Parent support worker jobs in Newcastle
This is an exciting and pivotal leadership role at the heart of Kinship’s digital transformation. You’ll lead a talented and ambitious team to deliver and develop live digital services, accessible content and user-centred products that kinship carers rely on to access support.
This role does not own all services delivered through digital channels. It owns selected shared digital products while also enabling teams across Kinship to deliver their work effectively through digital platforms, content and journeys, while teams retain ownership of their services and outcomes. You’ll provide leadership on standards, user experience, accessibility and innovation.
Context:
Kinship is expanding its reach and digital capabilities, and our digital platforms are central to how we deliver services at scale. In 2024, we launched a new website bringing together all content and services under one home, and introduced Kinship Compass, a postcode search tool that helps kinship carers find relevant local and national support.
Alongside this, we have been developing a new AI-powered tool to help kinship carers access trusted information quickly and accurately, 24/7. You will lead the evolution of these digital services ensuring they are safe, ethical, resilient and data-informed, and that innovation is always grounded in reliability, safeguarding and user trust.
You’ll play a key role in the Department for Education funded national Training and Support Service, ensuring kinship carers can easily access and book high-quality training through our digital platforms.
You’ll oversee content design in collaboration with internal and external subject experts and kinship carers themselves and lead the digital and content streams for Kinship Minds, including the development and delivery of our e-learning platform and curriculum.
This role sits at the intersection of digital service delivery, product development and content design. At Kinship, content design is distinct from communications or marketing. It focuses on designing clear, accessible and trauma-informed information, learning content and user journeys that enable kinship carers to understand their options, make decisions and access support. Content is treated as part of the service itself and is central to the quality, safety and effectiveness of our digital platforms.
This is a role for a digital leader who is both strategic and operationally grounded. You’ll balance innovation with delivery, experimentation with governance, and ambition with accountability. You’ll champion inclusive, accessible and co-produced design, ensuring digital products support real-world service delivery and improve outcomes for kinship families.
You will work closely with colleagues in the Communications and Policy team (who sit in a separate department and lead external communications, campaigns and social media) and who own the external communications strategy. You will ensure clear alignment while retaining a distinct focus on digital service innovation, product development and content design.
What you'll be doing:
Digital leadership and strategy
- Lead the Digital and Content Design team, setting clear priorities and building a culture of high performance, accountability and continuous improvement.
- Own and deliver Kinship’s digital strategy and product roadmap, covering the website, Kinship Compass, Kinship Minds, the AI tool and other digital services, excluding marketing and social media.
- Provide digital leadership across Kinship, strengthening capability and effective cross-organisational working.
- Lead responsible digital innovation, ensuring AI and emerging technology are used where they clearly improve service delivery, accessibility and user experience.
- Take accountability for digital budgets, agency relationships and delivery against agreed outcomes, timescales and quality standards.
- Horizon scan and translate external digital developments into practical, service-led improvements for Kinship.
- Contribute to organisational planning, reporting and income generation linked to digital innovation.
Website, content and digital product development
- Lead the ongoing development and innovation of Kinship’s digital platforms to ensure they are user-centred, accessible and continuously improved.
- Oversee the content strategy and governance for Kinship’s website, Kinship Compass and new e-learning platform.
- Work with internal colleagues to improve our workshop booking system.
- Ensure a consistent content design approach across all digital platforms, grounded in user need, plain English, trauma-informed practice and continuous testing and improvement.
- Lead the content design team to develop content for strategic projects working collaboratively with subject experts and kinship carers.
- Work closely with Advice and Training teams to ensure digital platforms and content design support service delivery, quality standards and DfE contract requirements.
- Develop an excellent understanding of end-to-end audience experience and how the website, online content and digital products can drive effective online services and enhance the kinship ecosystem. Map the user journeys across our website and digital products leaving no dead ends.
- Ensure integration across all platforms (e.g. website, telephony, Salesforce, Kinship Minds) to create seamless user journeys for kinship carers and internal teams.
- Embed meaningful participation and co-production with kinship carers in digital service and content development.
- Drive accessibility and inclusion, ensuring our digital services reach and work for all kinship carers, including those with lower digital literacy.
- Ensure strong digital governance, accessibility, documentation and use of insight to continuously improve performance and impact.
- Oversee SEO, analytics and data-driven optimisation to improve engagement, performance and impact.
Type of person we’re looking for:
We’re looking for a service-led digital leader who is as comfortable with operational delivery as they are with strategy and innovation. You’ll understand that digital products are part of how services are delivered, not an add-on, and that reliability, accessibility and trust matter as much as creativity.
