Job Purpose:

• To provide individual information, support and signposting for women, including young women supported by Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust disclosing experiences of domestic violence/abuse • To provide individual information, support and signposting for women working for Birmingham and Solihull Mental health Foundation Trust (BSMHT) disclosing experiences of domestic violence/abuse • To provide training and support to health professionals within BSMHT on understanding and responding to DVA

Duties and Responsibilities

Advocacy and support service

• To provide support to women, experiencing DVA referred or signposted by trust colleagues. • To provide direct casework support, advice, information and advocacy to women experiencing DVA through telephone contact, and/or meetings at the department. • To work with women experiencing DVA to increase their personal safety (and that of any children) and inform them of their rights and options in terms of housing, legal and welfare rights • To be clear of Safeguarding principles, seeking guidance from the Trust Safeguarding Team where appropriate. • To develop good working relationships and liaise with outside agencies when needed. This will include referral to colleagues within BSWA, to other specialist DVA services or other external agencies when appropriate • To keep accurate records of all work done with or on behalf of clients and produce written reports as requested, including a monthly report of referrals and the take up of these referrals advocacy including outputs and patient outcomes • To contribute to monitoring and evaluation of the project.

Practice-based work

• To work alongside mental health colleagues to deliver training and awareness sessions to health care professionals about DVA within BSMHT • To promote awareness of the experiences and needs of women living with or escaping DVA, particularly in relation to their health • To develop a good relationship with all staff and work effectively as part of the departmental team. This includes: o provision of systematic support to teams in participating departments, including meeting with individuals and small groups of clinical and administrative staff o working closely with DVA champions in each department, where applicable o attending relevant meetings • To further develop effective assessment and monitoring procedures and ensure that clear accurate records are kept and maintained • To review number of advocate referrals made by clinicians in participating departments. 

Administration and Monitoring

• To work within BSWA’s administrative and financial systems • To keep accurate records of financial transitions in line with BSWA’s procedures • To ensure that Health and Safety records are kept up to date • To monitor and evaluate the service, via various methods including feedback from service users • To contribute where appropriate to the preparation of returns for funders • To follow the host Trust’s policies and procedures

Communication:

• To ensure that all staff team members are aware of any matters that are relevant to the welfare and security of the staff, volunteers and service users by: o Maintaining BSWA and trust communication records o Following safety procedures o Attending team meetings • To attend in-house and Trust training • To attend support and supervision sessions, including case reviews and safeguarding, with your line manager • To develop a professional working relationship with external agencies • To be involved in the Annual Review process • To participate in multi agency work, including delivery of training and awareness sessions, as agreed with your line manager • To promote awareness of BSWA services and the impact of domestic violence on women and children

Training:

• To identify and attend training relevant to the post in agreement with your line manager • To work alongside colleagues to organise in-house training and information sessions on a range of issues for service users • To participate in the development and annual appraisal of a personal individual development plan with the line manager

General:

• To work within BSWA and Trust policies and procedures and demonstrate a commitment to the values and ethos of BSWA. • To work within BSWA’s and BSMHT’s framework for equal opportunities and antidiscriminatory practice and offer an equal service to all women, children and young people regardless of age, class, culture, language, race, religion and sexual orientation • To maintain the confidentiality of women and children using the service and in all matters relating to the organisations. • To work within BSWA, Trust and local multi-agency adult and child safeguarding procedures. Where this may produce conflict immediately raise with line manager. (Worker will be trained to level 3 safeguarding) • To maintain an awareness of the issues surrounding domestic violence on a national and local level • To work within the principles and standards of Birmingham DV Standards and support Birmingham Domestic Abuse Strategy • To ensure the efficient use of resources at all times • To undertake any other duties required by BSWA, which may arise incidentally, develop, or be assigned commensurate with the post

Duties and Responsibilities

Support work:

