can also facilitate communication by post if this is required. We are not able to offer home visits or face to face meetings.
What we can offer you:
We offer fully remote and flexible working with generous annual leave (30 days plus bank holidays, pro rata). The wellbeing of our staff is important to us, we offer a range of benefits to employees including (but not limited to) access to free counselling and voluntary wellbeing weekday sessions, examples of recent sessions include guided group meditations and a book club.
To view the full job description, download the job pack, and apply for this role, please visit our Recruitee site (please note that we only accept applications via Recruitee; any application sent directly to an Action for M.E. mailbox will not be considered).
Should you have any questions about the role, or require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to contact our recruitment team, details of how to do this are contained in the application pack, "how to apply" section.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Job Title: Advocate
Service: Coram Voice Shropshire
Contract Type: Part Time – Permanent
Hours: 17.50 hours per week
Salary: £11,150.50 per annum (£22,301 FTE)
Location: Home Based with Travel Across Shropshire.
About Coram:
Coram is committed to improving the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children and young people. We support children and young people from birth to independence, creating a change that lasts a lifetime.
Coram is the UK’s oldest children’s charity founded by Thomas Coram in London helping vulnerable children and young people since 1739. Today, the Coram group helps more than one million children, young people, families and professionals every year by providing access to the skills and opportunities they need to thrive.
About Coram Voice:
Coram Voice exists to enable and equip children and young people to hold the system to account, to challenge and support it to do its job properly and to uphold the rights of children and young people to actively participate in shaping their own lives.
Coram Voice strives for a society which recognises, and willingly accepts, its responsibilities to children and young people, where the inequalities and discrimination they currently face have been eradicated. Where those children and young people are fully engaged in all decisions that are made about their lives. Where the views, needs and feelings that they express are at the core of those decisions.
Coram Voice is a national independent children’s charity established in 1975 and has grown to become one of the leading organisations for children and young people in the UK.
Coram Voice is a leading children’s rights organisation. We champion the rights of children. We get young voices heard in decisions that matter to them and work to improve the lives of children in care, care leavers and others who depend upon the help of the state.
Our Advocacy services we provide advocacy direct to children and young people in care, in need, in custody and to care leavers and children and young people with mental health needs. Advocates around the country support children and young people to get their voice heard in decisions about their lives. This may be through the telephone helpline or through an advocate working directly with a child, for instance, to support them at a review meeting or to help them make a complaint about their care. Coram Voice provides visiting advocacy services to most of the secure units nationally, to Secure Training Centres, Juvenile Young Offender Institutions, psychiatric hospitals, residential special schools and children’s homes.
About the Role
You will work directly with care experienced children and young people and those on Child Protection Plans providing them with advocacy support in the community and in a variety of settings. You will empower and support them to ensure their voices are heard within decision–making processes that effect their lives. You will be a capable ambassador for Coram Voice with the ability to engage effectively with professionals, carers, other stakeholders and most importantly children and young people.
If you have the necessary experience and skills and a commitment to promoting the rights of young people, we would like to hear from you.
What you will receive
We wish to reward and recognise the valuable contributions our staff make to the organisation and offer an attractive benefits package to do so. Coram Voice benefits package includes a competitive salary, a matched pension scheme up to 5% of salary, generous leave entitlements of up to 25 days’ annual leave plus an additional 3 days paid leave between Christmas and New Year. A supportive work environment fostering a good work/home life balance and a suite of family friendly policies, which promote employee wellbeing.
You will get a genuine opportunity to make a difference every day.
Recruitment process
Shortlisting will be undertaken by our Children’s Rights Managers. Successful candidates will then be invited for interview. The interview process comprises of a written exercise and a panel interview. Successful candidates will have a further one to one interview in accordance within Warner recommendations. Internal candidates will need to notify HR of their interest in the post and they will provide further information on the internal application process.
Returning your application:
- We cannot accept general CVs.
- When completing your application form, you need to address each point of the person specification and demonstrate how you meet it.
- Applications must be fully completed.
- If you are a current Coram Voice employee you may submit a supporting statement only addressing the person specification requirements for the post.
Closing date: 14th May 2024 at 23.59pm
Interview date: w/c 20th May 2024
General consideration for applications:
- DBS checks: all posts are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring check.
