Social Care/Development Jobs
Job Description
The Head of Advocacy and Policy will be responsible for developing an excellent Advice Service and Retention Team to support and advise students effectively to enable excellent student experience and satisfaction.
This role will lead on the development of effective insights, representation and support initiatives/campaigns for students, across our three campuses at Greenwich, Avery Hill and Medway.
This role will enhance work with the diverse student population of the University of Greenwich and lead a dynamic team to ensure students have consistent and accessible services that contribute to positive student experience.
This role sits within the wider Membership Services department, together with other key areas consisting of; Activities, Sport, Academic Communities, Representation and Democracy, we provide a high-quality service for students, that they can shape, steer and be at the heart of.
This postholder will be part of the GSU Senior Leadership Team and will be expected to contribute to department and organisation wide strategic development.
The post holder will:
- Have expert knowledge in areas of in relation to Advice and Retention and policies and legislation relating to such activity
- Support and develop strong student-led communities and campaigns in areas of: Advice, wellbeing and retention so that members can thrive
- Provide line management support to staff so that the team have up to date, specialist advice skills, knowledge and understanding of University regulations, policies and procedures that may affect the work of the Advice service and oversee engagement across Greenwich’s 3 campuses
- Undertake casework and provide expert advice for the team on all aspects of Advice
- Lead on the project management of wellbeing/health promotion campaigns and initiatives throughout the year, as well as any external bids through bodies such as OfS
- Oversee the Retention and Wellbeing Project work, and other relevant projects with external partners
- Lead on insights work relating to retention, wellbeing and support
- Lead on responses to external consultation and enquiry responses, including but not limited to OfS, Department for Education, OIA and Universities UK
- Support elected officers to deliver on campaigning priorities
- Ensure the Advice service has the skills and is equipped to support the diverse needs of students at Greenwich and Kent at Medway.
- Provide regular insights and reports on the GSU Membership to inform our strategy and service provision
- Work with other Heads to develop relevant and modern Front of House services for each GSU campus ensuring ease of access and consistency for all members.
Key Areas
- Be an engaged and active member of the Senior Leadership team, contributing regularly and working collaboratively with peers
- Provide leadership, strategic direction and day to day operational management to the Advocacy and Policy: recruiting and inducting members of staff, motivating, supporting and developing team members to ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge for their roles as well as manage performance
- Develop a proactive results driven culture within the team, ensuring agreed objectives and targets are delivered, whilst promoting a collaborative approach to working with internal departments
- Develop succession plans and identify training and development opportunities within the team
- Be accountable for the quality of outputs of the team
- Provide support to the Officer team helping and equipping them, particularly in their roles as representatives and providing pastoral support and guidance.
- Ensure the whole organisation is aware of and understands the work of the Advocacy and Policy Team and its contribution to our strategic objectives
- To maintain expert and up-to-date knowledge on sector policies and regulations relating to advice, retention and student success, providing relevant guidance to officers and staff as required.
- Develop and promote a culture of continuous improvement across the team to ensure we can adapt to changing students’ needs and priorities, as well as building on successes and preparing for the future.
Strategic Development
- Contribute to the strategic objectives of GSU, with a particular focus on advice, support and wellbeing in relation to the student experience
- Develop and oversee a new and innovative approach to proactive health and wellbeing campaigns that empower students to look after themselves and each other, as well as seeking support
- Lead on Access and Participation Plan Engagement, acting as the key contact on this area with the University.
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with relevant senior UoG staff and departments including Student Academic Services, Faculties and our partners at Kent Unio
- Develop and oversee the Advice service to support advocacy initiatives at multiple levels within the University, ensuring both students and University stakeholders view GSU as a credible and reliable source of information on the needs of students.
Monitoring and Evaluation
- Develop and oversee a structured approach to gathering, analysing and reporting on data relating to engagement of students with our services and to student views on key issues relating to retention and success
- Develop and oversee processes of collecting quantitative and qualitative data from casework to analyse trends and inform feedback for the SU and university
- Ensure evaluation mechanism are embedded in the teams working practises and that findings are shared and used to implement learnings with the goal of improving services
- Support Officers by preparing information, statistics and trends about key services to be shared within the University committee cycle
- Be responsible for the implementation of service standards for the Advocacy and Policy Team and to monitor and report on adherence to these standards
- Prepare materials to apply for any relevant quality mark accreditations for the service.
Budget and Financial Management
- Manage a budget relating to Advocacy and Policy including any restricted funds.