➢ To work with women to identify their, and their children’s, support needs and incorporate these into women’s individual support plans ➢ To assess risk and to safety plan with women, reviewing assessments and risks regularly ➢ To devise and implement appropriate methods of communication with women and children, in agreement with your line manager ➢ To provide practical support on a range of issues including housing, benefits, legal matters, and emotional support to enable women’s recovery from their experiences of abuse. ➢ To work alongside colleagues at BSWA’s Home Options Hub to provide advice and support to women around housing options and develop individual housing action plans with women ➢ To support women through their resettlement process where relevant ➢ To facilitate access to BSWA and its services and to refer and signpost into specialist statutory and community services where necessary to help meet needs ➢ To encourage the development of safe and appropriate support networks within the community ➢ To work within the monitoring and evaluation procedures for the project including encouraging feedback from service users and producing statistical information

Development:

➢ To identify and develop support strategies to meet the needs of women and children seeking support ➢ To keep up to date with current legislative changes for dissemination within staff team, and for use when working with women and children around their rights. ➢ To identify and make links with existing projects and community services and to develop joint services where appropriate ➢ To keep abreast of issues regarding domestic violence on a national and local level with particular reference to those that may affect the work of the Project ➢ To participate in multi agency work as agreed with your line manager ➢ To promote awareness of the impact of domestic violence on women and children and BSWA services

Administration:

➢ To work within BSWA’s administrative and financial systems ➢ To ensure that adequate records are kept for all service users and relevant monitoring data collected and recorded ➢ To ensure that Health and Safety records are kept up to date ➢ To produce monthly reports for your line manager

Communication:

➢ To ensure that all staff team members are aware of any matters that are relevant to the welfare and security of the refuges, staff, volunteers and service users by: a) Maintaining BSWA communication records b) Following safety procedures c) Attending team meetings d) Carrying out risk assessments in conjunction with your line manager ➢ To attend in-house training ➢ To attend support and supervision sessions with your line manager ➢ To develop a professional working relationship with external agencies ➢ Feedback relevant issues from external meetings/ training to the staff and management teams as appropriate ➢ To be involved in the Annual Review process 

General:

➢ To maintain the confidentiality of the women and children using the service and in all matters relating to the organisation ➢ To offer an equal service to all women and children regardless of age, class, culture, language, race, religion and sexual orientation ➢ To work within BSWA policies and procedures and demonstrate a commitment to the values and ethos of BSWA ➢ To work within BSWA’s framework for equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice ➢ To adhere to Child Protection and Safeguarding procedures, and Adult Safeguarding procedures throughout ➢ To undertake any other duties required by BSWA, which may arise and commensurate with the post

Caseworker – SEND (Part Time)
Walsall, West Midlands

About Us

We are Family Action, a national charity committed to building stronger families and brighter lives by delivering innovative and effective services and support that reaches out to many of the UK’s most vulnerable people.

We seek to empower people and communities to address their issues and challenges through practical, financial and emotional help. Our work is wide-ranging and includes help for parents-to-be, the provision of many Children’s Centres in local communities, intensive family support, emotional health and wellbeing services, counselling, mediation and therapies, support in schools and financial grants programmes. Family Action is also recognised as a leading provider of training and consultancy.

We’re looking for two Caseworkers to join us on a part-time basis and support the delivery of our Special Education Needs and/or Disabilities Information and Advice Service (SENDIAS) in Walsall. 

The Benefits

- Salary of £19,974 - £22,584 pro rata 
- Leave entitlement and pension scheme
- Career development opportunities
- Full induction and ongoing quality training
- The opportunity to become part of Family Action initiatives
- Flexible working hours

If you have a strong understanding of SEND legislation, this is a brilliant opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of families in Walsall. 

You will have the chance to play an integral role in driving the success of the service at a local level and ensuring that SEND issues are a priority for everyone. 

We are forward looking, ambitious and committed to continuous improvement. We are a people-focused, can-do organisation that operates with mutual respect. If you share these values, we would love to hear from you.

The Role

As a Caseworker, you’ll support the delivery of our SENDIAS offering, which will be launched in Walsall in September 2020. 

