Entry level jobs for the Disability sector

Orchard Vale Trust is a Registered Charity founded over 40 years ago to support adults with learning disabilities; we currently provide Residential, Day and Community Services. This is an exciting opportunity for a self-motivated and well organised individual to join our vibrant central team and raise vital funds for the individuals we support. 

It is our vision that adults with learning disabilities are valued as leaders and peers and are supported to achieve their goals and live life to the full. The role of the Trust Fundraiser is essential in building our capacity to ensure the delivery of our vision.

The Trust Fundraiser will work with the CEO in developing a high quality fundraising strategy and raising funds against agreed targets that support the work of Orchard Vale Trust. They will use this to manage projects - from application of funding to delivery, including on-going evaluation and reporting.

They will work with the senior management team to ensure service users are supported in accordance with the ethos, policies and practices of Orchard Vale Trust and with current best practice as set out by Care Quality Commissions (CQC) regulations, the Charity Commission and other relevant legislation and guidance.

Main Duties

1. To develop and implement a fundraising strategy for the Trust

2. To develop and sustain partnership working with a range of external stakeholders

3. To work with the CEO in the delivery of the Trust’s communication strategy

4. To work with the CEO in the funding and promotion of the Trust’s Social Enterprise

5. To ensure fundraising activities are safe and compliant with regulations and Orchard Vale Trust’s Policies

Person Specification

Essential

Qualifications/ Experience

• A track record of successful fundraising in an organization or a relevant recent qualification

• An understanding of supporter acquisition and growth

• Understanding of developing existing and new fundraising opportunities

• Experience of working to tight deadlines and prioritization.

• Knowledge or experience in working with communications and media teams as required

About UP
UP is the only UK charity solely dedicated to improving the lives of adults with Cerebral Palsy (CP). Our mission is to empower the 130,000 adults in the UK living with CP to lead full, active lives, with equitable access to healthcare, community support, and meaningful opportunities.

About the Role
This is a unique opportunity to contribute to the growth of a national, inclusive community and shape the future of adult CP support in the UK. 

With the launch of our Community Support Programme, we are creating a “virtual community centre” to reduce social isolation, promote health and wellbeing, and strengthen the collective voice of the adult CP community.

As our new Community Manager, you will be at the heart of this programme, helping to grow, support end empower our community, through connection, education and advocacy. You will be working to help create a programme aimed at reducing social isolation, fostering peer support, and empowering the community through education, connection, and advocacy. This role requires active travel and presence at regional outreach events, where you will build direct relationships, listen to lived experiences and represent UP in community settings. This is an exciting opportunity to shape a national support network from the ground up.

Key Responsibilities

Community Engagement & Growth

• Manage and grow our online and offline CP community, fostering a sense of trust, connection, and belonging.
• Design and manage communications with members across platforms and mailing lists.
• Travel to and engage with regional hubs, community partners and peer network to build visibility around the UK.
• Build relationships with allies, other charities, allied organisations and service providers to enhance collaboration and outreach.
• Develop and implement strategies to attract and retain members, ensuring broad
• reach across geography, gender, ethnicity, and access needs.

Programme Delivery & Events

• Lead the delivery of our Midweek Matters series and new virtual community offerings as well as design and launch new virtual initiatives to support mental health and wellbeing.
• Coordinate virtual and in-person community events, including content planning, logistics, and speaker outreach.
• Develop a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive virtual community culture.
• Liaise with community members to ensure our offering reflects their interests, voices, and needs.
• Champion the use of lived experience in shaping activities.
• Track participation, feedback, and community satisfaction and use surveys, case studies, and en-gagement data to report on programme progress and impact.

Who We’re Looking For

Essential

• Event planning experience, online or in-person.
• Experience in community engagement, support work, or programme delivery.
• Excellent communication skills—verbal, written, and digital.
• Highly organised, with ability to manage multiple tasks and projects.
• Tech-savvy and comfortable with remote tools (Zoom, social media, basic content management).
• Ability to work independently and as part of a small, dedicated team.
• Empathy and understanding of the lived experience of disability (lived or learned).
• Passion for equity, inclusion, and social justice.

Desirable

• Experience working with or within the disability community.
• Experience facilitating support groups or community-led initiatives.
• Knowledge of Cerebral Palsy or long-term health conditions.

Why Join Us?
You’ll be joining a small, passionate, and growing team making a big difference. We are grassroots, community-led, and driven by the belief that adults with CP deserve visibility, voice, and choice. This role offers a unique opportunity to build something truly impactful from the ground up.

