Welfare jobs

One YMCA provides housing, health, wellbeing, children’s, youth and community services across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. We are committed to helping people reach their full potential and strengthening communities through inclusive, high-quality programmes.

Are you an experienced youth worker ready to take the next step in your development?
Do you enjoy leading sessions, supporting colleagues, and shaping meaningful opportunities for young people?

We are seeking a Senior Youth Development Worker to support the development and delivery of One YMCA’s Universal Youth Work provision in Bedford.

The Role

Reporting to the Youth Work Coordinator, you will play a key role in delivering high-quality youth work for young people aged 9–18. You will lead engaging sessions, support and supervise sessional youth workers, and contribute to the growth and development of One YMCA’s youth work offer in line with the YMCA Youth Work Strategy.

This is a hands-on role combining direct youth work, team support, and partnership engagement. You will help ensure young people feel safe, included, and empowered to reach their full potential.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan, deliver and evaluate inclusive youth work sessions for young people aged 9–18
• Lead sessions and act as a positive role model for young people
• Support and supervise sessional youth workers during delivery
• Build and maintain positive relationships with partners, schools and external agencies
• Maintain accurate records to monitor attendance, engagement and outcomes
• Contribute to the development and expansion of One YMCA’s youth work offer, including partnership and funding opportunities
• Promote safeguarding, equality, diversity and inclusion in all areas of work

About You

You are passionate about youth work and committed to making a positive difference in young people’s lives. You are confident leading sessions, supporting others, and working collaboratively as part of a team.

You will have:

• Experience delivering youth work (paid or voluntary)
• Confidence leading group sessions and supporting small teams
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills
• An understanding of inclusive and safeguarding-led practice
• A Level 3 Youth Work qualification, or willingness to work towards one (essential)

Hours and Contract

• Part-time role
• 18 hours per week, salaried on a monthly basis
• Working pattern is flexible but will include evenings and weekends, with most delivery taking place after school

Additional Information

• Interviews will be held on a rolling basis, so early application is encouraged
• Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK (visa sponsorship is not available)
• This role may require a Basic or Enhanced DBS check, subject to a conditional offer

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion: At One YMCA, we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. We actively promote equality of opportunity and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, communities, and experiences.

Accessibility & Adjustments: We are happy to make reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process. Please let us know if you require any support to participate fully.

Ambitious College is an independent specialist day college dedicated to supporting autistic young people aged 16–25. We believe that every young person who attends Ambitious College deserves a fulfilling, happy, and rewarding life. Our educational approach focuses on the individual at all times.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Curriculum Manager to join us at our West Thames Campus.  As Curriculum Manager, you will support quality monitoring and assurance and work with the curriculum team to continuously drive up the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

The key responsibilities for this role include:

• To effectively line manage 5 teachers and an Employment Specialist including manging sickness, holiday, and check-ins.
• To provide mentoring and support to trainee teachers to ensure that they can pass their accreditations and become outstanding teachers.
• To undertake quality monitoring and quality improvement. This will include observations of teaching and learning, moderation etc.
• To support the Assistant Principal for Curriculum with gathering of required information to inform the college self-assessment report (SAR) and quality improvement plan (QIP)
• As a member of the college leadership team, you will support the Head of College in developing and implementing Ambitious College's strategic and business plan. This will require monthly attendance at, and contribution to, leadership team meetings.

Why join Ambitious About Autism?

• Working with Autism/learning disability industry experts across our school and our charity
• Autonomy in your role – You have the freedom to be creativity and get to see first hand our learners progress and achieve their goals and aspirations (as well as your ideas coming to life in the classroom).
• Continued professional development and training including a wide range of in house and external training courses.
• Annual staff recognition awards.
• Eye test vouchers, season ticket loans and a cycle to work scheme.
• Employee Assistance Programme: to help you balance your work, family, and personal life.
• Access to physiotherapy.
• We are proud to be a ‘Good' Ofsted rated provision, awarded the Natspec 2020 award for ‘Wellbeing and mental health' and 'Home learning' award in 2021.You will be joining a passionate, dedicated and supportive team.