You’ll be curious, pragmatic and values-driven, with the judgement to know when to push innovation forward and when to prioritise stability, safety and user confidence.
You are likely to:
- Have led live digital services or products that people rely on, not just content.
- Be comfortable balancing innovation with delivery, and experimentation with governance.
- Think in terms of end-to-end service journeys, not just platforms or pages.
- Be motivated by improving outcomes for people, particularly families experiencing complexity or crisis.
- Value co-production, accessibility and inclusive design as core to good digital practice.
- Bring clarity, calm and consistency to teams working in complex environments.
- Be confident working across disciplines such as digital, services and delivery without needing to own everything.
- Care deeply about doing digital work ethically, safely and well.
- Show commitment to personal development and learning.
How to apply:
Please apply for the role of Head of Digital and Content by sending a tailored CV and responding to these 4 questions below in the online application process.
Closing date is midnight on Sun 18 Jan 2026, first interview online on Thurs 22 / Fri 23 Jan 2026 and second interview in person on Thur 29 Jan 2026.
- What attracts you to this role at Kinship, and how does your experience prepare you to lead digital services, content design and innovation in the context of kinship care and families experiencing complexity or crisis? (250 words max)
- Give an example of where you introduced or explored digital innovation (for example AI, automation or new platforms) in a service context. How did you balance innovation with reliability, safeguarding or user trust? (250 words max)
- Describe a time you used content and/or service design to help people understand complex information or access support. How did you identify user needs, test what worked, and ensure the content enabled action rather than just engagement?(250 words max)
- This role leads a small but mighty remote and dispersed team. How have you managed remote teams to maintain clarity, wellbeing, accountability and delivery? Please include a practical example. (250 words max)
What we offer you:
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Flexible working - we understand how important it is to balance family and work life.
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30 days annual leave, plus bank holidays (1 April to 31 March) pro rata (3 to be taken at Christmas shutdown).
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Employee Assistance Programme (24/7 confidential advice line and counselling).
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Charity Worker Discounts.
We support kinship carers in their homes and communities, giving advice and helping them work through problems to find the best way forward.



The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
We are looking for two Senior Facilitators and Coordinators to join our Sports Project.
- Salary: £36,190 per annum pro rata (£14,476 per annum for 2 days a week)
- Hours: Part-time (2 days/week, 15hrs/week) with potential to expand to 3 or 4 days
- Location: Remote (UK-based) with regular in-person deliveries across the UK, and primarily in London and the West Midlands
- Contract: 3-year fixed term contract starting March 2026, with possibility to extend if new funding is secured
- Reporting to: Sports Department Manager
About Beyond Equality
Beyond Equality works with men and boys towards gender equality, inclusive communities, healthier relationships and better mental wellbeing. We have a range of activities, centering on interactive workshops that have reached over 100,000 people in schools, universities, sports environments, workplaces and community organisations, as well as research and expert advice, external communications and professional development training. In everything we do, we prioritise compassion, mutual respect, and evidence-based practice.
The Role(s)
We are looking for two Senior Facilitators and Coordinators to join our Sports Project. You will deliver impactful workshops using Sport for Change (S4C) approaches within professional football academies, community foundations, youth centres and schools.
You will contribute to the design and testing of new learning materials and piloting of new workshops.
You will also be responsible for coordinating session logistics, maintaining stakeholder communications and ensuring data collection (Salesforce).
Both roles will combine direct delivery and project coordination. However, each role will also have specialised responsibilities:
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Senior Facilitator and Coordinator - Events & Network Building: Focusing on social media, outreach and events.
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Senior Facilitator and Coordinator - Research & Learning: Focusing on focus groups, data collection and curriculum design.
Please note that you only need to submit one application. We will discuss which role best suits you during the interview process.
Our Ideal Candidate(s)
We are looking for someone who has:
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Experience facilitating workshops with young men and adults;
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A strong interest in and an understanding of Sport for Change approaches;
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Strong organisational skills, to manage session logistics, data reporting and their own workload;
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A commitment to compassion, transparency and accountability.
Equal Opportunities
Beyond Equality strives to be an inclusive employer. We want to provide a working environment, and a recruitment and hiring process, that is welcoming, accessible and supportive for everybody - including and especially those who are marginalised in society. With this in mind, we’ve worked to create an application and recruitment process that is as straightforward and transparent as possible.