Closing date for applications is 20th of March with interview dates on 30th and 31st March

Join a charity rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission and play a central role in our senior leadership team.
This is a rare opportunity to use your finance and people leadership expertise to help shape the future of a well-established, values-driven organisation.

Shared Lives South West delivers long-term and short break care and support across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, enabling people to live fulfilling lives within family homes and communities. We are proud of the quality of our work and the positive, relational culture we have built as an organisation, and we are ambitious about what comes next.

As Deputy Chief Executive, you will join our senior leadership team in a pivotal organisation-wide role leading finance, people and core business functions. Working closely with the Chief Executive and Leadership Team, you will help strengthen financial stewardship, support a thriving and sustainable people culture, and ensure the organisation remains resilient, well-governed and effective.

This is a broad and influential leadership role offering both strategic responsibility and meaningful organisational impact. You will contribute to long-term planning and decision-making, provide leadership depth and continuity, and deputise for the Chief Executive when required.

We are looking for an experienced senior leader with strong organisational finance expertise and a good understanding of people leadership and workforce practice. You may come from the charity, public or wider values-led sector, and you will bring a collaborative, grounded leadership style alongside professional rigour.

For the right candidate, this role offers the opportunity to make a significant contribution to an already high-performing organisation while continuing to grow your own leadership portfolio in a supportive and purpose-driven environment.

For full details and to apply please see Applicant Pack attached. 

Other organisations may refer to roles like this as Deputy CEO, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Finance Director, Director of Finance and Operations, or Executive Director of Corporate Services.

To navigate the collaboration between BDEF and Adult Social Care (Bristol City Council), making sure that people with lived expertise lead decisions about the services they rely on, guided by the Co‑Production Policy and Disability Equality principles. Please see the attachments for full Job Description and Person Specification, including links to definitions and relevant policies.

Co‑Design and Co‑Production Worker

Hours: 28 hours per week.  Must be flexible and be available for occasional work outside of usual work hours.

Salary: £30,229.28 pro rata (depending on successful completion of the Probationary Period). For the hours, this would work out at £24,183.43 annually. Point 7 on BDEF Pay Policy.

Purpose: To navigate the collaboration between BDEF and Adult Social Care (Bristol City Council), making sure that people with lived expertise lead decisions about the services they rely on, guided by the Co‑Production Policy and Disability Equality principles.

Reports to: Director of BDEF.

Based at: Chelsea Room, Easton Community Centre, Kilburn Street, Easton, Bristol, BS5 6AW. However, we support flexible working arrangements and hybrid working as we are committed to supporting our workers to meet their needs. If this is relevant for you, this can be discussed.

Contract: This is a fixed term contract until March 2029.

Access: We are a Disabled people led organisation. This role is for Disabled people to apply for. As such, support to make reasonable adjustments and/or support to apply for Access to Work will be embedded from the start of working with us.

 As an organisation, we also use Social Model Identity First language such as ‘Disabled people’ and ‘impairments’ or ‘health conditions’.

We know there are Disabled applicants who will have faced many barriers in developing their careers. When you read the job description and person specification, think about your potential to meet the requirements.

If there are items on the person specification where you feel you don't strictly meet the skills or experience listed but you already have strategies, support, or technology to meet these skills in a way that works for you (or you feel with the right support you could excel at) then please apply.

Co-Design and Co-Production

BDEF’s Director previously supported Bristol City Council Adult Social Care to create a Co‑production Policy. This policy was developed because there was no clear, fair, or consistent way for the Council to involve people with lived experience of using Adult Social Care services.

The policy:

• Is designed through co-production between Disabled people, Carers, Community and Voluntary Sector workers and council officers.
• Clearly defines consultation, engagement, co‑design and co‑production.
• Sets expectations for inclusive, equitable involvement.
• Has been fully adopted and approved by Adult Social Care.
• Is intended to guide all future Adult Social Care work.

Following feedback, Bristol City Council has now contracted BDEF, a Disabled‑people‑led organisation, to take this work forward. This, as part of this contract, role will focus on supporting, embedding and putting the policy into practice, ensuring that people with lived expertise are meaningfully involved in shaping Adult Social Care services.

The role will work closely with people with lived expertise of Adult Social Care services (Disabled people and carers among others), Bristol City Council Adult Social Care officers, community and voluntary organisations and BDEF colleagues. The role holder will work directly with BDEF Director who will offer advice and support.

The main duties can be found in the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

We particularly encourage people with intersectional experiences to get in touch, including but not limited to:

● Disabled people who are Black, Brown or racially minoritised communities.