- Training: All successful candidates are required to complete our compulsory training programme which includes training in Advocacy (Being a Voice) Safeguarding and Diversity
- Conflict of interest: the independence of the service is important to Coram Voice. Prospective applicants need to raise any other potential conflicts of interest when initially contacting Coram Voice about this post.
Coram is an equal opportunities employer and we believe a diverse workforce enables us to improve the services to the children and families we help. We are genuinely committed to encouraging candidates from all sections of the community we seek to support. This includes those from, Asian, African, Caribbean and other minority ethnic backgrounds, those that identify as LGBQT+, those with disabilities, those with lived experience of care, those with neuro-diversity, and those from other groups who are underrepresented at Coram.
If applicants feel comfortable, we would encourage them to draw on lived experience as well as professional experience in their personal statement as part of their application.
We are committed to the safeguarding of children and where appropriate will require the successful applicant to undertake a check from the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Registered Charity No. 312278.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
About us:
Community ConneX is a campaigning organisation and a multi-project service provider working across West London. We support autistic people, people with a disability, and people and families experiencing barriers to live healthier, happier, and inclusive lives. We do this by ensuring their needs, rights and aspirations are met.
Advocacy 1st is a free, independent service provided by advocates who specialise in the Care Act, Mental Capacity Act and the Mental Health Act.
Location: Remote based in Oxfordshire
Key duties:
· Recruiting, training and providing ongoing support to volunteers
· Working with the children and young people to assess their service requirements
· Working with stakeholders to raise awareness and recognise and identify care leavers and young people in need of the Independent Visitors and Care Leavers service
· Looking at opportunities to engage and work with services to identify care leavers and independent visitors
· Reporting and discussing all safeguarding concerns with the service manager
· Completing initial assessments and matching volunteers to young people
· Raising the profile of the Independent Visitors and Care Leavers service
Our ideal candidate:
· Has qualifications relevant to the role
· Has experience of working with children and young people.
· Is aware of legislation such as Care Act 2014, Children and Families Act 2014, Children Act 1989, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child (UNCRC)
· Has excellent communications and writing skills, and the ability to tailor written and verbal communications to a wide range of different audiences
· Can maintain existing relationships and develop new relationships with clients, families, colleagues and volunteers
· Can generate reports and make presentations
In return we offer a range of benefits including:
· Pension contribution up to 5%
· Death in service insurance
· Employee assistance programme
· Bluelight Card
· Cycle to work scheme
· 23 days of annual leave + bank holidays (increases after 2 years of service)
· Gym membership
· Healthcash plan
· Professional development
We are committed to safeguarding and equal opportunities, and we guarantee an interview to all applicants with disabilities meeting the minimum criteria for the post.
We also want to ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable facilities to participate in job applications or interviews to perform essential job functions. To support this, we are a Disability Confident committed employer.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Do you want to support people with mental health issues in a moment of crisis? Are you calm, non-judgmental and able to work effectively with people experiencing distress?
Can you demonstrate our values of Hope, Courage, Together, and Responsive and want to be part of our mission to create opportunities for individuals to make choices, find their own solutions, build resilience and manage their whole life and wellbeing?
If the answer to all of these is yes, we want to hear from you.
Mental Healthcare Support Worker – Helpline & Crisis Cafés - Evening and Weekends
Reference: 198
Responsible to: Crisis Cafe Coordinator
Working Base(s): Watford, Stevenage and Ware (expectation to travel whenever necessary with mileage paid when not working at home base)
Salary: £22,347 - £24,024 per annum, FTE
Hours: Full time or part-time positions (30 or 22.5 hours) available in addition to Bank hours.
Work pattern: A full-time pattern will be working 5 out of 7-day rota, working 17:30 - 01:30
About the Service
Our Nightlight Service is proud to provide urgent support, crisis intervention and emotional support to people experiencing a mental health crisis in Hertfordshire as an alternative to statutory pathways.
We provide support to adults across Hertfordshire 7 days a week, 365 days a year through our helpline, crisis centres, crisis cafes and a weekend Crisis House. We aim to provide a safe space for people in crisis to talk and feel supported, be listened to without judgement, access relevant support with problem solving and facilitate access to external services when necessary.