Please bear in mind, QTLS is mandatory for this role.

Start date: April 2026 or sooner

Closing Date: Monday 5th January 2026

Interview date: week beginning 12th january 2026

Ambitious about Autism is committed to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion at every level of our organisation. We warmly welcome applications from all qualified candidates, valuing the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives they bring. We encourage applications from individuals regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or parental status, disability, or age.

Our recruitment process promotes equal opportunities, and we are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for candidates with disabilities or additional needs throughout the recruitment process. Please contact our Recruitment Team for accommodations. We recognise disability as a physical or mental impairment that significantly and long-term affects a person's ability to perform day-to-day activities, as defined by the UK Equality Act 2010. All applications will be considered solely on merit, aligned with our mission to support autistic children and young people.

Ambitious about Autism is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check. As part of our Safer Recruitment checks, an online search maybe carried out in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.

The Safeguarding responsibilities of the post as per the job description and personal specification.
Whether the post is exempt from the rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendment to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2021. This means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected', so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS Filter Guidance.

TACT is recruiting caring, committed, and resilient individuals and families to become foster carers and help transform the lives of children and young people who need a safe, stable, and nurturing home.

Fostering is not an employed role, but as a self-employed foster carer you will receive competitive fostering fees and allowances, comprehensive training, and ongoing professional support every step of the way.

Eligibility

To become a foster carer with TACT, you must:

• Be over the age of 21
• Be a UK resident or have Indefinite Leave to Remain
• Have a spare bedroom

Financial Stability & Recognition

We value your dedication and expertise – and ensure you are rewarded fairly:

• Up to £27,053 per year (£520 per week) when a child is placed
• Additional payments and allowances available
• Special fostering tax exemptions, meaning lower tax compared to most employed roles

The Support You’ll Receive

At TACT, you are never alone. We provide high-quality support to help you feel confident and supported in your fostering role: 

• A dedicated Supervising Social Worker for guidance and supervision
• A Family Wellbeing Worker to support you and the child
• Access to a network of specialist foster carers for peer support
• Comprehensive training, including therapeutic and neurodevelopmental courses
• Psychological consultations and access to specialist therapeutic input
• 24/7 out-of-hours support whenever you need it

How to apply

Interested in finding out more? We’d love to hear from you. Apply today on the TACT website.

Foster carers are self-employed and subject to fostering regulations and approval processes, including checks, training, and assessment.

TACT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all foster carers to share this commitment.

TACT is recruiting caring, committed, and resilient individuals and families to become foster carers and help transform the lives of children and young people who need a safe, stable, and nurturing home.

Fostering is not an employed role, but as a self-employed foster carer you will receive competitive fostering fees and allowances, comprehensive training, and ongoing professional support every step of the way.

Eligibility

To become a foster carer with TACT, you must:

• Be over the age of 21
• Be a UK resident or have Indefinite Leave to Remain
• Have a spare bedroom

Financial Stability & Recognition

We value your dedication and expertise – and ensure you are rewarded fairly:

• Up to £27,053 per year (£520 per week) when a child is placed
• Additional payments and allowances available
• Special fostering tax exemptions, meaning lower tax compared to most employed roles

The Support You’ll Receive

At TACT, you are never alone. We provide high-quality support to help you feel confident and supported in your fostering role: 

• A dedicated Supervising Social Worker for guidance and supervision
• A Family Wellbeing Worker to support you and the child
• Access to a network of specialist foster carers for peer support
• Comprehensive training, including therapeutic and neurodevelopmental courses
• Psychological consultations and access to specialist therapeutic input
• 24/7 out-of-hours support whenever you need it

How to apply

Interested in finding out more? We’d love to hear from you. Apply today on the TACT website.