● Disabled non-binary, trans or gender fluid people.

● Disabled people with lived understanding of refugee or asylum experiences and/or systems (although must now have right to work in UK).

● LGBTQIA+ Disabled people.

● Any other Disabled individuals with lived experience of multiple marginalisations.

Deadline:

Please return the application (in whatever form you choose) by 5pm on Tuesday 24th March 2026.

We're looking for a kind, resilient and compassionate Support Worker to join our Learning Disability Service in Newham.

£28,808 per annum, working 40 hours per week.

Hi, I'm P and I am a 27-year-old man who currently lives in a supported living service in Newham. I have lived here for just over one year, and came to England with my mother from Poland in 2015.
I am a friendly and engaged man, but I speak very little English and communicate easiest in Polish so need someone who can support me with this and support me with learning some English. I do enjoy staying connected with my Polish heritage but would like support to socialise better with those around me. I have a very good relationship with my family, particularly my mother, brother, nieces and nephews, and usually spend the weekends with my mother at her home when I can.
I enjoy dancing and singing, and like watching Youtube to sing and dance along to the videos. I also attend the local learning zone for crafting classes, and enjoy games and other crafting activities. I also enjoy "man things" like sports and drinking coffee (decaf!) or going shopping and to the pub (where I enjoy non-alcoholic beer). It is important to me that I can live as independent and adult a life as possible.
My favourite foods are burgers, pizza and cola but I need to be supported and encouraged to keep healthy, and make healthy choices as well as maintain my environment - I may need prompting and support to engage in chores such as cleaning my room, doing my laundry, washing up etc.
I am looking for a proactive individual to support me with these daily living skills, building and maintaining relationships, keeping myself and my home safe but also to help me develop my skills to live more independently, to share my hobbies and interests and to explore new activities.
I am looking for someone who is a good and clear communicator, in both Polish and English, is assertive, has good IT skills and shares my enthusiasm for what interests me, like music, food and meaningful activities.
Look Ahead ensures I am treated with dignity and respect and only staff who can live up to the organisational values become part of my support team.

Professional Skills:
* Compassionate and able to help me manage my support needs
* Assertive and able to help me make choices that I want for my life
* Experience in working with people with Learning Disabilities and Mental Health
* Understands the Positive Behaviour Support framework
* Can be creative around activities, both in the house and in the local community
* Calm and patient
* Good reporting skills, IT skills and keen on using digital systems and new technologies.

Essential criteria - Polish Language Speaker

Shifts are 07:00-15:00 or 14:00-22:00 so includes evenings, weekends and bank holidays as required.

Want to feel valued? You'll feel at home here.

Making you feel at home here means helping you thrive in every way. That's why we offer a wide range of benefits, award-winning Learning & Development and a culture that welcomes all. These aren't token gestures - we've thought long and hard about how best to support our team. After all, our people are doing something amazing: helping to transform lives every day.
Our benefits include:
* Annual leave increasing up to 30 days with length of service
* Free DBS (take this out if BSW advert)
* Exclusive discounts and cashback via Reward Gateway® and opportunity to buy a Blue Light Card
* Fully paid induction programme and further training
* ILM courses and Apprenticeship Programmes
* Cycle to work scheme
* Employee Assistance Programme for 24-7 confidential support
* Online wellbeing resources
* A generous pension - we will contribute up to 4% and life assurance cover up to £10,000 (T&Cs apply)
* Quarterly Staff Awards to reward & recognise our amazing staff's commitment and contribution
All applicants must be legally eligible to work in the UK by the start of employment as Look Ahead are not able to offer sponsorship.

About us:

Look Ahead is a leading, not-for-profit care and support provider in London and the South East. Our vision is to build better lives through social care and housing in local communities. As an organisation we deliver over 100 services, providing support to thousands of customers each year. Our mission is to co-design and deliver services that offer innovative social care solutions and support people to thrive. We work across mental health, homelessness and complex needs, young people and care leavers and learning disabilities so there are plenty of opportunities to grow and progress your career with us.
We have a strong social purpose and we live and work by our values:
* We focus on Excellence and innovation.
* We are Caring and Compassionate.
* We are Inclusive and Trusted.
* We work in Partnership and are One-Team.

Look Ahead is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment.

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, but we feel that you would be suitable for another role, we may contact you to discuss alternative opportunities. If this occurs you would not need to submit another application for the alternative role.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion at work and are accredited with Silver in the Inclusive Employers Standard 2021. We are a proud member of the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant and encourage applications from a diverse range of applicants of all backgrounds.