The objectives of Hertfordshire Mind Network’s (HMN) Nightlight Mental Health Crisis Services are:
- To improve the mental wellbeing of people experiencing mental health crisis in Hertfordshire.
- To increase early access to help for people experiencing mental health crisis in Hertfordshire, by providing a clear and effective pathway to services provided by Herts Mind Network and other third sector and statutory providers.
- To contribute to an improvement in individual mental wellbeing.
- To remain a source of independent support for all clients.
- To provide an alternative pathway to people in distress and crisis to support better outcomes and reduce the demand on statutory crisis services and emergency services.
About the Role
Mental Healthcare Support Workers are key members of staff delivering the Nightlight Mental Health Crisis Service, taking part in a rota covering 7 days per week, ensuring the delivery of quality crisis support services and instilling Hertfordshire Mind Network’s values throughout the crisis cafe and helpline provision. Working closely with other staff (bank staff, volunteers), coordinators, team leaders and Crisis manager to ensure services are of the highest quality and support the continued growth and development of the service.
Key Responsibilities
- Providing emotional support and developing, alongside clients, flexible and realistic crisis support/person-centred plans within agreed guidelines with support from leadership team (including assessments of need, risk, crisis support plans and review forms), often where risks are significant.
- Liaising with statutory agencies to ensure appropriate intervention is obtained for individuals.
- Drawing upon own lived experience as appropriate to inform the delivery of person-centred support.
- Providing immediate advice and information to clients to support with crisis presentations.
- To support individuals both through telephone support (helpline) and face to face support (crisis café).
- Liaising with Nightlight management and external services e.g. police, ambulance service, Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team, Single Point of Access, Safeguarding Out of Hours Service, Mental Health Liaison Teams, Adult Community Mental Health Services etc .as needed in terms of accepting referrals and proactively recognising the indicators of deteriorating mental health and facilitating appropriate support.
- Completing appropriate signposting/onward referrals to both internal and external services in accordance with identified needs and risks.
- Supporting clients with making drinks and beverages as needed when visiting the crisis café.
- Assisting with housing keeping/cleaning tasks as necessary and reporting any maintenance problems.
- Contributing to the co-development of the service by supporting service user, family and carer involvement by obtaining feedback and supporting where necessary chances to be involved in wider service reviews.
We offer:
- Annual leave entitlement of 25 days per year pro rata, rising in increments to a max. of 29 days after 5 years employment (plus 8 days Bank Holidays)
- An additional day of leave each year for your birthday following completion of probation period.
- Ongoing training relevant to your role.
- An Employee Assistance Programme.
- Health cover (after 6 months employment) – compensation payment for Optical, Dental, Chiropody and Therapy Treatments.
Closing date for receipt of applications is 6th May 2024
Interviews shall take place the week commencing 6th May 2024.
Please note: We reserve the right to close this advertisement early if sufficient applications are received so would encourage early applications.
Interested?
If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.
Equal Opportunities
We welcome applications from all suitably-qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief, or sexual orientation. In addition, during the various stages of recruitment, specific measures can be taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates with disabilities or special needs.
Hertfordshire Mind Network is committed to the Disability Confident and Mindful Employer charters. We actively recruit staff who have a lived experience of mental ill health. We recognise and value the unique combination of skills, knowledge and perspective that employing people with a lived experience, at all levels across the organisation, brings. We create an environment where the sharing of experiences and vulnerabilities to support others and create positive change is welcomed and work towards breaking down the ‘them’ and ‘us’ culture. The organisation is committed to nurturing peer relationships that allow all staff to thrive.
We are delighted to have been accredited as a Living Wage Employer.
No agencies please.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Then Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!
We are looking for a Community Key Worker
Salary: £22,000 - £26,000 (outer London)
Location: Southend & Basildon - Essex (attending Waltham Cross main office once a week)
Contract: Permanent
Hours p/w Full Time 35hrs per week
This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.
Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references, confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check. This role is also subject to Police & Prison Vetting.
About us
Advance is an award-winning and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women and girls survivors of domestic abuse and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending. We believe in empowering women and girls to lead safe, non-violent, equal lives so that they can flourish and contribute to the community.
We are a community-based organisation who lead in best practice approaches to supporting women in their local community. We achieve this by being available to meet and support women in local settings and at our women’s centres, and by working in close partnership with other agencies.
Our values are to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaboration, innovation, and accountability.