SENDIAS aims to empower parents/carers and young people with special educational needs and disabilities by providing free impartial information and advice relating to education, health and social care.

You will provide families with advice, support and information to help them navigate the SEND process and achieve positive outcomes.

Specifically, you will:

- Communicate with families over the phone, via email and through face-to-face meetings
- Provide impartial advice on local policies and practice
- Support families during the EHC assessment and planning process
- Develop positive working relationships with agencies

About You 

To join us as a Caseworker, you’ll need: 

- At least one year’s experience in a similar support role 
- Experience of working with families with additional needs and/or in an educational environment, local authority, voluntary organisation or another field relevant to additional needs
- Knowledge of SEND legislation, particularly the SEND Code of Practice 2014 
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- A recognised professional qualification in social work, health, education or equivalent 
- An Independent Provider of Special Education Advice IPSEA legal training qualification (or the willingness to gain this within 12 months) 

Experience of working directly with young people would be beneficial to your application. 

Other organisations may call this role Support Worker, SEND Support Worker, Social Care Assistant, Social Care Worker, SEND Advisor, Care Worker, or Special Educational Needs & Disability Support Worker.

These are part-time roles, working 22.2 hours per week and two positions are available.

The closing date for applications is the 12th August 2020.

Webrecruit and Family Action are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.

So, if you’re seeking your next challenge as a Caseworker, please apply via the button shown. This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.

£19,847 - £23,350 p/a (Please note successful candidates should expect to be appointed at the starting point of the salary scale and consideration may be given to a higher salary depending on the experience of the individual)

Full-time (35 hrs p/w) - Fixed term contract until 25th June 2021

HMP Birmingham

Ref: RMB-201

Are you a positive and emotionally resilient individual with a good understanding of the barriers facing men and young people with complex needs within the Criminal Justice System? 

If so, St Giles Trust is looking for a Resettlement Caseworker (known internally as Meet at the Gate Worker) to join us and provide a high level Meet At The Gate support service to men experiencing complex and multiple disadvantage being released from HMP Birmingham.

About St Giles Trust 

An ambitious, well-established charity that helps people facing adversity to find jobs, homes and the right support they need. Central to our ethos is our belief that people with first-hand experience of successfully overcoming issues such as an offending background, homelessness, addictions and gang involvement, hold the key to positive change in others. 

About this vital role

Your challenge will be to help reduce re-offending by delivering a practical support service to prisoners on release identified by the CRC as their most ‘at risk’ clients, including recalls. Day-to-day, you’ll undertake pre-release visits to clients (in prison where possible) in order to produce action and risk management plans. As well as providing a comprehensive and holistic assessment, advice, referral and support service to clients, we’ll rely on you to construct a personalised action plan to address their needs that contribute to their offending behaviour. 

Delivering an outreach service that involves meeting service users at the prison gates and providing a practical service that includes setting up access to housing, benefits, registering with GPs/Dentists and attending appointments will be an important part of the role too. Along the way, you’ll also liaise with a variety of local community, develop working relationships with prison departments, officers, CRC and community services and actively promote good partnerships and effective joint working.

What we are looking for:

• Lived personal experience or knowledge of the Criminal Justice System and experience of, or an understanding of how to work with, challenging people with complex and multiple disadvantages who are reluctant to discuss their needs, and often angry and confused

• Experience of developing successful inter-agency work, particularly with a view to working with referring agencies

• Knowledge of housing options available to ex-offenders, especially knowledge of the Homelessness Act plus familiarity with the Benefits system, including Universal Credit

• An understanding of mental health problems and drug/alcohol misuse issues among vulnerable people, including the effects and treatment 

• Lots of initiative, good relationship building skills and the ability to use monitoring systems and provide flexible working when delivering an outreach service to vulnerable service users. 

In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, flexible working, a mentoring programme, an advice and counselling service, childcare vouchers, season ticket loan and much more.

For further information, or to apply, please visit our website.