Foster carers are self-employed and subject to fostering regulations and approval processes, including checks, training, and assessment.

TACT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all foster carers to share this commitment.

Operations Manager 

We are working in partnership with The Almshouse Association, who can trace its roots back to February 1946 when, at a meeting held in the Chapter House of Southwark Cathedral, representatives of London’s Almshouses formed a committee to safeguard the interests of Almshouse buildings and the welfare of residents.

Today, The Almshouse Association is an essential component of the Almshouse movement; they continue to provide support, information and guidance on a broad range of general and specific issues, to over 1600 independent Almshouse member charities that provide homes for around 36,000 residents across the United Kingdom.

They are seeking a new Operations Manager to join their senior management team, the role combines strategic leadership with hands-on management, offering the opportunity to strengthen a historic and socially important part of the charitable housing landscape.

You will have experience in:

• Operational leadership and organisational management 
• Strategic planning and effective delivery 
• The ability to understand and deal with complex documents and solve problems
• Member support and engagement 
• Risk, compliance and governance 
• Financial and resource management 

The successful candidate will have significant experience in operational leadership within a charity, membership body, housing organisation, or similarly values-driven environment.  You will have a strong understanding of governance, risk management, and regulatory compliance in the charitable sector.  The ability to lead teams, manage change, and build effective cross-functional working.  You will also have excellent organisational, communication, and stakeholder-engagement skills and a commitment to the ethos and values of Almshouses and the broader charitable housing sector.

The position is ideal for a collaborative, values-driven leader with a passion for the charitable sector and a commitment to improving the lives of residents supported by Almshouses.

For an informal discussion, please contact Sandra Smith, Associate Director, Charisma Charity Recruitment. Applications should be submitted through the Charisma website and include your CV and supporting statement. 

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or other category protected by law.

Closing date for applications: 18 January 2026

Charisma vetting interviews to be completed by: 22 January 2026

Interview dates with The Almshouse Association: TBC

This is an exciting role leading our committed policy team leading the fight to end child poverty in the UK. The development and implementation of a UK-wide cross-government child poverty strategy means this is a great time to join CPAG as we look to influence policy makers to adopt our evidence-based policy solutions to child poverty.

We are looking for someone to take a lead role in developing evidence-based policy positions to support CPAG’s influencing and campaigns work. You will have knowledge of political processes and how external organisations can effect change. You will have a track record of producing high quality research and analysis, including policy briefings, on social policy issues. You will have experience of managing a small team and working collaboratively to identify policy issues and develop solutions with colleagues across the organisation, as well as externally.

The postholder will be working in a fast moving, high profile and complex policy environment and will need to balance short term priorities with long term objectives. Current priorities include influencing the implementation of the forthcoming child poverty strategy, gathering and sharing analysis and expertise with the DWP as part of their review of universal credit, and monitoring the development of forthcoming changes to disability benefits.

We welcome applications from individuals with the skills and experience outlined and we can be flexible about working arrangements. We operate a hybrid working system and would be happy to discuss any flexibilities required. CPAG is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion which you can read more about in the job pack.

We welcome applications on a secondment basis.

For more information about this post and to apply download the Head of Policy job pack.

If you have questions or need specific arrangements or reasonable adjustments to take part in the selection process, please contact us.

Closing date for applications: Sunday 4th January 2026 (midnight)

Interviews will take place: Tuesday 13th January 2026

We are looking for a proactive and compassionate Hospital Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse within a hospital setting. This role is full-time to provide maternity cover. The role is based at West Middlesex Hospital along with some working from the Victim Support office in Old Street and some home working.