We welcome applicants with non-traditional educational backgrounds. If you are not sure whether you are qualified or experienced enough for a role, but you think you meet the person specification, we encourage you to apply anyway.
We particularly welcome applications from people of colour, LGBTQ+ people, women, new or expectant parents/carers and disabled people.
If there is anything else we can do to make the application and/or interview process more accessible for you, we want to hear about it, and will do our best to meet your requirements.
We are a diverse organisation and we appreciate the value of lived experience. When our team members want to draw on their own lived experience to inform aspects of their work, we do our best to support them - but we’ll never expect or require you to draw on your own experiences if you don’t want to, or to do extra work on the basis of any aspect of your identity.
Safeguarding
Beyond Equality is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Employment offers are subject to pre-employment checks including DBS, references, online checks and right to work.
How to apply
Closing Date: Wednesday 21st January at 23:59
To apply, please download the Job Pack PDF attached to this advert. It contains:
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The full details on the responsibilities and requirements for the roles,
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The link to our virtual Q&A session,
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The link to our Diversity Monitoring Form,
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The five application questions you'll need to submit via email with your CV.
If you’re unsure whether this role is for you, sign up for our virtual Q&A Session on Tuesday 13th January at 10:30am (link to sign up in Job Pack).
At Beyond Equality, we aim to disrupt the cycle of restrictive masculinity, eradicating resulting harms and improving well being for men and boys.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
We’re looking for an organised and person centred leader who can join our leadership team to support the quality, growth and sustainability of Stomping Grounds North East CIO.
The Deputy CEO will support the CEO by planning, overseeing, monitoring, reporting and taking appropriate action to deliver the service, business and financial strategies ofStomping Grounds North East CIO, with a focus on developing people, business and safeguarding and ensuring management capability across the organisation. It is key that the successful candidate can work at least some of the school holidays.
Reports to: CEO
Hours of work :35 hours per week (1 FTE)
Remuneration: TBD
Main responsibilities
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To ensure projects and delivery adheres to the Company’s vision, mission and values.
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To oversee the development and implementation of new projects and sessions to meet the Company’s aims and objectives. Specifically, to ensure that:
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Appropriate risk assessments are undertaken and documented in line with Stomping Grounds Risk Assessment procedure
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Appropriate communications to and involvement of communities, parents and schools are delivered effectively
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High quality Forest School provision is delivered, in line with the Stomping Grounds NE vision
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To proactively manage the financial performance of projects and the business overall, including overseeing the planning and delivery of fundraising and donations
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To oversee, monitor and report on all aspects of business governance including health and safety, safeguarding and employee wellbeing.
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To work with line managers to develop their managerial capabilities and performance, with a focus on team development. As part of this, to ensure that:
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Regular meetings of the team leaders are organised to share information on business performance, plans and issues and to create action plans as appropriate
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Appropriate observations are conducted, documented and shared
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PDRs are completed in line with company policy
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To ensure training is up to date and relevant
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To ensure that company policies are up to date and relevant and are reviewed as required
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To be proactive and maintain requirements for governing bodies, associations and memberships
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To develop and support the implementation of effective evaluation and impact monitoring processes, including annual reporting of the impact of Stomping Grounds work.
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To attend meetings of the Board of Trustees and report progress against the business plan
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To carry out other duties compatible with the role purpose as reasonably required or as directed by the CEO.
Person Specification
Essential
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Proven exceptional leadership skills
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Experience of leading and developing a diverse staff team
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Excellent communication skills
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Excellent organisational skills
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Extensive project management experience
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Excellent understanding of neurodivergence
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Excellent business management skills
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Flexibility to work during school holidays
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Ability to travel to our multi region sites including but not restricted to: Prudhoe, Haltwhistle, Chopwell, Leadgate, Benwell and Gateshead Riverside Park
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Commitment to Stomping Grounds Mission and Values
Desirable
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Experience with Ofsted
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Experience of working in the charity sector
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Experience of working with children and young people, particularly those with neurodivergence and/or who are not currently thriving in mainstream schools
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Experience as a Designated Safeguarding Lead
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Experience of leading teams through change and growth
We abide by Safer Recruitment guidelines and therefore we only accept application forms.
https://www.stomping-grounds.org/about-us/mission-and-values
Medical Detection Dogs trains dogs to save lives.
We train specialist dogs to detect the odour of human disease, providing life-saving alert assistance dogs to people with complex health problems across the UK and collaborating with NHS Trusts and other researchers and Universities both in the UK and internationally to advance the early diagnosis of disease.