About the role:
Are you an excellent relationship builder who can work with women and a diverse range of delivery partners to ensure that she meets her potential and successfully progresses through and beyond her probation supervision? Can you meet a women wherever she is at in her journey and work with her to create an individualised support package that gives her the best chance of breaking the cycle of offending?
Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for a feminist organisation who understand that supporting women in the criminal justice system requires a specialist and gendered approach? Do you believe in our values; to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaborate, innovate, and take accountability?
In your role as a Community Keyworker, you will be working with women involved in the Criminal Justice System; those on Probation in the Community and those women being released from Prison as part of their Post Sentence Supervision; providing some in-reach and ‘Through the Gate’ support. You will be working in a team of Community Keyworkers in your region. Each Keyworker will provide holistic one to one community support to women with a variety of needs.
About You:
Are you a strong believer in advocating for others? Are you empathetic, patient and determined? Then this opportunity could be right for you.
The Minerva London service provides holistic, trauma-informed support for women in touch with the Criminal Justice System. We do this through offering dedicated one to one support, safer women’s centre spaces and specialist interventions and partnerships.
To be successful as the Community Key Worker you will need the below experience and skills.
You will be working in a supportive, friendly, and welcoming team whilst having oversight of a caseload of women, who may be under the supervision of the National Probation Service or in custody, enhancing the offer of holistic support and advocacy services available to them throughout their journey.
Building relationships with other statutory and non-statutory agencies in local communities is vital to build referral pathways and provide a whole system approach to supporting individuals.
To carry out this work you will meet women in the community in your designated borough and co-locate with other agencies including the National Probation Service, as well as regularly attending Advance’s North London vibrant Women’s Centre/office space.
You will be a creative self-starter who will support the service and look for innovative solutions to support clients with complex needs. You are confident professional relationship builder and has good awareness of Safeguarding procedures. Strong Administration skills and understanding of compliant behaviours also experience of supporting. With good knowledge of the criminal justice system and awareness of other support provisions.
How to apply:
Please submit your up-to-date CV with a supporting statement. Please note that only applications made via the job advert on the Advance careers page, and those that include a cover letter will be considered.
- Closing Date for Applications: Sunday 5 May 2024 @ 23:59
- Interviews are taking place on a rolling basis
*Advance reserves the right to close the advert early, or on the appointment of a candidate
What we can offer you - Employee Benefits:
- A 35-hour working week
- An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!) if working a 35 a hour week.
- Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home
- Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more
- Pension scheme
- Enhanced maternity/adoption provision
- Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
- Employee eye-care scheme
- Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles
- Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation
- Organisation wide away days
- Thorough induction and training
- Career development pathways
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Under the Equality Act 2010, we are required to make any reasonable adjustments. If you have a disability as defined under this act and/or have special needs, please contact us via the Advane website and the Talent Acquisition Team will aim to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.
Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities
We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and actively seek to recruit people from groups underrepresented in our current team. 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.
Safeguarding
Advance is committed to safeguarding and creating a culture of zero-tolerance of harm and expects all staff, including volunteers to share this commitment. We believe all individuals have the right to live their life free from violence and abuse and the right to feel and be safe.
We have a suite of safeguarding policies, procedures and practice guidance, accessible to all staff, which promotes safeguarding and safer working practices across all our services and activities. When we recruit staff, we follow rigorous safer recruitment practices, this involves carrying out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and identity checks. We ensure all staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training relevant to their role and responsibilities, to empower them to be competent and feel confident in recognising and responding appropriately to safeguarding issues and promote wellbeing.
We are a dedicated Domestic Abuse Charity supporting Women exposed to gender-based violence and exploitation, and their children to be safe and have access to appropriate interventions and support in order to live free from fear and harm.
If you are passionate about supporting women and working in a charity that has core values of diversity and inclusion, collaboration, advocacy and innovation then we have an exciting opportunity for you to join us as a Support Office working in our Refuges. We work with trauma informed practice and use client led support plans to ensure that the women in our Refuges are supported in a personalised way.
We are passionate about working in the community with other agencies and organisations to ensure that women using our services have excellent, appropriate and holistic support.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Working hours
35 hours per week – Mondays – Fridays throughout the year (there may be some flexibility with start and finish times in this role). Please note you will be required to regularly work outside of the normal office hours to attend and run events.
