Community Links Jobs

Community Link Worker

Job Description

Salary: £23,000 pro-rata

Salary Band: 1.2

Contract: Fixed -Term (July 2027)

Directorate: National Services

Reports To: Senior Community Link Worker

Closing Date: 30th October 2024

There are four positions available for this vacancy:

Fort Augustus & Foyers: 21 hours

Isle of Skye: 21 hours (2)

Bonar Bridge: 6 hours

We also have one Senior Community Link Worker position available in Sutherland, 32 hours per week and £24,500 pro-rata

Change Mental Health is a leading national mental health charity providing unique support to people with severe and enduring mental ill health. With over 50 years’ experience across Scotland, we believe people affected by poor mental health and illness deserve the highest quality of support in the community and that every person has the right to be valued and to share in the opportunities, challenges, and joys of everyday life. 

The Community Link Worker service collaborates with selected GP surgeries, supporting adults over the age of 18 through social prescribing. Referrals are received from the GP to our Community Link Workers when there might be a concern caused by social factors, rather than a medical problem. The service focuses on improving health outcomes for people experiencing stressors in their lives due to social problems, which could lead to poor mental health.

As a Community Link Worker, you will work directly with people referred to the Community Link Worker Service from their GP Practice who require immediate or on-going emotional, practical or vocational support in order to deliver the best possible health outcomes. 

This post works directly with people using the service to develop and review personal support plans. You will work closely with other members of the Community Link Worker team, colleagues in Primary Care and representatives of community-based groups and organisations, to achieve outcomes as defined by your line manager. 

Within the Community Link Worker team there is a clear line management structure which supports and shapes the practice. The post will contribute to an environment where people can improve their health outcomes, establish improved connections in their communities, and enhance their quality of life.

Key Responsibilities:

·        Work as part of a team building positive working relationships

·        Work closely with colleagues in Primary Care

·        Coordinate and refer service users to resources in the local community and to statutory and non-statutory services as appropriate

·        In partnership with service users, design, implement, and review outcome focussed development plans to enable service users to achieve their identified goals

·        Employ a number of appropriate intervention strategies including positive communication skills

·        Ensure ongoing risk assessment is integral to my practice to ensure the wellbeing of service users

·        Utilise group work skills which bring people together in a safe environment 

·        Awareness of appropriate professional boundaries including confidentiality 

·        Understanding of the requirements of Health and Safety in the workplace and follow Change Mental Health policies 

·        Ensure that careful and ongoing review systems are in place and maintained

Essential Criteria:

·        Educated to SVQ level 2 or have relevant experience working in health and social care

·        Able to plan and prioritise workload

·        Professional self-awareness and able to seek support and advice from my line manager appropriately and participate in supervision and support meetings positively

·        Able to liaise confidently with statutory and non-statutory agencies

·        Empathetic

·        My personal and professional value base is consistent with the aims and objectives of Change Mental Health

·        Demonstrate genuine regard for service users and their families 

·        Have good I.T. skills and can produce accurate case notes 

·        I am enthusiastic to develop my knowledge and skills 

·        Full, clean, driving licence and access to a vehicle 

Desirable Criteria:

·        Experience of working with people affected by mental or physical health issues

·        Experience of community-development work

·        Experience of working in a SSSC Registered Service

·        A learning and development portfolio which evidences my skills and knowledge

General Duties 

·        Act in accordance with Data Protection legislation.  Ensure all records, personal, staff and client data are managed in line with Data Management and Information Governance policies

·        Comply with legal and regulatory requirements such as provisions set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

·        As with all employees, workers and volunteers; to encourage people to join Change Mental Health as a member, donor or activist

·        To act in accordance with the charity’s Health & Safety and Safeguarding policies and to notify your line manager promptly if there are any concerns

·        To participate in regular supervision and appraisal and undertake any relevant training as appropriate to the role

·        To work in accordance with the charity’s national policies and local operating procedures and those of external regulators or professional bodies

This job profile and list of duties is not exhaustive and serves only to highlight the main requirements. The line manager may stipulate other reasonable requirements and projects commensurate with the general profile and grade of the post.

All successful candidates will require a PVG Membership. Please be aware that it is classed as an offence if you apply for this role and are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children or vulnerable adults.

This is an exciting role that will support the delivery of holistic adult learning programmes at the Centre. The post holder will support vulnerable women to access, refer and sign post them to local statutory and non-statutory services, provide translation support, benefit advice and one to one advice and guidance to help improve their quality of life.

Reading Community Learning Centre is a passionate, women-centred independent charity which provides education and support for migrant, refugee and asylum- seeking women from minority ethnic communities who may be unable to access more mainstream services because of the educational, social or cultural barriers they face.