We have an exciting new opportunity to join this innovative charity that is a world-leader in its specialist field.
JOB TITLE:Regional Assistance Dog Instructor Scotland
LOCATION:Scotland (Central belt, between Glasgow and Edinburgh)
SALARY:£24K - £29K per annum, depending on experience
JOB TYPE: Part time and full time hours considered, with occasional evening and weekend work required
REPORTS TO: Instructor Manager
The Job
We are looking for a passionate and driven person who ideally has previous experience and skills working as an Instructor within an Assistance Dog organisation, who has worked with clients and partnerships. The role includes supporting both clients who have had a MDD dog placed with them and also our own dog applicants with their puppies and young dogs to ensure they receive the highest standard of socialisation and early training in terms of obedience, public access and developing an alert to the applicant’s condition, with the aim to reach an accreditable assistance dog partnership status. It is also will include carrying out client specific and odour training for MDD own dogs, placing these dogs with their new clients and looking after a number of established partnerships. This role would suit somebody residing in the central belt of Scotland, between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Duties that encompass the role of an Instructor include:
- Be the first point of contact for the allocated partnerships in your area, covering all areas of Scotland. To provide guidance and instruction to applicants who have applied to the charity to have their own dogs considered for the training programme guidance and instruction on handling, behaviour and obedience and odour training as well as newly placed partnerships.
- Alongside the Instructing team, to run puppy classes, public access training, recall sessions in small groups for applicant own dogs that are in line with the charity’s quality standards and in accordance with timescales and targets.
- To also carry out support visits and home interviews for applicants and clients that have been allocated to you.
- Regularly monitor progress of the puppies and partnerships in training in your area and provide detailed, evidenced feedback to Instructor Manager and Head of Assistance Dog Programme.
- To carry out client specific training with any MDD owned dogs that have been matched, including the required odour scent training.
- Instructing, guiding and supporting new assistance dog clients in managing and handling a Medical Alert Assistance Dog effectively, via pre training, placement training and aftercare visits.
- Supporting partnerships in training in successfully reaching an accreditation standard and in maintaining this
- standard throughout the life of the partnership.
- To support a number of established partnerships in the form of aftercare, refresher training and yearly re-accreditations, assisting further afield on occasions as required.
Responsibilities
- To escalate issues and problems to the Instructor Manager as appropriate.
- To assist the Dog Supply Team with carrying out scent assessments on any MDD dogs in socialising as and when required with the support of the Instructor Manager and rest of the Instructing Team.
- To plan, organise and deliver practical and theoretical training to clients, meeting their individual needs in line with agreed standards to include areas such as dog welfare, appropriate handling, commanding and overall management. This will involve working with the parents as Team Leader and child as Client and working with adult clients.
- Assess the team dynamics of the family & balancing the needs of all family members as well as those of the dog.
- Assess the individuals preferred learning style and amending as relevant to aid a client.
- To accompany the client into all regular environments that they will take the dog to, ensuring the dog behaves in an acceptable manner and that the client and others are aware and clear in terms of where they dog should reside and behave for eg public transport, place of work. To complete a check list of environments for any applicant own dogs in training who are on the programme to be assessed within.
- To support and advise clients in transferring the odour training from pot training and recognising alerting behaviours to establish real life alerting.
- To monitor the correct and false alerting percentages of allocated partnerships via data analysis, advising where necessary until the correct alerting levels are achieved.
- To complete comprehensive reports and paperwork for any time spent with applicants or partnerships in training or established. Maintain accurate records by providing verbal and written information with agreed timescales about clients, dogs, applicants and apprentices as appropriate.
- To work alongside allocated partnerships with the aim of the partnership reaching an accredited standard and feeding back to the Instructor Manager and Assistance Dog Programme Manager if there are any concerns that the accreditation cannot be achieved.
- To provide clients with appropriate aftercare services at regular intervals in their own homes in the form of annual visits, support visits or at refresher workshops run at the Centre to agreed standards. This will include continual re-assessment of the dynamics of family and dog, formulating and training on appropriate solutions, as well as offering additional dog training advice.
- To deliver handling days as part of an applicant’s pre training to include ‘Introduction to Assistance Dog’ ‘Advanced Handling’ and Family Handling.
- To scent train and seizure proof advanced dogs in preparation to be partnered with an adult or child client and ensure that applicant own dogs have received this at the earliest opportunity.
- To maintain the ongoing public access training with any advanced dog in scent training that has been allocated to them.
