Support Worker Jobs in South East

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. 

Are you energetic, empathetic and full of ideas to help a lively team grow a thriving online community platform?

Scope are looking for a personable Online Community Coordinator to join our Online Community Team.

You will work on our online community and help make it a safe and supportive place where disabled people can make friends and talk about what is important to them. 

Permanent, part time, 28 hours a week (some evenings and weekends required).

The hours for this role will be worked according to a rolling shift pattern between 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 6pm Saturdays and Sundays.

Location: Scope's office bases are London office (Here East, E15 2GW) or Scope's Leeds office (LS1 5SH) but the role will involve working remotely for most of the time.

Please note: The successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.

The role

You will work within a team to moderate, create and coordinate content, information, newsletters and manage volunteers.

You will form a key part of the wider online community team by:

• Moderating discussions
• Welcoming, engaging and supporting members
• Signposting members to useful resources
• Sourcing and creating new conversations and content
• Recruiting, training, managing and supporting volunteers
• Escalating safeguarding concerns

After your training period, you will be able to work confidently and independently on our online community in all aspects of the role.

For more information about the role’s responsibilities, and the skills and experience required please use the link to the Scope website. 

About you

You will: 

• Have great inter-personal skills
• Write in a high standard of Plain English
• Enjoy communicating and supporting people 
• Have broad experience of using forums or social media communities
• Have a high level of computer literacy
• Understand the barriers that society creates for disabled people 
• Have great reading comprehension and fantastic attention to detail
• Be consistent and methodical
• Have experience of creating different forms of content
• Enjoy solving problems
• Know how to manage your time effectively
• Have been part of a team before
• We ask you to show an appreciation of Scope’s values and our ambition of everyday equality for disabled people.

Please make sure you explain in your application, with examples, how you can meet these important skills.

Our values - pioneering, courageous, connected, open, fair

By living our values and trusting each other, we empower our colleagues to make decisions. By giving our colleagues freedom and space to spark creativity for innovation, we can push boundaries, change mindsets and be empowered to change the game with grit and determination and a sense of urgency.

Disabled candidates

We are a disability equality charity. We encourage applications from disabled people and people with impairments, conditions, and access needs. We want to create a workforce that is a true reflection of the communities we serve.

Scope will interview all disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria for the post. This is part of our commitment as a Disability Confident Leader. Just let us know in your application that you are applying under the Offer an Interview Scheme. This was previously known as the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.

Some applicants might need adjustments during the application process. If you require adjustments through your journey with us you can find out more about interview adjustments on the Scope website.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

At the heart of everything we do at Scope is Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.

We want everyone to feel like they belong. We value each person as an individual. We will treat everyone with dignity and respect and we want to recognise all parts of a person's identity.

We are a disability equality charity. So, we will build a culture that is accessible and inclusive first. We will aim for the same high standards in all our work. We will listen, learn and keep improving.

You can find out more about our approach to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion on the Scope website.

Scope benefits

We believe hard work deserves reward and recognition. We offer a wide range of benefits including:

• 27 days holiday plus Bank Holidays
• Flexible, hybrid and remote working options
• Pay progression at 6 months and 2 years
• Company pension 
• Excellent training and career development 
• Strong colleague networks across disability, race and LGBTQ+
• Discounted gym membership, cycle to work scheme and much more.

If you want to become a Disability Gamechanger, we'd love to hear from you.

Click the apply button to create an account and complete your application form. 

Please note applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and interviews may take place and an appointment be made before the closing date. Early applications are therefore encouraged.

Our work reaches into the heart of the communities of Oxfordshire, and we’re pleased to be expanding our Community Engagement work into the areas of Cherwell and West Oxfordshire. The key towns in these areas are Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington, Witney, Carterton and Chipping Norton, including surrounding villages. Your role will be to set up peer-to-peer support groups, information days, befriending partnerships, and to be a point of contact for our work in the north and west of the county. Our mission is to support visually impaired people to live independent and active lives and you’ll be playing a key part in this.

Job Title: Community Engagement Worker (North and West)

Hours: 35 hours per week

Salary: £23,000 – £28,000 per year dependent on experience

Annual Leave: 25 days per year plus bank holidays (to increase after 3-years)

Contract Type: Permanent (6-month probationary period)

Reporting to: Community Engagement Lead

Start date: Summer 2024

Base: Office/home-based with frequent travel across Cherwell and West Oxfordshire.

Closing Date:  Midday 29th April 2024

Interview Date:  Wednesday 8th May 2024 (in person at Bradbury Lodge, Oxford)

Job Purpose:

To support visually impaired people to live independent and active lives by providing a range of activities and groups across the north and west of Oxfordshire.

Duties: 

• Setting up and supporting peer-to-peer support groups
• Holding information days within local libraries, community centres and other key locations
• Setting up walking groups as part of our Green Walks Project
• Demonstrating and setting up daily living equipment and assistive technology with support from the tech team
• Assisting in the setup of befriending partnerships alongside the Volunteer Coordinator
• Connect, share, and learn with partners and other organisations
• Being a point of contact for MyVision within the North and West of Oxfordshire

Other duties:

• Provide talks and training as needed
• Support the Fundraising team with local events and initiatives
• Keep accurate records of interactions and activites
• Attend relevant meetings, training, workshops, and webinars
• Support the team with furthering the objectives and goals of the organisation
• Other reasonable duties set out by your line manager and Chief Executive
• There may, on occasion, be a need to work outside normal hours e.g., weekends and evenings

Breakdown of duties

This is a rough guide to your duties; flexibility will be required.

Tasks% of your timePeer Support Groups and Activities40%Info Days and Equipment Demos20%Befriending Support25%Other duties15%

Person Specification

NOTE: We expect candidates to evidence how they meet the criteria in their covering letter. This can be through work, volunteering, and your personal life.

Essential skills, experience, and knowledge:

1. Experience of setting up community-based initiatives (for example: groups, clubs, activities etc)
2. The ability to research, create and manage working relationships with local groups/organisations across Oxfordshire.
3. Good IT skills
4. Good communication skills in person, over the telephone and online
5. The ability to travel around the county, whether with your own car, public transport or Access to Work support, please see below regarding Access to Work.
6. Ideally located within or nearby Cherwell, West Oxfordshire, or Oxford city.

Desirable:

1. Lived or learned experience of visual impairment
2. Experience of working with visually impaired people
3. Experience of providing community-based services for a disability charity

Personal Qualities

1. The ability to work under own initiative
2. Good communicator
3. Creative thinker and problem solving
4. A supportive team player

This role may suit someone with lived experience of sight loss, MyVision is a strong advocate of Lived Experience with over half of our employees having a visual impairment. The role would also suit someone who has strong communication skills and the ability to support, encourage and engage people. We also recognise many skills are transferrable and welcome applications from people with varying experiences and backgrounds.