What we offer

At Victim Support, we are committed to attracting and retaining the best talent. Our competitive rewards and benefits package includes:

• Flexible Working Options: Including hybrid working.
• Generous Annual Leave: 28 days plus Bank Holidays, increasing to 33 days plus Bank Holidays, with options to buy or sell annual leave.
• Birthday Leave: An extra day off for your birthday.
• Pension Plan: 5% employer contribution.
• Enhanced Allowances: Enhanced sick pay, maternity, and paternity payments.
• Exclusive Discounts: High Street, retail, holiday, gym, entertainment, and leisure discounts.
• Financial Wellbeing: Access to our financial wellbeing hub and salary-deducted finance.
• Wellbeing Support: Employee assistance programme and wellbeing support.
• Inclusive Networks: Access to EDI networks and colleague cafes.
• Sustainable Travel: Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loans.
• Career Development: Ongoing training and support with opportunities for career progression.

About the Role

As an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate you will provide pro-active, high quality, frontline service to victims of domestic abuse through on-going risk assessment, providing individual safety planning, trauma-informed support, guidance, information, and advocacy and enabling victim/survivors to access the services they need in the aftermath of the abuse and trauma they have experienced.

You may work within a Hospital Trust's Safeguarding Team to support both patients and staff in an Acute Hospital setting, who have experienced Domestic Abuse. You will make initial contact with victims of domestic abuse, explaining our services and assessing the impact of crime, or receive referrals from colleagues, in order to provide on-going support and case management.

Key Responsibilities:

• Assess risks and needs using evidence-based checklists.
• Focus on high-risk cases with short to medium-term crisis intervention.
• Assist high-risk victims in accessing safety services.
• Deliver tailored support and information.
• Understand legal frameworks for protecting children and vulnerable adults.
• Provide advocacy on legal, housing, health, and financial options.
• Empower clients to recognize domestic abuse dynamics.
• Participate in Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARAC).
• Work with a team to deliver respectful, dignified, and sensitive services.
• Maintain accurate and confidential case records.
• Comply with data protection laws and organizational policies.
• Stay updated with procedures, policies, and professional codes.

About You:

Ideally, you will have knowledge about legal remedies for domestic abuse victims and have experience working with drug, alcohol, and mental health issues. An understanding of benefits, housing, and homelessness would also be beneficial.

You will need:

• Strong understanding of domestic abuse and its impact.
• Demonstrate proficiency in English, both verbally and in writing.
• Experience in statutory, voluntary, or multi-agency settings.
• Competency in risk and needs assessment frameworks.
• Understanding of safeguarding issues.
• Direct service delivery experience to victims or vulnerable people.
• Ability to manage complex caseloads and prioritize work.
• Strong crisis management skills.
• Effective communication, negotiation, and advisory skills.
• Commitment to equal opportunities and diversity.

About Us:

Victim Support is an independent charity dedicated to supporting people affected by crime and traumatic incidents in England and Wales. We put them at the heart of our organisation and our support and campaigns are informed and shaped by them and their experiences.

Victim Support are committed to recruiting with care and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Background checks and Disclosed Barring Service checks may be required.

At Victim Support, we're proud to celebrate diversity and create a workplace where everyone feels they belong. We're committed to being an antiracist organisation, and we actively welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, including those from Black and Asian and other minoritised communities.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we will offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet all essential criteria for a job where it is practicable to do so. We are also happy to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment and selection process.

How to apply:

To apply for this role please follow the link below to the Jobs page on our website and complete the application form demonstrating how you meet the essential shortlisting criteria.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early, if we receive enough suitable applications to take forward to interview prior to the published closing date. If you have already registered & started an application, then we will contact you to advise of the amended closing date wherever possible.

Our passionate Regional Casework Coordinators are SSAFA’s front line of support for members of the armed forces community in need. They are the first point of contact for all beneficiaries into the Regional Office, assessing needs and allocating the case to one of our volunteer caseworkers. 

You will sometimes handle complex problems from individuals who may be distressed, identifying the presenting and potential underlying needs to determine the best way to support the beneficiary. You will have ownership of cases from beginning to end, coordinating the casework process in a timely manner and ensure that the beneficiary journey is at the centre of the Service. You will have the opportunity to shape processes and procedures within the office which will lead to improvements in the service offered to clients.