- To provide local support to the growing puppy socialisation scheme, based in and around Perth.
- To provide support to the Charity’s public relations and fundraising functions as required, specifically in your area.
- To act as the ‘contact’ person for the assistance dog programme in relation to training policy procedures with clients and their families, other professional service providers and members of the public. This will include on-going research and development of the project.
- To liaise with and provide support for Volunteers who may operate as part of the aftercare programme provided by the charity.
- To ensure all partnerships are in line with the ADUK regulations with regards to behaviour, obedience and welfare and branding.
- Due to the nature of the role, flexible working hours may be required in some instances to facilitate the effective delivery of the work e.g. working during the school holidays with school age clients.
Other
- Share best practice with colleagues across the charity.
- Any other duties or tasks that are required to ensure the successful running of the Medical Alert Assistance Dog Department and the Charity overall.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- High level of preparation, organisational and co-ordination skills
- Strong and clear teaching and instructing skills
- Experience of running puppy classes and carrying out public access training and recall sessions
- High level of self – motivation and planning
- Approachable, calm and empathetic to children and adults with debilitating and life threatening conditions
- Happy to travel alone within the UK to visit any clients as necessary.
- Happy to be on call at all times for partnerships as and when required.
- Happy to stay away from home and stay in local hotel when the client’s location is too far from your home to travel back.
- Happy and able to have Medical Alert Assistance Dogs in training to reside in their home.
- Good team worker, but equally able to work alone.
- Positive, empathetic and calm attitude
- Able to embrace a constantly evolving organisation
- Flexible
KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE
Essential
- Previous Assistance Dog Instructing or Dog Training with puppy socialisers experience
- Knowledge of AD(UK) and ADI regulations
- Law in relation to dogs.
- Knowledge of medical conditions relevant to puppies between 8 weeks and 2 years of age.
- Dog and human psychology.
- Proven evidence and experience of dog handling and training skills
- Previous experience of teaching and instructing
- Sound dog training and dog behaviour knowledge
- IT literacy and report writing skills
- Experience of using Microsoft based programs such as Outlook, Word,
- Excel, Internet Explorer and Power Point, teams, zoom and Microsoft
- Share point for data etc
- Full UK driving licence
- Pass a DBS (CRB) check due to regular contact with children
Preferable
- Knowledge of debilitating medical conditions and understanding of how they can impact people, both physically and psychologically, particularly when they are unstable and fluctuating.
- Previous knowledge of odour/scent training.
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- High level of preparation, organisational and co-ordination skills
- Strong and clear teaching and instructing skills
- High level of self – motivation and planning
- Approachable, calm and empathetic to children and adults with debilitating and life threatening conditions
- Happy to travel alone within the UK to visit any clients as necessary.
- Happy to be on call at all times for partnerships as and when required – to include outside standard working hours.
- Able and willing to stay away from home and stay in local hotel when the client’s location is too far from the Centre to travel back.
- If able, possibility of having Medical Alert Assistance Dogs in training to reside in their home through the 6 – 8 week training phase.
- Good team worker, but equally able to work alone.
- Positive, empathetic and calm attitude
- Able to embrace a constantly evolving organisation
- You should be supportive of the charitable aims of Medical Detection Dogs and capable of working as part of a team, as well as able to motivate yourself.
- You should be adaptable and positively embrace change by not only being flexible towards the ideas of others but also putting forward ideas to colleagues. This will involve creativity in problem solving and making appropriate responses to new ideas and unexpected situations.
DIVERITY, EQUALITY & INCLUSION
We are a welcoming, diverse and inclusive charity. Medical Detection Dogs thrives when everyone feels comfortable bringing their best self to work. We celebrate difference, whilst striving to create an environment where colleagues feel respected and valued for their unique potential. We are committed to our values on equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Values & Behaviours
Working at Medical Detection Dogs will be a richly rewarding experience.
Our Values & Behaviours encapsulate who we are, what we stand for and what it will feel like to be part of our team:
- We are respectful.
- We stay positive.
- We strive for excellence.
- We communicate and listen.
- We are ambassadors.
- We are one team.
And of course, we advocate for Medical Detection Dogs whenever we get the chance, and we pride ourselves on our role as ambassadors for the charity.
Finally, the successful candidate will also be expected to:
- Hold a full UK Driving Licence
- Provide proof of identity and eligibility to work in the UK.
- Undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
- Work some evenings and weekends
- Be willing to travel to the Centre based near Milton Keynes
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.