Head Of Communications Jobs

We have an exciting new opportunity for a Social Prescriber to join our team in Merton.

The Merton Social Prescribing service is one of the most established and mature services in the UK and is celebrating its 7th anniversary this year. We are seeking an individual to join our successful service in Southwest London. This role will help to strengthen the links between Primary Care, voluntary and public services to improve patients’ health and wellbeing. 

You will support patients within Primary Care GP practices in Merton, and you will support each patient to access appropriate services provided by voluntary and community organisations and other agencies. We expand the options available in Primary Care by creating a ‘managed’ way for referrals of patients with social, emotional and/or practical needs to a variety of local non-clinical services in the community. These include leisure, social activities, education, welfare, housing and employment advice and support. 

About The Role | How to Apply: 

• 35 hrs per week 

• six months fixed term contract initially with possible extension

• £31,395 per annum plus 5% pension, includes Outer London Weighting 

• Closing date for applications:  Monday 13th May 2024 (midnight)

• Please ensure that you fill in your application using the job specification headlines. Applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to avoid disappointment.

• Formal interviews will be held on Monday 20th May 2024 

• The starting day will be in June 2024 

• Applicants will be notified by telephone if they are to be invited for interview 

Job summary:

Recently named Charity of the Year by Just Giving Awards 2022, we’re committed to moving further, faster to accelerate change for everyone affected by a brain tumour. Brain tumours kill more children and adults under 40 in the UK than any other cancer. We know that a cure can’t wait.

Our involvement work brings together our community to mobilise urgent change in research, support, campaigning and awareness through the power of their united voices. The insight from our involvement network inspires and drives all our work across The Charity. This role involves actively engaging and stewarding everyone across all relevant and interested groups. This includes providing support to those living with a brain tumour diagnosis, their family and their friends. As part of our services team, you will ensure we engage all groups including those disadvantaged and less heard from, championing the voices of our wider community to grow our involvement network.  You will also collaborate with those professionally committed to the cause, including our research community, to ensure that people affected by brain tumours have the chance to both shape and participate in research opportunities. You will be responsible for measuring and sharing the difference we are making through the delivery and analysis of our Improving Brain Tumour Care Surveys, empowering the community to identify the gaps in treatment and care experiences, so we can make a difference where it matters most.

Who we’re looking for:

The successful candidate will have experience of working with individuals, groups and communities and have the ability to communicate complex information in clear, engaging ways. As a highly motivated and established champion of community involvement, you will have a proven track record of delivering a programme of involvement activities, including tools and resources to support meaningful patient and public involvement in research. You will be keen to use your leadership and relationship building skills to make a real difference, and have an instinct to listen, support and enable the community to drive change. You will have excellent people and influencing skills and the ability to identify smart opportunities, develop action plans and deliver change. With a willingness to learn, you will be evidence-led and analytical when delivering new approaches to involvement across the organisation.

Key accountabilities:

· Grow the involvement of the community in driving development of The Charity’s work including support, campaigns, fundraising, research and strategy

· Develop the involvement strategy and engage teams across the organisation to maximise the use of involvement

· Promote, advise on, and facilitate involvement activities including but not limited to focus groups, workshops and developing and undertaking surveys

· Collaborate with our Research team, contributing to the design and implementation of policies relating to research involvement

· Steward and look after the involvement network and develop their experience in a structured way over time

· Manage our Young Ambassador and Involvement Champion programmes

· Ensure we engage all groups including those disadvantaged and less heard from

· Innovate in involvement by bringing in ideas from others and developing partnerships across the wider ecosystem, in the field of brain tumours and outside the sector

· Identify the gaps in experience of treatment and support of the brain tumour community through the Improving Brain Tumour Care surveys and other feedback mechanisms 

· With the Head of Services, ensure that all services are developed in collaboration and close partnership with representatives from our community from the outset

· As part of the wider services team, work closely with the team and community to review service delivery and development of new content

· Ensure effective operational cover of the support services when required, including own participation in delivery of services

· Provide feedback to funders and other stakeholders in a suitable format on our Improving Brain Tumour Care Surveys and involvement outcomes as required

You’ll be a great fit if:

We encourage you to apply to the role even if you do not meet all of the criteria.