Benefits
Attractive starting salary of £32,000 per annum
25 days’ paid holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 30 days’ after 5 years’ service
Membership of a DC pension scheme with 10% employer contributions and life cover
After you have been with us for 3+ years, you will be entitled to generous fee remission for your children
Free lunch and free use of the School’s gym and swimming pool
Membership of Smart Health, offering wellbeing advice and access to GP and mental health support
About us
Ipswich School has been voted Suffolk’s top independent school in The Sunday Times Parent Power League. We have over 1100 pupils aged between 3 months and 19 years. The School is consistently judged to be ‘excellent’ in all that we do, with the most recent report by ISI Inspectors confirming, Ipswich School has a fine record of academic success, which is placed within the context of an extensive range of activities outside the classroom. The School operates a five-day week, with representative sports on Saturdays. Games, CCF, Community Service and a variety of other activities take place on Thursday afternoons.
Development and Alumni Relations at Ipswich School
The School’s Development Office was established in 2006 to work with the School’s communities, including past pupils (known as ‘Old Ipswichians’ or OIs), and current and former parents, to encourage support for Ipswich School through events, volunteering and financial support.
This is an exciting role based in our Development Office, which is vital to the smooth running of our alumni community, the Old Ipswichians. Our alumni are an important part of the School’s past, present and future. In this role you will take the lead in further developing and enhancing our events, alumni engagement and fundraising programme to encourage positive relationships with the School.
You will play a pivotal role in the team; producing engaging copy, editing, proofing and facilitating the delivery of key departmental communications. Working closely with the Development Director, you will also work to develop and implement an engaging fundraising programme.
To undertake this role successfully you will need to have the following skills and experience:
- Be educated to A Level standard with excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Direct events management experience of at least three years
- Experience of fundraising in a charity setting
- Excellent workload management skills
- Experience in writing copy, with exceptional attention to detail including grammar and spelling
- Good keyboard/ICT skills
- Good understanding of social media
- Excellent customer service skills, a good telephone manner and a helpful, proactive approach
- A genuine interest in people and their stories.
Ipswich School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the job, including checks with past employers and an Enhanced Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Main purpose of job: To lead and develop CARA, taking overall responsibility for the operational and financial management, generating income, working closely with the board of trustees to achieve CARA’s strategic and budgetary aims, whilst ensuring compliance with statutory, contractual, and regulatory requirements.
Start date: To be agreed with the appointed candidate (subject to Enhanced DBS Check and satisfactory references).
Salary: £55,000 - £60,000
Hours: Your hours of work are as required to perform the duties of your role, for a full-time employee this is normally 35 hours per week.
Contract: Permanent
Place of work: At least two days a week in the Colchester office, with some home working, regular travel across Essex and occasional travel in the East Region.
Holiday: 25 days per year pro-rata, plus additional closure days between Christmas and New Year.
To apply: Please complete the application form, which can be downloaded from our website, explaining how your skills and experience relate to the person specification.
Application deadline: 10am, Thursday 16th May 2024.
Interviews: Tuesday 4th June, in Colchester.
This post is restricted to women applicants under the Equality Act 2010, Schedule 9, Part 1.
Job Description
The post of Chief Executive Officer offers an exciting opportunity to steer CARA through the next stage of its development, providing leadership to the talented and committed CARA team. The role will involve building on the considerable growth and development that CARA has achieved over the last 10 years, securing funding to ensure it can continue to provide excellent specialist services to survivors of sexual violence and take steps towards CARA's vision of a world without sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
CARA’s CEO is responsible for leading and developing CARA, taking overall responsibility for the operational and financial management, generating income, working closely with the board of trustees to achieve CARA’s strategic and budgetary aims, whilst ensuring compliance with statutory, contractual, and regulatory requirements.
The main responsibilities of the CEO are:
Strategic leadership
·Work with the Board of Trustees and the Head of Operations, and consult with staff, survivors, and others, to develop and define a clear, strong vision and direction for the future of the organisation.
·Lead on and be responsible for the creation, ongoing development and implementation of the organisation’s strategic, business and annual plans.
·Foster, model and promote an inclusive, feminist, anti-racist organisational culture that reflects CARA’s ethos and values.
