Receptionist Jobs

Age UK is currently looking for a Senior Public Affairs Officer to take forward our Public Affairs work, influencing and changing public policy, to improve the lives of older people.

You will design and deliver public affairs strategies which grow Age UK's profile in Westminster and Whitehall and build support for our policy and campaigning priorities. Highly attuned to the political environment, you will identify key political targets, building new and deepening existing relationships.

You will line manage the Public Affairs Officer and oversee public affairs work done by the team's Support Officer.

For more information about the role, please review the job description below and apply to join our collaborative and passionate External Affairs team.

This role is offered on a Hybrid / London contract and there is a requirement to attend team meetings once a week in the office. There will also be occasional travel to support at events across the country.

Age UK Internal Job Grade - 6L

Must haves:

* Excellent knowledge and understanding of local and national government structures, the UK Parliament and our political, policy and campaigning context, and experience of influencing them.
* Substantial experience of working in a political campaigning/public affairs environment, developing influential relationships with Parliamentarians and other national organisations.
* Strong track record of influencing on social policy issues.
* Experience of project-managing complex influencing activities, leading project teams and managing workloads.
* Excellent all round communication skills, particularly the ability to communicate clearly and concisely to a range of audiences.
* Experience of writing high quality briefings, articles and other materials to communicate complex policy and political issues to stakeholder audiences.
* Experience of running effective events for political audiences.
* Experience of representing an organisation to political audiences and other national stakeholders.
* Experience of working in coalition and partnership with other organisations.
* Experience of engaging with senior stakeholders including Parliamentarians.
* An understanding of how to work in a politically balanced way.
* Knowledge and understanding of what equal opportunities means in relation to this post and the ability to incorporate equality practices into all aspects of the work.
* Experience of working collaboratively with others to achieve results.
* Strong interest in UK politics and passion for social justice.

Great to haves:
* Understanding of policy issues affecting older people.
* Experience of influencing change from a voluntary sector perspective.
* Experience of working in a political environment.

What we offer in return

• Competitive salary, 26 days annual leave + bank holidays + annual leave purchase scheme
• Excellent pension scheme, life assurance, health cashback plan and EAP
• Car Benefit Scheme, Cycle to Work Scheme and Season Ticket Loan
• Techscheme - buy any tech from Apple or Currys, up to £1000, and spread the cost over 12 months, interest free
• Blue Light Card Scheme
• You Did It Awards - recognition awards from £100-250.

Additional Information

Must be able to travel easily into central London to attend meetings, sometimes at short notice. Required to be in the London office at least one day a week.

There is an occasional requirement to travel and stay overnight (e.g. party conferences); some out of hours working (e.g. occasional evening Parliamentary events).

All CVs will be anonymised by our recruitment system when you apply for a role at Age UK. Please note that our system is unable to anonymise cover letters, and we would therefore ask that to support the work we are doing on making our recruitment selection process fairer and more unbiased, that you remove any personal information from your cover letter/supporting statement, including your name before uploading this. All equalities monitoring information is also anonymised and not shared with the hiring panel. Your name and address will only be known to us once you are invited for an interview.

Age UK is an Equal Opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates, regardless of age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital/civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity. We guarantee an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria under the Disability Confident Scheme. Please note that on occasion, due to high numbers of applications, Age UK reserves the right to limit the overall number of interviews offered, and therefore, it may not always be practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for the job.

Age UK is committed to safeguarding adults at risk, and children, from abuse and neglect. We expect everyone who works with us to share this commitment.

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert at any time.

Age UK politely requests no contact from recruitment agencies or media sales. We do not accept speculative CVs from recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.

Community Advice Works is an established community charity based in New Cross in South
East London. As the only charity in the London Borough of Lewisham offering a general
drop-in advice service, we are a critical source of support to vulnerable residents. We have
built a strong reputation within the Borough for providing high quality, independent, person-
centred welfare and housing advice. The organisation employs several part-time staff and
has a team of volunteers. In addition to providing advice we currently deliver a domestic
violence project at Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital.

Like many charities in the advice sector, CAW is going through a process of change. We are
looking for an experienced and community-driven individual with a strong set of managerial
and interpersonal skills, preferably with a background in advice work, to maintain the strong
structures and reputation for excellence that we have developed.

As service manager, you will work with our friendly staff and trustee team to deliver our vital
service. We pride ourselves on providing a flexible, inclusive and rewarding work
environment, and are parent-friendly. Our community links and reputation are very important
to us, and we are looking for a service manager who shares our commitment to community
and public service - whether your experience is the public, private or charity sector.