Closing date: 11pm, 16th August 2020. Interviews: 26th August (interviews are likely to be held via zoom)

The Refugee & Migrant Centre are one of the biggest charities in the field. We are renowned for our work in assisting refugees and migrants through crisis and disadvantage; we remove barriers to integration and help our clients to become equal citizens. We are now recruiting Caseworker roles to be based across our 3 branches in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall. This is an exciting time to be joining the team, as we grow to meet our aspirations.

Job Description – Caseworker- OISC level 2 (minimum) regulated

Reporting to: Casework team managers

Responsible for:  Designated advisors and caseworkers.

Salary:  £ 25,694-29,854 (dependent on length of experience and ability to supervise other OISC-regulated colleagues) If you an experienced OISC level 3 practitioner please get in touch for a discussion.

Hours: 35 (full time)

Contract: 24 months with the possibility of extension  Probation period: 6 months

Location: RMC’s offices in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall – working across branches may be a requirement.

Purpose of the Job:

· To provide professional and effective OISC regulated casework as well as advice, guidance and support to a broad range of RMC’s service users.

· To assist/support the team and the management to meet the needs of the beneficiaries and achieve targets.

· To support and supervise colleagues on a lower level of OISC regulation and designated volunteers.

· To deliver presentations and represent RMC at meetings/events when required by management.

· To take responsibility of projects related to the job

Principal Tasks

Working within the team

· To ensure the requirements of OISC are respected and met during the delivery of immigration-related advice and casework.

· To assist the senior colleagues and managers in order to drive efficiency, quality, systems improvement and target achievement.

· To supervise and/or manage colleagues on a lower level of OISC-regulation and designated volunteers.

 Casework and advice

· To offer advice & casework to service users with various aspects related to their immigration case.

· To deliver the appropriate level of casework either independently or under supervision, depending on the level of OISC registration.

· To provide appropriate support and mentoring to any caseworkers and/or advisors that are under this role’s supervision.

· To maintain confidentiality in all dealings with service users and ensure their needs are met in a satisfactory and sensitive manner.

Other

• To be responsible for the day to day delivery of specific projects if requested by the Senior Management Team–this is flexible and could change depending on the nature of funding.

· To represent RMC at external meetings and events when required by senior colleagues. 

· To maintain effective working relationships with partners and stakeholders.

Purpose and Scope of the Role

The Refugee & Migrant Centre are one of the biggest charities in the field. We are renowned for our work in assisting refugees and migrants through crisis and disadvantage; we remove barriers to integration and help our clients to become equal citizens. We are now recruiting Caseworker roles to be based across our 3 branches in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall.. This is an exciting time to be joining the team, as we grow to meet our aspirations.

Job Description – Caseworker- OISC-regulated Level 1

Reporting to: Casework team managers

Responsible for:  Designated advisors and/or volunteers.

Salary:  £22,434-24,717 (dependent on length of experience and ability to supervise other OISC-regulated colleagues) 

Hours: 35 (full time)

Contract: 24 months with the possibility of extension  Probation period: 6 months

Location: RMC’s offices in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall – working across branches may be a requirement.

Purpose of the Job:

· To provide professional and effective OISC regulated casework as well as advice, guidance and support to a broad range of RMC’s service users.

· To assist/support the team and the management to meet the needs of the beneficiaries and achieve targets.

· To support and supervise colleagues on a lower level of OISC regulation and designated volunteers.

· To deliver presentations and represent RMC at meetings/events when required by management.

· To take responsibility of projects related to the job

Principal Tasks

Working within the team

· To ensure the requirements of OISC are respected and met during the delivery of immigration-related advice and casework.

· To assist the senior colleagues and managers in order to drive efficiency, quality, systems improvement and target achievement.

· To supervise and/or manage colleagues on a lower level of OISC-regulation and designated volunteers.

 Casework and advice

· To offer advice & casework to service users with various aspects related to their immigration case.