·Be accountable to the Board of Trustees for the overall financial health of the organisation.
Good governance
·Report and present to the Board of Trustees on the organisation’s progress against its budgets, plans, any risks, challenges and changes, and all information relevant and necessary to the effective discharge of the Board’s duties, including strategic decision-making.
·Develop and share proposals with the Board for the implementation of its objectives and the ongoing development of the organisation.
·Support the Board of Trustees in its ongoing process of self-assessment, development and improving its diversity and representation.
·Ensure the charity meets its constitutional, regulatory and legal obligations.
Business development
·Develop and implement an income generation strategy that ensures the organisation’s sustainability and enables its sustainable growth.
·Work in partnership with the Head of Operations to develop and implement the organisational structures needed for effective delivery of CARA’s objectives and sustainable growth.
·Generate new and various funding and income opportunities through networking, developing partnerships.
- To research and identify new funding and commissioning opportunities and complete bids and applications on an ongoing basis.
·Increase the unrestricted income of the charity, including developing, proposing and implementing new and innovative approaches to its income generation activities, including working closely with the CEO of Icena.
·Be responsible for maintaining and developing strong, long-term relationships with a diverse range funders and donors, both existing and new.
Representation
- To act as lead representative for CARA in the Synergy Essex Rape Crisis Partnership, developing strong working relationships with the other partners and negotiating CARA’s role, responsibilities and the financial allocations it receives from the partnership.
- To keep up-to-date with current developments affecting victims and survivors of sexual violence and ensure that CARA responds appropriately to these developments.
- To be the chief spokeswoman for CARA, responding to media and other enquiries as appropriate and playing a pro-active role in bringing relevant issues to the attention of the public, issuing press releases and initiating debate, as appropriate.
- Build, support and oversee strong relationships with individuals and organisations across the voluntary, public and private sectors, and in local and national government.
- To contribute to Rape Crisis England and Wales campaigns and other campaigns, as appropriate.
- To remain informed of national and regional Rape Crisis perspectives, drawing on Rape Crisis England and Wales expertise and resources as appropriate.
Organisational management
·Ensure policies and processes that support good communication, staff health and well-being, and safe and effective delivery of work are in place and adhered to throughout the organisation.
·Take overall responsibility for the staff team, its management and performance.
·Capture the organisation’s work through robust monitoring and evaluation, and ensure CARA’s impact and any learning is shared throughout the team and with the Board, survivors, funders and other partners as appropriate.
·Oversee and ensure robust financial management processes for the charity.
Other
·To oversee safeguarding at CARA, working with the Designated Safeguarding Leads to ensure effective policies and procedures are in place and communicated to staff, trustees, sessional counsellors and volunteers, and that CARA follows best safeguarding practice.
·To adhere to all CARA’s organisational policies and procedures.
·To be administratively self-servicing, and to share responsibility for a range of day-to-day tasks with the Head of Operations and other team members.
·To undertake other related activities as required by Board of Trustees.
This list is indicative only, not exhaustive. It is intended to reflect a range of duties the post-holder will be expected to perform but additional duties commensurate with the role may be required. The job description will be reviewed from time to time and may change in light of experience and changing circumstances, in consultation with the post-holder.
About CARA
CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse) works with victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse, providing independent, specialist support and promoting and representing their rights and needs.
CARA's vision is of a world without sexual violence and child sexual abuse. As a step towards this vision, we do all we can to create a culture where victims and survivors are believed, supported and treated with fairness and respect.
CARA is a registered charity working with adults, young people and children from across mid and north Essex. We have a head office in Colchester and outreach premises in Braintree, Chelmsford, Clacton-on-Sea, Great Dunmow and Harwich. We also provide remote services.
CARA currently employs 39 full and part-time staff and has an annual income of approximately £1.6 million.
CARA's Aims
1. To provide high quality, specialist support to victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
2. To increase awareness and understanding of sexual violence and child sexual abuse and the impact they have on victims and survivors, challenging myths and misconceptions.
3. To promote and represent the rights and needs of victims and survivors, including advocating for a fairer criminal justice system.
CARA's Values
Feminism. Respect. Empowerment. Equality
CARA is a women-led organisation and we work from an intersectional feminist perspective. We actively seek to ensure equality of women as a service provider and as an employer.