Experience:

· Proven track record in a similar role for at least two years i.e. leading on involvement and participation work especially in a health, research, social care or third sector environment

· Experience of developing, implementing and evaluating patient and public engagement and involvement strategies and methodologies, preferably in a research environment

· Designed and run user insight work, including online and in person workshop facilitation and interviews

· Designed and built online surveys, including delivering quantitative and qualitative research methods and their application

· Experience of working with and supporting people affected by neurological disorders and/or people affected by brain tumours

· Recruitment, training and supervision of volunteers

· Proven experience of identifying, working to and delivering on Key Performance Indicators and clearly demonstrating impact

· Experience of using a CRM database to accurately record data and create reports that will drive operational, funding and strategic decisions forward

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

· A good understanding of patient and public involvement and the health research environment (including the research process and methodology)

· Analytical and insight measurement.  Particularly adept at Excel and using survey tools

· Excellent communication skills especially digital channels, social media and online communities

· Proven strategic relationship and network building skills

· Excellent and persuasive communicator with internal and external stakeholders (written, oral including public speaking and presentations)

· Empathy with the aims, objectives and activities of The Brain Tumour Charity

· Ability to motivate and inspire others to deliver exceptional outcomes

· Ability to work as a part of an agile, flexible team and contribute to group and individual targets

· Proven ability to work remotely/independently

· Ability to work well under pressure and to deliver to targets

· Highly organised, confident self-starter and capable of taking initiative, working flexibly and creatively

· Commitment to continuing professional and personal development

· Knowledge of the NHS and local and national government and their structures

· Knowledge of health, the human brain, cancer or brain tumours

*Please note that the responsibilities listed are not exhaustive and this job description may be subject to change as the role evolves over time.

What we’d like to give you:

You’ll be joining a collaborative, bold and innovative team of individuals who put our community first and are connected by a passion to make a real difference.

Location: While contracted to our office in Fleet, Hampshire, our team supports a blend of office and home working provided you have adequate broadband and IT capability, with an average of 2-3 days in the office each week.

Working hours: This role is 37.5 hours per week, with some out of hours working.

Benchmarked salary: c.£43,350 (dependent on level)

Our amazing benefits:

· 25 days annual leave (pro-rated for those who are part-time). Increases yearly with length of service

· Celebrate your work anniversary in true Charity style

· Occupational Sick Pay

· Hybrid working

· Flexible working

· Charity pension

· 1 day life leave per year to celebrate a special moment of your choice

· Wellbeing support including professional counselling

· A personalised on-boarding programme

· Cycle to Work Scheme

· Perkbox – our team discount portal

· Health care vouchers

*Some of these benefits are non-contractual and are subject to change

Diversity & Inclusion:

The Brain Tumour Charity is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our organisation. We particularly welcome applications from individuals belonging to minority ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ communities, people with disabilities, and other underrepresented communities.

We strive to create a workplace that celebrates diversity and provides equal opportunities for all candidates and we encourage all individuals to apply even if they don’t meet all the criteria.

Eligibility to work:

Whilst we'd love to have you on board, we want to be upfront as we’d hate to waste your time applying for a role where we can’t take you on. At the moment, we're unable to offer visa sponsorship for any of our positions. We're currently seeking candidates who are already authorised to work in the UK without the need for sponsorship, who can remain on a permanent basis.

How to apply to our team:

Please apply by clicking the red ‘join our team’ button on our website, attaching your CV and a covering letter explaining why you want the role, what you would bring to the team and how your skillset and experience will enable us to make a real impact for those affected by brain tumours.

We are keen to ensure that our recruitment process is inclusive so if you’d find it beneficial to submit your application in a different format, please drop us a line at careers @thebraintumourcharity .org.

Advert close date: 10 May 2024

First interview date and location: TBC over Zoom

Second interview date and location: TBC at our office in Fleet

The post holder will also:

· Contribute to achieving the objectives of The Brain Tumour Charity

· Live and breathe our values by being bold, collaborative and innovative, with a community-first  approach to everything you do

· Undertake any additional and ad hoc tasks as required

· Participate in team meetings and other meetings as required

· Monitor and evaluate activities and provide written reports

· Represent The Charity at external events in a professional manner

· Work within an equal opportunities framework

· Adhere to all The Charity’s policies, procedures and working

· Ensure all records are held in compliance with GDPR, The Fundraising Regulator Code of Practice and The Brain Tumour Charity policies

We process your data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation. For full details, please read our privacy policy for job applicants.