To help you establish yourself in this new post you will receive excellent training and induction to SSAFA. 

Whilst the post is homebased, to be eligible for this role you are required to live in the South West region in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire or Somerset. There will be occasional travel around the South West Region, and you will be required to travel for quarterly face to face team meetings. 

About the team 

The team work remotely and pride themselves in maintaining a close working bond which ensures the smooth operation of the office. You will work closely with volunteers from the eight SSAFA branches in the South West, supporting them to administer casework for SSAFA beneficiaries. The successful candidate will work as part of a larger team of 10, which includes two Regional Casework Managers and a Regional Operations Manager. 

About you 

To carry out this role successfully you will have a track record of providing welfare advice in key areas such as housing benefits, debt, disability, mobility or immigration issues. You will have knowledge of safeguarding and GDPR and experience in dealing with sensitive information and people in vulnerable situations. You will be able to provide excellent customer service by telephone, e-mail and face to face. You will have used Microsoft Office 365 to a high standard. It is important that you have experience of planning and managing your own workload, with minimal supervision.

 It would be advantageous if you have an understanding of the way of life for today’s Armed Forces, veterans and their families and if you have experience of recruiting and supporting volunteers. An understanding of the voluntary sector and preferably the military charity sector landscape across the South West would be valuable

About SSAFA

SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, has been providing practical, emotional, and financial support to our Forces and their families since 1885. SSAFA, is a trusted source of support for the Armed Forces community in their time of need; last year our trained teams of volunteers and employees helped more than 53,000 people in need, including veterans, serving personnel (regulars and reserves) and their families.

SSAFA understands that behind every uniform is a person. We are here for that person and their family – any time they need us, in any way they need us, for as long as they need us.

Diversity and Inclusion at SSAFA

SSAFA exists to support a diverse range of beneficiaries within the armed forces community, and we believe diversity within our teams is key to ensuring we can deliver our services effectively. We thrive on differences and believe it is critical to our success as a worldwide charity. SSAFA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace that seeks to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We therefore encourage applications from all genders, races, religions, ages and sexual orientations, as well as parents, veterans, people living with disabilities, and any other groups that could bring diverse perspectives to our business.

SSAFA is committed to using the Disclosure & Barring Service to ensure we, as an employer, safeguard those we serve.

No agencies please. Any unsolicited submissions from agencies will be accepted as a direct application from the candidate and no fees will be payable.

If you've applied for this role previously within the last six months, we encourage you not to reapply as we already have your details saved on our system and will contact you if a suitable position becomes available.

Closing date: Midnight on 19 January 2026. SSAFA reserves the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

Interviews: 28 January 2026

We are seeking a Content Creator to help shape and communicate the heart and vision of Gateway Christian Centre through high-quality digital broadcast and print visual content.

This role involves working closely with our senior leadership and communications team to create engaging media for online platforms, in-person events, and church communications. The ideal candidate will be creative, technically skilled, and spiritually aligned — someone who loves telling stories that inspire faith and connect people to Jesus.

Please see the attached job description and person specification for full details.

Policy Officer

Hammersmith & Fulham Law Centre
Salary: £38,000
Working hours: 35 per week, full time but will consider part time applicants

This is a hybrid role

Benefits include 30 days annual leave and significant opportunities for learning and development. Our offices in Hammersmith are on the Piccadilly, District and Hammersmith & City Line tubes.

We require a policy officer for our small, friendly team. We are looking for a confident individual with initiative.

The successful candidate will have the ability to identify policy issues in our local community as well as in the wider social justice space. They will work with local grassroots organisations to make systems change.

Closing date:  5pm on 9 January 2026

Description

Your Role will be to:

▪ Obtain and analyse information about sector trends, threats, and opportunities and use these to help shape our work

▪ Work with the CEO and casework teams to identify, develop and deliver campaigns, particularly around issues in our local community

Devise and Develop policy projects including research and producing reports.

