Advocate jobs in Wiltshire

ob Title: Children’s Rights Manager/Advocate

Contract Type: Permanent – Part Time

Hours: 21 hours per week

Salary: £18,830.97 per annum (£31,384.95 FTE)

Location: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) (Primarily home-based, with regular travel across the area)

We are seeking an experienced, proactive Children’s Rights Manager to lead our advocacy and Independent Visitor (IV) services, supporting children in care, care-experienced children, and children in need. This role is a critical part of our commitment to upholding children’s rights and ensuring their voices are heard in decisions that affect their lives.

About Coram

Coram is committed to improving the lives of the 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 is a leading national children’s charity committed to championing the rights of children and young people. Since 1975, we’ve worked to ensure that children in care, care leavers, and others who rely on state support are heard, valued, and empowered.

Our vision is a society where children and young people are treated with dignity and respect, free from inequality and discrimination. We strive to ensure their voices are at the heart of decisions that impact their lives.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to join Coram Voice as our new Children’s Rights Manager in the BCP area. In this pivotal role, you will lead a team of advocates and an Independent Visitor (IV) coordinator, delivering high-quality routine advocacy and Independent Visiting services for children and young people.

You will be joining a child-focused organisation, making a real difference in the lives of children and young people in the BCP area by ensuring their voices are heard, their rights are upheld, and their experiences in care or need are positively supported.

What you will receive

Coram Voice 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 28 days’ annual leave plus an additional 3 days paid leave between Christmas and New Year and a suite of family friendly policies, which promote employee wellbeing.

We are seeking candidates who are committed to our objectives for children and young people and equally committed to the organisation and the development of our services.

Recruitment process

Our Service Managers will undertake Shortlisting. Successful candidates will 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: Monday 27th April 2026 @ 12.00pm (Please note we reserve the right to close earlier if we receive sufficient applications.)

Interview Date: Wednesday 6th May 2026

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 global majority 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.

Specialist & Expert Advocate for Children - based in Scotland

Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse AAFDA

Remote – Based in Scotland with regular travel across Scotland

Salary – £33,000 pa

Full-time

Fixed term for 12 months (potentially 36 months dependent on funding)

Closing Date – 10th April 2026

AAFDA is a growing charity, and we are looking for a specialist Children’s Advocate to be based in Scotland. Although home based, travel will be required across Scotland. We welcome applications from candidates who are registered social workers and who have professional experience of working with people who have experienced domestic abuse.

We are also committed to diversity and strongly encourage applications from those with Black and/or Minoritised backgrounds.

AAFDA was founded by Frank Mullane in memory of his sister Julia Pemberton and her son Will who were both killed by her ex-partner in 2003.

Scotland is expected to introduce Domestic Homicide and Suicide Reviews (DHSRs) in April 2026. We are looking for a candidate with a good understanding of the Scottish legislative system and good understanding around domestic abuse and how it impacts on children to join our growing charity. Each year, in Scotland, around 25 families lose a loved one to fatal domestic abuse, perhaps one third of this number being domestic homicides and the others being suicides following domestic abuse. The actual number of domestic abuse related suicides remains unknown.

Many of these families suffer significant problems including relationship breakdown, job difficulties/loss and mental and physical health issues. The Children’s advocate will provide expert advocacy, specialist peer support to children, and other services, helping them practically and emotionally. This may include helping them to contribute to DHSRs and providing opportunities to recover from harm for example via trauma therapy and other services.

Through trauma-informed approaches, you will help the children bereaved by fatal domestic abuse:

-To enhance their voice after fatal domestic abuse including by helping them to contribute to domestic homicide and suicide reviews and formal / informal meetings with various professionals.

-By providing residential peer support events, or access to these events for both the children and their carers.

-Via virtual support tools and other resources.

-By developing pathways into groupwork programmes for carers of bereaved children.

-Cope and recover by direct support and by linking into other services, for example, specialist trauma therapy.

In return for joining us, we will offer you:

· 25 days annual leave per annum, plus bank holidays

· Excellent development and training opportunities

· Pension Scheme

· Healthcare Scheme

· Employee Assist Scheme

Application Instructions

To apply for this role, please submit a supporting statement along with your CV. The closing date is 10th April 2026. Please note that this job advert may close early due to screening applications on an ongoing basis. We advise applying as soon as possible for your application to be taken into consideration at the early stages

Applicants will be shortlisted according to how well they meet the criteria in the person specification. Please highlight and explain how you meet these in your supporting statement. If you have been shortlisted for interview, you will be informed by email. Regrettably, we are normally unable to acknowledge unsuccessful applicants.

Please note that we will not progress applications where the supporting statement does not address the criteria for the role being applied for.