Key duties

• Staff and volunteer management
• Line manage staff by providing support and supervision as needed, conducting regular performance reviews, and identifying staff training needs
• Oversee recruitment, training, and management of volunteers to ensure they are properly supported and equipped to help meet CAW’s service goals

Service delivery

• Ensure high quality and timely service delivery in line with the Service Level Agreements with our various service partners
• Identify any issues with service delivery and help develop cost-effective solutions to them as appropriate
• Compile and maintain accurate statistics on service performance to share with funders and CAW trustees
• Develop and maintain positive relationships with our key service partners through regular engagement, including attendance at regular service partnership meetings
• Engage regularly with our funders and other key stakeholders to build and maintain positive working relationships, and provide them with timely reporting on our service performance as needed 
•  Update service level agreements with existing funders, and draft new agreements as needed
•  Interact with clients as needed in a friendly and professional manner

Administration and Finance

• Ensure day-to-day administrative processes are functioning smoothly, and that necessary policies and procedures are up to date
• Line manage work of receptionist/administrative support worker

Fundraising and Marketing

• Help identify new funding and other revenue-raising opportunities
• Support the work of the fundraising sub-committee in preparing funding applications
• Work with trustees and external vendors to ensure CAW website is kept up-to-date
• Work with trustees and external vendors (as appropriate) to develop a social media presence for CAW
• Identifying and supporting efforts to increase CAW’s profile in the local community and to build relationships with key local stakeholders as appropriate Governance
• Prepare monthly reports for the trustees on service performance
• Maintain good lines of communication with trustees on all operational matters
• Attend trustee board meetings as needed

Person specification
Essential criteria

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in a managerial role
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
•  Strong teamwork and interpersonal skills, including ability to manage a diverse range of working relationships in an effective, empathetic but professional manner
• Experience of working in a busy environment, managing competing work pressures and prioritising tasks appropriately to ensure key deadlines are met
• Strong attention to detail
• Experience preparing reports and compiling service statistics
• Ability to think strategically, to identify problems and devise effective solutions
• Ability to work on own initiative, within established practices and procedures

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge and experience of advice work
• Experience with fundraising
• Experience with financial management in the charitable sector
• Knowledge and experience of the local community and voluntary sector in Lewisham

We are looking for an Advice Service Manager to join our passionate and hardworking team. The successful candidate must have an in depth understanding of refugee and asylum seeker support needs. Key elements of the role include:

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Management Team:

• As part of the Management Team to oversee the function of the organisation and its strategic development, especially in relation to SRS’s advice service

Service Development

• Be responsible for developing the advice service according to organisational needs and strategy

 Team Management:

• To line manage and develop a team of Advice Workers and Reception/Admin Officer, to ensure they are suitably trained and supported to deliver a high-quality advice service across the county
• To line manage the Employment and Training Coordinator to ensure the employment and training team delivers an effective and cohesive service, which complements the work of the advice team

 Management of Advice Service and Direct Service Provision:

• To ensure that the advice service promotes equality of access to all asylum seekers and refugees (clients) seeking advice and that they feel welcome and effectively supported
• To manage the advice team across the following areas:

1. To assess clients’ needs and propose actions to address these needs (e.g. writing letters or emails and/or making telephone calls) in a professional manner
2. To ensure that clients have access to advice about all aspects of living in the UK and to ensure they understand their rights and responsibilities under UK law
3. To work to achieve agreed outcomes which will bring about positive changes in our clients’ lives
4. To promote independence on the part of the clients and actively empower them to help themselves according to their individual abilities
5. To direct clients to other services provided by Suffolk Refugee Support and / or external agencies (making appointments where appropriate)
6. To respond to telephone requests for information from clients, statutory, voluntary, and private sector organisations and the general public

The Advice Service Manager will:

• Guide the advice service team on complex casework, where needed
• Building on the advice team’s expertise, and with the support of the HR and Training Officer, ensure that their team is up to date on the latest legislation and procedures that impact the asylum seekers and refugees we work with
• Be responsible for decision making and for ensuring that direct funding and grants to clients are in line with policy

Newly arrived asylum seeker support

• To keep abreast of numbers of new arrivals of asylum seekers into Suffolk
• To facilitate clothing donations to those in most need, ensuring that stocks are maintained
• To ensure that clients in asylum accommodation across Suffolk can access our services
• To develop and oversee positive activities for asylum seekers, such as sports and music groups (in liaison with SRS's Operations Manager)

Immigration support lead

• To develop good relationships with immigration legal services and solicitors to ensure that clients can access the information they require and that clients understand the processes they are going through

 Vulnerable Client & Safeguarding Lead

• To be the support lead for very vulnerable clients or where there are cases with safeguarding concerns

Client representation

• To promote the views and experiences of SRS’s clients at external meetings and advisory boards, by participation in face to face and virtual meetings and in giving occasional presentations, using on-the-ground knowledge

Partnership working

• To develop and maintain good working relationships with external service providers and agencies, and to oversee joint working and services development

Monitoring, Evaluation and Donor Reporting

• To ensure services given and outcomes achieved are recorded on internal monitoring systems and that data protection regulations are adhered to
• To provide monthly summary reports for the Charity Manager and board of trustees
• To compile reports in reference to our funders’ outcomes and targets
• To help with the development & administration of written information produced by SRS for our clients’ benefit
• To contribute to development of new services and funding applications

This is a great opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated person who has experience of managing membership schemes and wants to be part of a successful and ambitious team. We are interested in hearing from applicants from the wider charity sector as well as higher education fundraisers.