▪ Other duties as required that are reasonable and within your capabilities.

Person Specification

Skills and knowledge:

Essential

Educated to degree level and/or can consistently demonstrate degree level outcomes

Knowledge and recent experience gained from work within a policy team

Knowledge of methods used in policy development and influencing

 ▪ Experience in making, developing and maintaining relationships

 ▪ Excellent writing and speaking skills

 ▪ Excellent Analytical and fact-finding skills

 ▪ Good IT and social media skills

▪ Personal drive, motivation and an ability to work independently

 Desirable

 ▪ Knowledge and experience of social welfare law including immigration, housing, public law and employment

Experience of project management 

Hours of work: 37.5 hours per week

About the job role

We have an exciting opportunity for an Events Fundraising Officer in our Fundraising team at St Joseph’s Hospice.

We are looking for an experienced Events Fundraiser to join our small but dynamic fundraising team. The role will be responsible for promoting and managing a mix of third party challenge events and bespoke events whilst providing excellent stewardship to our event fundraisers. 

Working with the Public Fundraising Manager, the post holder will implement a 5-year action plan to increase income, develop effective stewardship journeys and deliver a varied and successful events calendar.

About you

You will need:

• Experience of managing challenge events for a Charity
• Experience of managing campaign/activity budgets of approx. £40k per year
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work on own initiative and effectively manage workload to hit deadlines

Where you’ll work

St Joseph's Hospice was founded in 1905 by the Religious Sisters of Charity and, as such, it has a rich, Catholic heritage which informs our work today: to support and welcome those in need, from all different cultures, religions and backgrounds.

We provide high-quality specialist palliative care for patients with cancer and other life-threatening conditions across East and North London. We have a large team of clinical staff who work across community, in-patient and out-patient services delivering individualised, responsive and holistic support to patients and their families/carers.

Why work for us?

• 27 days holiday plus public holidays, increasing up to 33 days with service
• Subsidised café and early access to retail sale events
• Season ticket/Welfare loans
• Continuation of NHS Pension Scheme or an excellent salary-exchange pension scheme.
• Santander cycles discount and cycle to work scheme
• Health Cash Plan and access to the EAP services

Join St Joseph’s team and find out more!

We are an equal opportunities and a disability confident employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age.

For further information and to apply, please visit our website via the apply button.

Closing date: 12th January 2026

Interview date: 19th January 2026

Policy Specialist (children and young people)

Are you interested in improving the lives of children and young people with a learning disability? Can you turn complex ideas into evidence-based policy? Are you a skilled communicator able to influence decision-makers? If so, we would love to hear from you!

We are currently looking for a Policy Specialist to join Mencap. This position sits within the Policy and Public Affairs teams of Mencap’s Campaigns, Advocacy and Activism Directorate (CAA). You will work closely with our influencing, information and advice, campaigning, and research work, as well as sector partners like the Disabled Children's Partnership.

This is an exciting new role to deliver policy change and enhance the rights of children and young people with a learning disability. At a key time to influence Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) education reform, we are seeking a policy specialist to shape policy work that reflects the needs and experiences of children, young people, and their families. Working within the policy team, you will be responsible for developing evidence-based policy work and influencing decision-makers. 

This is a full time position (37.5 hours per week). We are flexible with your work location, but there may be some occasional travel needed to our London office or Westminster.

You will:

· Translate complex work into clear and persuasive policy briefings, consultation responses and reports.

· Work within wider coalitions of charities, building collaborative relationships and ensuring that the needs and priorities of our community are addressed.

· Develop and expand Mencap’s ‘Policy Shapers’ work, ensuring our work reflects the experiences of children and young people with a learning disability and their families.

· Support our information and advice team, briefing them on important developments, inputting into casework discussions relevant to your areas of work, and supporting the creation of public information resources.