We’re an award-winning charity that runs local learning centres in the heart of communities where the young people
we support live. Our centres provide an innovative education programme which includes practical learning support and
motivational and confidence-building activities for children and young people aged 7-18. Our aim is to inspire students from
the least advantaged neighbourhoods to broaden their horizons and achieve their full potential. 

As the UK’s leading university access organisation, our staff team is helping thousands of young people each year. We have forty-one centres and extension projects across England and Scotland, with ambitious plans to scale-up our
provision further over the coming years. 

We are looking for a high-calibre candidate to take up a fixed-term role of Adult and Family Learning Manager, working across our centres in Govan and Maryhill (Glasgow) and Craigmillar (Edinburgh).

This is a new and exciting role at the charity, focussing on how we can offer additional impactful support in the local 
communities in which our Scotland centres are based. The post holder will work in close collaboration with colleagues at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. 

The pilot will focus on supporting the parents, carers and families of young people accessing the centres, with the potential for this to extend to wider adults in the community. You will lead the pilot project, developing a programme tailored according to and with an understanding of the different communities in which it will be offered. You will lead on programme delivery and evaluating the impact of the project. 

Working with colleagues based at the three centres, you will provide a range of activities which will support parents and carers to support their children in their learning, develop their own skills and knowledge around employment and education, and provide a range of family learning activities to engage the whole family together. 

As a charity with social mobility as its core objective, IntoUniversity is wholly committed to equality of opportunity. We work with families, children and young people from a diverse range of backgrounds, and we believe that our staff team should be similarly diverse and representative. 

The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be, and we recognise that we have much more to do in this regard. We are committed to building a culture where students, staff and volunteers are valued for the unique people
they are. We therefore encourage applications from candidates from as wide a range as possible of ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds. In particular, we actively and warmly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic
candidates, male candidates and candidates with a disability as they are currently under-represented within IntoUniversity.
If you believe that all young people deserve the chance to develop their talents regardless of their background and want to play a part in helping them succeed, then we would be delighted to hear from you. 

About RLS 

RLS is a UK charity and a non-profit company in Greece (AMKE). 

Refugee Legal Support works in solidarity with people who migrate. We operate in the UK, France and Greece, promoting and protecting rights through legal support, casework, litigation, engagement, training and partnerships. We advocate for safe migration and oppose discriminatory immigration systems and policies.

RLS has held a legal aid contract in the UK since 2023. 

About the Afghan Pro Bono Initiative (APBI)

The Afghan Pro Bono Initiative is a specialist casework project delivered by RLS with funding and pro bono assistance from 14 leading commercial law firms. It is a project delivered in partnership with SPI. 

Firm pro bono lawyers are trained and supervised by the project’s two full-time supervising lawyers so that they can then assist with legal casework.

APBI has two core components. The team delivers legal information and support to and within the Afghan community, working together with the Community Engagement and Research Lead to ensure wide access. While the project also provides high quality legal representation in a range of cases for this community. This includes family reunion, the ARAP scheme, the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and others. 

APBI then aims to respond to the increased need for legal information, advice and representation of Afghan nationals and their family members forced to seek protection and reunion with family in the United Kingdom following the Taliban takeover. The project is now going into its 3rd year, and won the Most Effective Pro Bono Partnership Award at the Law Works Pro Bono Awards in 2022 as well as being nominated and commended for numerous other awards in 2022 and 2023. 

The casework of this project feeds into strategic research, policy and advocacy efforts to make existing ‘safe’ routes to protection (in particular refugee family reunion and resettlement schemes) more accessible and effective, advocate for their expansion and defend the fundamental rights of people on the move by influencing policy and decision making. 

Litigation arising out of the project is actively pursued (where eligible) under RLS’s legal aid contract to push for better decision-making, secure results for individuals and pursue improvements in the relevant law, policy and practices. 

RLS recognise that pro bono legal work is always an adjunct to, and not a substitute for, an adequate system of publicly funded legal services. 

Key responsibilities and objectives

The post holder will be a staff member of Refugee Legal Support. They will be a participant within the Afghan Pro Bono Initiative project team, which comprises two lawyers (the other being at SPI), a coordinator and a Community Engagement and Research Lead in addition to the volunteer lawyers from the individual commercial firm partners. 
 