The core values of respect, empowerment and equality underpin everything we do.
CARA's commitment to diversity and inclusion
CARA seeks to be an inclusive organisation that actively encourages, supports and values diversity amongst both our service-users and our workers. We wish to create a culture in which discrimination, in all its forms, is recognised and addressed. CARA is committed to anti-racism and are currently developing an Anti-racism Policy. Through this work, we will be aiming to dismantle barriers within CARA to ensure we do not continue to perpetuate institutional racism and can create a truly inclusive environment for our service-users and our workers.
You can read more about CARA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion here.
We encourage and welcome applications from candidates from Black, Asian, and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
About Synergy Essex
CARA is part of Synergy Essex – the Essex Rape and Sexual Abuse Partnership. We work with SERICC Rape and Sexual Abuse Specialist Service and Southend-on-Sea Rape Crisis (SOS Rape Crisis) to deliver the contract for the Office for the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Essex for services for victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse across Essex, Southend and Thurrock. Synergy Essex also shares a number of other projects, funded by the Ministry of Justice, Essex County Council and the National Lottery Community Fund.
Our current PFCC contract ends in March 2025. Synergy Essex intends to submit a bid for the new contract, which is expected to be put out to tender in the summer of 2024.
About Icena
CARA is a founding stakeholder of Icena - a social enterprise offering training and consultancy to eradicate sexual discrimination and violence. The creation of Icena forms part of CARA’s sustainability strategy: Once Icena is generating sufficient profit, a share of this profit will be used to support CARA’s work.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
What we’re looking for:
- Do you have demonstrable experience (professionally or voluntary) supporting customers with substance misuse issues?
- Do you have experience supporting customers with mental health needs?
- Do you have knowledge or an understanding of housing support needs and benefits?
If so, this role is perfect for you!
Here at Peabody, we have an opportunity for a Outreach Support Worker on a Permanent basis in Brentwood, Epping & Harlow areas.
A bit about the role:
As a Outreach Support Worker, you will provide a service where planned support and crisis intervention is delivered to vulnerable people with low, medium and high support needs living in independent accommodation with the aim of them maintaining their home.
In conjunction with colleagues and Senior Managers, you will be responsible for the effective operation of the Support Service, in line with its policies and procedures, including encouraging a co-operative and supportive environment within the Service, listening to customers’ views and developing new services to meet these needs.
Some of the key results for the role include:
- To provide pre tenancy guidance and ongoing support to customers on all tenancy matters, including assistance to furnish and move into properties.
- To enable customers to abide by their tenancy agreements, giving advice and assistance on dealing with police and courts where this relates to housing matters
- To provide basic Welfare Benefits advice, assisting customers in claiming all benefit entitlements and assisting with accessing specialist support.
- To work with customers to identify the skills required to manage their own tenancy, including assistance to deal with difficult situations.
This role will require an Enhanced DBS check, a UK driver’s licence and access to a vehicle.
A bit about us:
It started over 160 years ago with one man’s desire to improve the lives of poverty-stricken Londoners.
Today, we have 107,000 homes and 220,000 residents across London and the Home Counties and around 20,000 care and support customers. But the desire remains the same – to create homes and communities where people can flourish.
We work with councils and communities to promote economic inclusion, tackle inequality and poverty, and prioritise wellbeing.
Here just a few of the benefits for working at Peabody:
- Up to 25 days’ annual holiday plus bank holidays
- Flexible benefits scheme, including options for Healthcare, Dental care, Critical illness cover, vouchers, technology scheme and access to a discount portal
- 4 x Life Assurance
- Competitive salaries that are benchmarked regularly against current market rates
- Professional development by access to "paid for" apprenticeship programs and qualifications
- Two additional paid volunteering days each year
- Family friendly policies
- Up to 10% pension contribution matched 1:1
Are you ready to apply?
Closing Date: 6 May 2024
Interview dates - Week commencing 13th May.
PLEASE NOTE: As an employer, Peabody does not provide sponsorship as a licenced UK employer.
To be considered for the position of Outreach Support Worker, please click on the ‘Apply Now’ button and submit both your CV and a bit about why we should consider you for the role.
Peabody reserves the right to close this advert before the advertised closing date, depending on the number of applications received.
Contract type Permanent
Weekly hours Monday - Friday 9-5