This senior leadership position is responsible for managing and overseeing OTR’s Voice Services which include our Advocacy and Independent Visiting (IV) Service, Participation Service, LGBTQ+ Service, and our CAMHS Link Work Service. You will directly line manage our Leads of these services and empower them to deliver and develop the work that they do.

You’ll work with the Service Leads to manage key commissioner and contract relationships to ensure we’re delivering in line with our contractual obligations. This role also plays an important part in shaping the future of each service; supporting re-contracting, bid writing, and applications to tender.

The post holder will be a key member of OTR’s Senior Management Team (SMT), working collaboratively with the Head of Wellbeing Services, Head of Resources, and the CEO to help shape and deliver the organisation’s strategy, drive innovation, and support long-term organisational growth.  

Your attributes: 

We are looking for someone who has strong people management skills, who can build trust quickly within a team. The Service Leads are key to the success of this role and their expertise and knowledge is invaluable. 

You’ll enjoy supporting colleagues to thrive and develop services, while also able to use a strategic approach to decision making to future proof what we deliver. You’ll be passionate about our mission and hold strong communication skills to bring clarity to our work for staff, partners, and young people.

Your enthusiasm and personality are as important to us as your experience to date. If you can’t tick off every point in the job description below but feel you have the right transferable skills to succeed in the post, please do still apply.   

Main Responsibilities 

Service delivery support 

• Operational oversight and responsibility for OTR’s Voice service, working with the Service Leads to ensure continuity of quality service provision. 

• Line management of: LGBTQ+ Lead, Participation Lead, Link Worker Lead, and Advocacy & IV Lead. 

• Through service evaluation, ensuring young people are receiving the best possible quality of support, capturing feedback and learning to continually develop the support we provide.

• Working with Team leads on quality assurance using the data from our client record system, and service specific monitoring to ensure we’re delivering on contractual goals and targets.  

• Be the first point for safeguarding escalation for the Voice Service Leads and part of the on-call safeguarding rota for all of OTR.

Contracts and commissions 

• Managing relationships with contract managers and commissioners. 

• Working with the Service Leads to make sure we produce timely reporting, monitoring numbers, and finance papers.

• Attending quarterly review meetings, annual reviews and subgroups relating to these.

• Working with the SMT on re-contracting and applications to tender for Voice Services. 

Finance 

• Work with Service Leads and the SMT on funding proposals and development opportunities for the Voice Services. 

• Working with the CEO and Service Leads to set and manage the service budgets and expenditure. 

Partnerships 

• Engage and collaborate with community partners to increase OTR’s presence and impact. 

• Develop and maintain relationships within health a social care to improve outcomes for young people.

• Participate in a variety of external networks and steering groups to share learning and best practice to reach more young people who need us most.

Senior Management Team 

• Alongside SMT and the Board of Trustees, overseeing and managing the implementation of OTR’s organisational strategy, including reporting to the Board.  

• Promote OTR values and support the growth of OTR’s culture and identity

• Alongside SMT proactively work to ensure Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion commitments are upheld and continuously woven into what we do.

• Leading on EDI work across OTR to ensure an inclusive, equitable and accessible service for all young people and staff. 

General  

• Participate in the day-to-day work of the organisation – such as reporting, attending team and other meetings as required, and taking a flexible approach to general administrative and support tasks

• Be an ambassador for OTR, actively promoting our vision and work

• Ensure the effective implementation of the organisation’s policies and overall organisational objectives, including Health & Safety policies and procedures, taking responsibility for their own personal health, safety and welfare in the workplace.

• Following safeguarding policies and procedures in all aspects of the work with children and young people.

• Actively promoting good equal opportunities practices across all aspects of work and taking positive steps to counter discrimination however and wherever it occurs.

• Participate constructively in supervision and staff development opportunities including training and team building initiatives.

• Contribute to co-operative working across all the services within OTR.

• Promote and enable active involvement of young people in planning, improving and making decisions about OTR services.

• Ensure effective and accessible communication with staff, service users and the general public.

• Contribute to maintaining and developing effective professional relationships both internally and with outside agencies.

• Undertake any other reasonable duties consistent with the skills and duties needed for this role, as required. 

For the full Job Description and Person Specification, please visit our website. 

Working pattern and location 

This role is based at our office in central Bath, which is very close to Bath Spa train station and Bath central bus station. The post holder will be based in a shared office with access to meeting rooms.

There is opportunity to work from home when agreed with your line manager, and we operate a flexible working policy which allows your hours to be spread throughout the day/week in agreement with your line manager.

The post holder will be expected to be able to travel throughout the authority and beyond to meet service users, professionals, and to attend meetings and training activities associated with the position. Mileage allowance will be payable for these types of travel.

The job will require occasional working outside of core office hours, some evenings, including the occasional weekend.  

Applicants must have the ability to travel within and outside the local authority, including to areas where there is no public transport.