"Support Worker" Jobs
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:
- Experience of setting up community-based initiatives (for example: groups, clubs, activities etc)
- The ability to research, create and manage working relationships with local groups/organisations across Oxfordshire.
- Good IT skills
- Good communication skills in person, over the telephone and online
- 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.
- Ideally located within or nearby Cherwell, West Oxfordshire, or Oxford city.
Desirable:
- Lived or learned experience of visual impairment
- Experience of working with visually impaired people
- Experience of providing community-based services for a disability charity
Personal Qualities
- The ability to work under own initiative
- Good communicator
- Creative thinker and problem solving
- 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.
Please evidence how you meet the person specifications in your covering letter.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Scope is a disability equality charity in England and Wales. Together we are Disability Gamechangers. We work to a society where all disabled people enjoy equality and fairness. We campaign tirelessly for everyday equality for disabled people.
Come and join our Employment Services Team. Delivering our Support to Work Extra service, you will be passionate about supporting disabled people to find work.
Permanent - Full time, 35 hours per week
Location - Head office, Here East Press Centre, 14 East Bay Lane, London, E15 2GW with flexibility to work from head office and home (hybrid)
The role
In this role you will have a caseload of disabled customers who need your advice and guidance. You will empower them to move into work.
Your base will be at our London Office, but you will be working within our extended employment team who deliver to our customers across England and Wales.
Although office based, we offer a hybrid model of delivery so working from home for part of your week is available.
Travel to meet with our customers or stakeholders and events across your local area is part of this role.
For more information about the role’s responsibilities, and the skills and experience required please use the link to go to the Scope website.
About you
We are looking to recruit an experienced employment adviser to join our London team.
You will:
- Have experience of advising customers with their journey towards employment.
- Show that you are passionate about improving disabled people's lives through employment.
- Be dynamic, results-focused, and comfortable working to Job start targets.
- Have a proven track record of achieving outcomes online and in face-to-face meetings.
- Have the confidence to deliver sessions to our customers on either a one-to-one basis or within groups.
Please make sure you explain in your application, with examples, how you can meet these important skills.
We ask you to show an appreciation of Scope’s values and our ambition of everyday equality for disabled people.
Our values are being pioneering, courageous, connected, open and fair
By living our values and trusting each other, we give our colleagues freedom and space to be creative, push boundaries and change minds.
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.
How to apply
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.
Interviews will be held w/c 22 April