- Be responsible for the teams resources, ensuring these are effectively allocated, managed and controlled
- Review and establish processes, systems, polices and where appropriate standard procedures to maximise efficiency ensure deadlines are met and a positive return on investment
- Review and provide narrative for scrutiny at monthly management meetings with the Finance Team
Stakeholder management
- Collaborate with GSU colleagues, particularly the Student Voice and Engagement Teams to ensure we have a consistent approach to how we work with and support students
- Work with students through our representative structures and forums to ensure we shape services students want and need, taking into consideration the varying campus priorities
- Maintain strong relationships with key university staff to develop, deliver and evaluate collaborative projects and interventions supporting advice and retention
- Attend meetings relating to Advocacy and Policy as well as associated areas at both GSU, the University and externally, included, but not limited to regional networks
- Identify opportunities to share best practice and represent the work of GSU and your team to the wider HE community, through conferences and publication.
Personal Specification
Essential Experience
- Line management experience
- Relevant experience working in the youth, education, students’ union or other membership or advisory organisation
- Experience of leading a multi-functional team
- Experience of mentoring coaching staff/elected officers
- Experience of developing operational policies and procedures
- Experience of budget management, project management, and operational management
- Experience of working with a range of stakeholders and partnership working or strategic networking
Essential Skills and Abilities
- Ability to work with and lead a high performing team
- Ability to troubleshoot difficult situations, and deal with them calmly, efficiently and effectively
- Ability to produce confident, clear written reports and be able to write succinct documents on complex areas
- IT skills at a level that supports membership CRM systems, Advice Pro and other platforms
- Excellent time management and organisational skills with the ability to manage others to reach deadlines, within agreed budgets and to a consistently high standard
- Ability to write strategies and be able to effectively communicate vision and mission
- Ability to stay focused and efficient in the face on changing priorities
- Track record of successfully developing and implementing projects and operational change
- Able to draft policies and procures with an eye for detail and accuracy
Essential Knowledge
- Awareness of current issues within the higher education sector
- Knowledge of relevant external bodies and organisations including Advice UK, NUS, Citizens Advice, OIA, Ofs, Student Minds
- Knowledge of relevant health and safety legislation
- Knowledge of Safeguarding, advice legislation, risk assessments and GDPR
- Knowledge of providing 121 support
Education/Training
- No one specific qualification is required, but evidence of recent continuing professional development in a professional area relevant to the post is required. For example: ILM, City &Guilds etc.
Personal Attributes and other requirements
- Able to travel within the Borough and Region.
- Able to work some evenings and weekends and stay overnight where necessary.
- Works well in a team with a flexible approach to work
- Be eligible for a DBS check if needed
- A commitment to the principles and practices of equality and diversity
- An ability to apply awareness of diversity issues to all areas of work.
- Commitment to the values and ethos of GSU.
Desirable other requirements
- Visionary, creative, and innovative strategist
- A positive, solution focused leader – able to make ‘tough’ decisions; determined and resilient in order to cope with the demands of the role
- Empowering, authentic leader with high levels of emotional intelligence
Size: 101 - 500
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
You Make It is an award-winning class and race inclusion charity dedicated to empowering young women by providing them with the skills, experiences, and support necessary to thrive in their careers.
ROLE OVERVIEW
Working closely in a small and dedicated team, this is a critical position that will ensure the recruitment, engagement and progression of women who take part in our empowerment programmes.