· To deliver the appropriate level of casework either independently or under supervision, depending on the level of OISC registration.

· To provide appropriate support and mentoring to any caseworkers and/or advisors that are under this role’s supervision.

· To maintain confidentiality in all dealings with service users and ensure their needs are met in a satisfactory and sensitive manner.

Other

• To be responsible for the day to day delivery of specific projects if requested by the Senior Management Team–this is flexible and could change depending on the nature of funding.

· To represent RMC at external meetings and events when required by senior colleagues. 

· To maintain effective working relationships with partners and stakeholders.

Location: Flexible - Cardiff, London, Birmingham, Leeds, and Liverpool

Department: Expert Advice Team

Contract Duration: March 2021

Citizens Advice provides free, independent and impartial advice and information to help people resolve their problems. Each year our local offices across the country help 2.6 million people with their problems - either through face-to-face or telephone advice, or online. Our amazing data allows us to spot emerging issues quickly, making us uniquely placed to raise awareness of these issues and advocate for solutions.

The Expert Advice Team at Citizens Advice provides subject matter support and expertise to thousands of advisers across England and Wales, and helps to ensure the accuracy of our online content. 

We support the local network of Citizens Advice services and our national online content team in major advice areas such as debt, benefits, housing, employment, immigration, family and consumer law. We do this through one to one consultancy with local advisers, one to many advice and training products and legal assurance of content. We also provide expert support to other functions such as public policy and news.

We are looking for a Benefits Expert to work with us from now until 31 March 2021.This expert will provide legal and advice expertise in benefits law to Citizens Advice internal teams and to the Citizens Advice network of local offices.  To support the delivery of benefits advice across the Citizens Advice network.

The location is flexible with travel to our offices in London, Leeds or Birmingham likely. Hours are flexible from 21.75 to 36.25 hours per week and we are happy to discuss potential part-time and flexible working arrangements with prospective applicants. 

This role is based in a team of high-performing subject matter experts and qualified lawyers. The postholder must have an interest in law and experience of legal research, but a law degree is not a requirement and you don’t need to be a qualified solicitor or barrister. 

Our offices are currently closed due to coronavirus, with employees working from home. We are open to discussion about flexible working, and are willing to consider both full or part time working.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented throughout Citizens Advice. We are a member of the race equality campaign at Business in the Community, the Prince’s responsible business network and are committed to improving employment opportunities for ethnic minorities across the UK. We also welcome applications from, LGB and Trans and non binary candidates.

We have made a positive commitment to employing disabled people and guarantee to interview all disabled candidates who meet the minimum essential criteria for the role as set out in role profiles.

Please note, in the event of a high number of applications, we reserve the right to close the application early. 

The National Citizens Advice Operates from offices in England and Wales, with 5 regional offices based in Cardiff, London, Birmingham, Leeds, and Liverpool, therefore all successful applicants must be based within England or Wales.

RSVP is expanding our team of Children and Young People’s Independent Sexual Violence Advocates (CYP ISVAs). We want a new full time ISVA for this post, which is funded until 31st March 2022. You will join an experienced CYP ISVA Team to support children and young people (CYP) who have been subjected to sexual abuse, sexual violence and sexual exploitation. You will ensure that the voices, needs and rights of CYP are heard, understood and acted upon at every stage, and that they are safeguarded at all times. You will provide CYP with information, access to support services (e.g. sexual health), emotional and practical support (e.g. through the criminal justice system.)

You will report to the Head of ISVA Services and the key parts of the role are:

1. To provide high quality, victim/survivor-focused and pro-active advocacy support to CYP who have been subjected to sexual violence, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and/or sexual coercion.

2. To ensure that the voices, needs, rights and legal entitlements of CYP are heard, understood and acted upon by all individuals and organisations, at every point throughout the Criminal Justice Process.

3. To ensure that positive outcomes and differences for the CYP we support are met, working closely with our CYP ISVAs and the whole CYP team, including our CYP Counselling and Wellbeing Services Team.