Key responsibilities

• Manage a small caseload and provide high quality legal advice and representation to clients;

• Supervise the work of volunteer pro bono commercial lawyers on cases;

• Deliver training to pro bono commercial lawyers;

• Ensure that all legal work is promptly and accurate recorded on RLS’s case management system and keep relevant time recording; 

• Develop and disseminate relevant information on legal developments in this area for relevant stakeholders, including both the Afghan Community and building the capacity of other practitioners;

• Work in close collaboration with the other project Lawyer/s to develop and share experiences and best practice in relation to all aspects of casework (legal, evidential and procedural) and relevant internal processes;

• Work in close collaboration with the Legal Director, Programmes Manager and Coordinator to ensure that appropriate steps to achieve the aims and objectives of the project are taken, including ensuring that relevant data is obtained and assisting with the timely completion of the project Operational Plan/s;

• Work in close collaboration with the APBI Coordinator and Programmes Manager to contribute to the production of materials such as project periodic reports, information on emerging and strategic issues in relation to ‘safe’ routes for use in advocacy, content for newsletters, social media posts and articles to raise awareness of the project and its aims and outputs;

• Participate in, and contribute to, RLS’s monitoring, evaluation and learning framework;

• Be an active member of the RLS team participating in team meetings at both the UK and International level: engaging in a collegiate and collaborative environment that includes participating in the development of a new and exciting legal organisation; 

• Be an active and collaborative member of the APBI Project team together with the other Lawyer/s, Coordinator and Community Engagement and Research Lead;

• Work in close collaboration with the Community Engagement and Research Lead to contribute to the production of information sheets and other materials to disseminate to the Afghan community/ies;

• Maintain accurate and confidential records in line with GDPR;

• Adhere to RLS safeguarding policies and procedures at all times. 

Person Specification

Essential

• Be either a member of the Bar, a solicitor and accredited to IAAS Senior caseworker level, accredited to IAAS Senior caseworker level, or OISC accredited to Level 3;

• Experience of asylum casework;

• Experience of refugee family reunion procedures and applications, including applications outside of the Immigration Rules reliant on Article 8 ECHR and other human rights provisions;

• Experience of online immigration applications; 

• Demonstrable knowledge of legal aid provision and ECF applications; 

• Demonstrable supervision experience; 

• Experience of and commitment to working in a collaborative way on legal cases;

• Good verbal and written communication skills in English;

• Strong organisational skills, including the ability to prioritise work and meet deadlines;

• Strong attention to detail, responsiveness, reliability and dependability;

• Strong interpersonal and relationship management skills and an ability to deal professionally and collaboratively with both legal and not-for-profit stakeholders;

• Computer literacy;

• Right to reside and work in the UK;

• Enjoy working with a small team in a flexible and fast-paced environment, as well as being an independent self-starter able to work with a high degree of autonomy;

• Have a strong commitment to upholding the human rights of asylum seekers, migrants, and refugees; 

• Commitment to the aims of the project and the values of RLS.

• The successful candidate will be required to obtain an enhanced DBS certificate (we cover the cost). However, a criminal record is not a barrier to the role. 

Desirable

• Those with lived experience of navigating immigration systems are strongly encouraged to apply and will be favourable considered;

• Experience of legal aid casework; 

• Experience of conducting immigration appeals and/or public law litigation; 

• Experience of supervising commercial lawyers in a pro bono project setting;

• Experience of preparing and delivering training;

• Interest in collaborating with non-legal colleagues to bring about systemic change;

• Working knowledge of Dari and/or Pashto.

Are you passionate about supporting people to uphold their rights?

Disability Advice Service Lambeth (dasl) is Lambeth’s peer-led Disabled People’s Organisation.  

We want to appoint a Professional Advocate who shares our ethos and values and is committed to supporting Lambeth residents achieve their legal rights.

dasl have provided an advocacy service for Lambeth Council for 12 years and since 2020 we have played a key role in the Lambeth Advocacy Hub, a single point of access for all statutory independent advocacy services for Lambeth residents aged 16 and over. We manage referrals and enquiries and provide independent Care Act advocacy and a range of non-statutory advocacy.

We provide a high quality service - we hold the Advocacy Quality Performance Mark. You will hold, or be working towards, a qualification such as the Certificate/Diploma in Independent Advocacy (Level 3), or be able to show the necessary skills and relevant experience in a formal or informal advocacy role. 

dasl’s success comes from dedicated work of our skilled staff, many of whom are Disabled people. You will be valued for who you are in our supportive and friendly team.

We work flexibly between home and office. Our office in Brixton is accessible.

This is a rolling recruitment - applicants will be shortlisted and interviewed as soon as possible. We encourage you to apply as soon as you are able.