Location: SHED co-working space for 2 days a week or at venues in London for our core programme with women and option to work remotely 1 day a week
Salary: £22,800 for 3 days a week (£38,000 FTE) plus a 5.25% staff pension subject to employee contribution of 1.75%
Hours: Normal working hours are 9:30am-5:30pm
Holiday: 15 days per annum (FTE 25 days)
Contract: 6 months (3 months probation)
The primary purpose of this role is to ensure:
- Effective outreach for recruitment onto our programmes
- That women’s programmes run smoothly and that their participants are motivated and supported to complete them through to graduation
- That those women who require 1-1 time with you are provided with this to ensure their safety and to make any referrals to external agencies where required
- All those we work with for the benefit of women on the programmes are engaged eg. short work placement hosts, mentors and venues for activities
- That evaluation data is collected and provided to evaluators/ researchers who edit final annual reports for programmes
- All data is kept accurate, appropriate and secure
KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Timetabling online and face-to-face outreach to ensure women are recruited onto programmes in a timely way
- Being the key safeguarding lead at Friday workshops and ensuring that you make 1-1 time for any women who require it (alerting the Head of Operations and People and the CEO and wider team any issues or concerns that need addressing)
- Liaising with the Programmes Coordinator on the timely production of workshop materials and any other course content useful for participants
- Maintaining excellent relationships with workshop providers
- Ensuring that the Programmes Coordinator is across needs for any 1-1 therapy referrals between women and our float of freelance therapists
- Conducting evaluation surveys with women at the start, end and 6 months after they graduate and ensuring all evaluation data is provided to the freelancer responsible for collating the impact of our programmes annually in a final report, as well as providing any data required by the CEO for grant reports
- Signing off on mentor-mentee matches with the Partnerships Manager who recruits mentors
- Working closely with the Partnerships Manager to ensure they are across which kinds of short expenses/ paid work placements with employers women want to access
PERSON SPECIFICATION
You will be someone who is naturally warm/ a people person, compassionate and enabling, and who also has fantastic project management/ organisational skills. You may come from a senior youth worker background or other front line organisations working with young vulnerable adults.
Essential:
- Substantial senior experience working with young, including vulnerable, adults
- Proven track record of project/ programme management experience to deliver successful learning/ educational events/ activities for young people
- Creative thinker with experience of conducting successful outreach for young people
- Experience of safeguarding with vulnerable individuals
- Exceptional people and relationship-building skills with those from a range of different backgrounds eg ranging from young women for our programmes to employers and other stakeholders who engage with our work and participants
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Highly organised multi-tasker, with a personality that works calmly under pressure and with own initiative
- Proof of strategic programme leadership
Desirable:
- Trained as a First Aider
Please note we will conduct an enhanced DBS check on the successful candidate.
We are especially keen to hear from applicants that reflect the diversity of the working class, Black and Asian women that YMI supports.
To apply please provide a CV and a one-page cover letter demonstrating your previous experience and suitability linked to the person specification and job description.
The closing date for applications is Monday, 22 April, 5pm BST. However, we will be interviewing shortlisted candidates on a rolling basis before this deadline as and when applications come in and hope to appoint the successful candidate ASAP!
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Volunteer Manager - £29,000 per annum plus LW (pro-rata)
6-month fixed term contract (continuing subject to funding)
**Please note that applications submitted without a Covering Letter will not be considered**
Here at One Million Mentors, our aim is to ensure that every young person in the country has access to a trained mentor as they transition into adulthood. We believe that investing in mentors will help to address the skills gap agenda and improve social cohesion.
Would you like:
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The opportunity to be part of a dynamic, values-driven organisation working to achieve lasting social change?
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A unique opportunity to work across the business, public and third sector to develop innovative ways of harnessing the potential of young people in Great Britain?
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An exciting opportunity to shape a startup organisation?
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Monthly Learning and Development training sessions for the whole team to enhance your personal development?
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15 hours per year volunteering allowance?
If so, this is the role for YOU!
The Volunteer Manager (VM) is responsible for overseeing high-quality sourcing of volunteers to join as 1MM Mentors across the regions, which includes partnership development, online site listing, and matching mentors/mentees, general oversight of mentoring relationships in different programmes, implementation of safeguarding measures, fundraising, meeting growth targets and leading all aspects of mentor management. The role will help to establish a pipeline across the regions, with 5000 new mentors for 2024. This role reports to the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).
1MM VM’s main tasks include:
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Helping 1MM to scale by sourcing sufficient volunteer mentors who go on to become confirmed matches for high quality mentoring relationships.
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Ensuring mentors coming online have completed the platform mentor training within 1 month, and that this conversion results in sufficient and timely readiness of mentors to meet the needs of programmes with one month’s lead time.
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Providing ongoing support to 1MM’’s Volunteer Providers (eg employer partners), maintaining strong relationships.
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Securing one corporate sponsor per quarter.
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Becoming familiar with the 1MM Platform, using it comfortably for ongoing administration and providing support to mentors.
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Providing a weekly update on various aspects of mentor recruitment, including expected supply, actual registration, and confirmed matching. Share lessons learned on volunteer conversion and matching with the wider team.
For a more detailed job description, please see the job pack attached.
Terms and Conditions:
This is a full time role offered in London, for 6 months (continuing subject to funding). This is a hybrid role with two days working at home, two days in the London office, and one day where it is up to you.