· Represent Mencap at meetings and events, with MPs, civil servants, and sector partners.

· Identify and analyse relevant research to develop evidence-based policy recommendations.

You will bring to this role:

· Experience of working on public policy issues.

· Strong communication skills: experience tailoring your messaging to a variety of different audiences and representing an organisation.

· Experience building positive relationships and working collaboratively to achieve outcomes; able to positively challenge, negotiate and compromise.

· The ability to work on your own initiative while contributing to team priorities and sustain enthusiasm under pressure.

· Experience analysing evidence to develop recommendations.

· Knowledge the issues facing children and young people with a learning disability and/or the SEND system, as well as the wider parliamentary system.

· Passion about making the world a better place for people with a learning disability.

If you're passionate about driving meaningful change for children and young people with a learning disability and you're ready to use your policy expertise to make a real impact, please apply now with an up-to-date CV. This advert has been extended and will now close on Sunday, 4th January, 2026. Interviews are scheduled to take place via Microsoft Teams during the week commencing 12th January 2026.

Benefits

Here at Mencap, we offer an impressive range of benefits designed to support and reward our employees to ensure that our teams feel valued and appreciated.

Our benefits package offers 32 days of paid holiday (including bank holidays, pro rata), along with a range of perks such as discounts at leading high-street retailers, access to health cash plans, interest-free loans, and many more exciting offerings.

For more details on what we have to offer, please see the attached document outlining all the fantastic benefits available to you as a member of our team!

About Mencap

Our vision is for the UK to be the best place in the world for people with a learning disability to live happy and healthy lives.

We're here to support people with a learning disability, their families and their carers. We fight for a kinder, fairer and more inclusive society for people with a learning disability to live in.

At Mencap, everyone works with people with a learning disability either providing support or advice, or alongside one another as colleagues.

Belonging at Mencap is for everyone, every day, everywhere.

· Everyone is expected to treat people well and make Mencap an inclusive organisation.

· Every day we grow and learn. It’s okay to make mistakes but we learn from them and make changes

· Everywhere people will feel respected, valued, and safe to be themselves.

We have Belonging network groups that meet online and are open to all colleagues. The groups include people who identify as Black and Asian, LGBTQIA+, disabled or with a long- term health condition, women, parents and carers, and their allies.

We want to encourage everyone to apply to work at Mencap and we offer a variety of different contract types and working patterns. We’re not looking for specific experience. It is your personality and values that will make you a great colleague. We will train and develop you to succeed in the role you’re applying for.

TACT is recruiting caring, committed, and resilient individuals and families to become foster carers and help transform the lives of children and young people who need a safe, stable, and nurturing home.

Fostering is not an employed role, but as a self-employed foster carer you will receive competitive fostering fees and allowances, comprehensive training, and ongoing professional support every step of the way.

Eligibility

To become a foster carer with TACT, you must:

• Be over the age of 21
• Be a UK resident or have Indefinite Leave to Remain
• Have a spare bedroom

Financial Stability & Recognition

We value your dedication and expertise – and ensure you are rewarded fairly:

• Up to £27,053 per year (£520 per week) when a child is placed
• Additional payments and allowances available
• Special fostering tax exemptions, meaning lower tax compared to most employed roles

The Support You’ll Receive

At TACT, you are never alone. We provide high-quality support to help you feel confident and supported in your fostering role: 

• A dedicated Supervising Social Worker for guidance and supervision
• A Family Wellbeing Worker to support you and the child
• Access to a network of specialist foster carers for peer support
• Comprehensive training, including therapeutic and neurodevelopmental courses
• Psychological consultations and access to specialist therapeutic input
• 24/7 out-of-hours support whenever you need it

How to apply

Interested in finding out more? We’d love to hear from you. Apply today on the TACT website.

Foster carers are self-employed and subject to fostering regulations and approval processes, including checks, training, and assessment.

TACT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all foster carers to share this commitment.

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