Remuneration and benefits: Salary bracket of £29,000 per annum plus London Weighting (pro rata), up to 6.5% employer pension contribution and 25 days holiday per year (pro rata).. We also offer monthly team Learning and Development training sessions, and 15 hours volunteering allowance per year.
Details on how to apply are attached as “Application Guidelines”
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Education Programmes and Partnerships Lead
The organisation has received an exciting round of funding that is allowing it to offer training and resources for free to schools in Bradford.
We are looking for a creative and driven individual who is passionate about the power of stories to improve children’s wellbeing and has a good understanding of children’s wellbeing and literacy.
Position: Education Lead
Location: Remote (frequent travel to support schools in Bradford, so you must live within a commutable distance of the area)
Hours: Full time (possibility to negotiate a flexible contract such as 4 day a week role or term-time working)
Salary: £33,500 - £40,000 per annum pro rata dependent on experience
Contract: Fixed term until summer 2026, with the possibility of extension if further funding is secured
Benefits: 5% pension contribution, 27 days holiday (rising by 1 day per year of employment) plus bank holidays.
Closing Date: 22nd April 2024
Interview Date: End of April/ Start of May
The Role
You will be joining a social enterprise that provides teachers with training and resources so they can use popular, diverse and engaging stories to teach children skills that will help improve their wellbeing whilst enhancing their literacy.
This is a small organisation, so we are looking for someone who is excited about the job description, but who is also interested in learning more about all aspects of running a social enterprise and keen to support the strategy and growth beyond their job role.
Key responsibilities include:
Story Project Training and School Partnerships
· Effectively represent and promote the organisation to school leaders, teachers and other stakeholders.
· Ensure a smooth initial launch of the Project in every school.
· Organise and conduct training for schools.
· Through regular visits to and network meetings with schools, provide on-going embedded professional learning and support to teachers throughout the year as needed.
· Proactively monitor school’s adherence/fidelity to the organisations model, taking proactive action to resolve problems that arise.
· As a new school year approaches, secure commitments from returning schools and find and target new schools to join the programme
Story Project Programme Development
· Oversee the curriculum, making sure resources are up to date.
· Make changes to the curriculum and resources based on feedback from schools.
· Oversee the creation of new resources on topics that can further support children’s wellbeing.
About You
You will be passionate about all aspects of running a social enterprise and keen to support the strategy and growth beyond your own job. You will have experience of providing engaging and impactful training sessions, with a creative approach to planning resources. A highly motivated individual with excellent interpersonal and organisational skills, you will have a proven track record of leading projects in education or a related field and experience of building effective relationships and stakeholder management.
You will also have/be:
· Strength in both written and verbal communication
· Proven ability to work independently
· Self-starter and quick learner
· Ability to adapt and embrace a changing environment
· Ability to drive and access to a car for work purposes
You will be asked to submit your CV (maximum 2 A4 sides) and a covering letter to (maximum 1 side of A4) which should detail:
· Your experience related to the job description.
· Your relevant experience and why you’re interested in this role at this point in your career.
· Your ability to be resilient when things are not going the way you thought, including clear examples of past experiences.
· Tell us about how our organisational mission is in line with your values.
As a social enterprise that values and celebrates people's diversity and champions opportunities for all young people, the organisation are keen to receive applications from people who have experienced disadvantage and from those who are of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities who are currently underrepresented in the organisation.
All post holders are subject to a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service disclosure. Copies of the Safeguarding Policy and Safer Recruitment Policy are available on request.
You may also have experience in areas such as Education Lead, Education Project Manager, Story Project Manager, Story Project Lead, School Partnerships Lead, School Partnerships Officer, Story, Story Telling, Story Project, Education Project, Education Programme, Training, Trainer, Teacher, Teaching Assistant, Primary Teacher, School Teacher, EYF, Early Years, Nursery, Nursery Nurse.
PLEASE NOTE: This role is being advertised by NFP People on behalf of the organisation.
Thank you!
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
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. From Spring 2024 we will have forty-three centres and extension projects across England and Scotland, with a number of new centres planned for 2023-24, and ambitious plans to scale-up our provision further over the coming years.
We are looking for individuals who will thrive in a fast-paced, rewarding role helping to change the lives of young people by taking up a temporary role as a part-time Programme Support Tutor working in our centre in Birmingham. You will work closely with our existing team, supporting the delivery and organisation of the IntoUniversity programme in the centre.
As a charity with social mobility as its core objective, IntoUniversity is wholly committed to equality of opportunity. We work with 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.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.