We are currently looking for an experienced, friendly, empathetic, and motivated woman with a good understanding of minority ethnic community issues to work in Reading, based in a community educational setting. We are looking for applicants to work 14 hrs per week who can fluently speak in a second language preferably in one of the following the following: Arabic, Chinese, Bengali, Nepali, Hindi/ Urdu or Pashto or Tigrinya. Out of term time the role allows for hybrid working.

This post is also open to term time only working hours and full time in which case the salary band would change accordingly.

The Community Link Worker is accountable to the Centre Manager for:

1.  Outreach to identify service users/ learners and their needs.

2.  Working alongside service users/learners to motivate them to take action to improve their mental/physical health and access appropriate resources and services to meet their needs to improve their quality of life

3.  Liaising and developing appropriate partnerships with community groups and other relevant organisations for referrals and signposting

This role will require excellent communication skills, good mental health and wellbeing promotion knowledge and experience of working with diverse communities.

Essential Skills/Requirements

• An understanding of issues affecting the ethnic minority migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women
• Empower service users to take action to improve or sustain their quality of life based on what matters to them and their individual strengths to improve their mental/physical health and their lives.  This can involve connecting people to community groups and agencies for practical and emotional support.
• Good interpersonal skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing and orally.
• Capable of maintaining appropriate written records.
• Awareness of confidentiality and data protection.
• To be able to work on your own initiative as well as part of a team.
• Awareness of health and safety issues for others and self.
• A caring and empathetic nature
• Awareness of equalities legislation.
• A good knowledge of safeguarding adults at risk - Understanding of the issues underlying vulnerability and socio-economic wellbeing.
• A knowledge of local statutory and non-statutory services to signpost service users. 
• Ability to use IT software packages e.g., spreadsheets, word processing, Outlook and PowerPoint
• A clear criminal record check.

This post is open only to women - section 7 (2) of 1975 Sex Discrimination Act applies.

This role combines community engagement with active participation opportunities for local people. Being a trusted and influential presence locally this role will seek to create spaces that enable people from a diverse range of backgrounds to share their experiences. The role requires bringing together other community organisations and facilitating opportunities that get people talking and involved in activities they may not have tried before. These roles play a pivotal role in contributing insight to the wider place expansion work programme being coordinated by Together Active.

Role outcomes

• Improve wellbeing outcomes for families as part of place expansion work.
• Increase in number of people attending community activities.
• Mechanism in place for hearing experiences of least heard people in priority communities.
• Contributed to increased community cohesion.

What does this mean day to day?

• Co-produce programme of activities complementary to HAF and other initiatives operating locally.
• Build strong relationships with local providers and influencers
• Work with Together Active development team to embed action research approach into work.
• Support the development of peer researchers to assist activities.
• Be an active and visible presence locally proactively identifying opportunities for informally listening and learning to take place.
• Support local community organisations to test activity provision as part of their offer.
• Collate and analyse feedback and insights gained to place expansion programme board.

How we value you

• Generous annual leave allowance: 27.5 days upon commencement of employment plus bank holidays. This rises by an additional 1 day of leave per year after 2 years of continuous employment, up to an additional 5 days leave in total. (Pro rata for part time staff)
• Three concessionary days leave over Christmas and New Year (pro rata for part time staff)
• Death in service scheme up to the value of three times actual salary
• Wellbeing Grant - £50 voucher per year to spend on health and wellbeing
• Volunteer day to spend either as a team or individual helping out with an organisation or cause you select
• Up to 8% employer contribution to pension scheme
• Reimbursement of the cost of a standard eye test as a user of visual display equipment
• Access to Cyclescheme
• Annual CPD courses offered by Staffordshire University
• Online skills training platform - for employees to use to broaden their professional and personal development across a range of online courses.
• Access to counselling service.
• We are also currently developing a scheme with staff to ongoing costs related to staying well/being active.

Health Trainer: Substance Misuse - Harrow

A Health Trainer, specialising in Substance Misuse is required to work on a rolling contract for one of the UKs leading Drug and Alcohol Charities.

This role is 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Responsibilities:

· Identify and engage with individuals from agreed target groups providing information to individuals about the relationship between behaviours and health, and promoting improvement in their health and wellbeing.

· Support and motivate individuals, to identify their health needs and assess the barriers that prevent them from making healthy choices, assisting individuals to learn in learning how to make better health choices and support them in initiating and sustaining appropriate behavioural changes.

· Deliver outstanding client care, demonstrating empathy, understanding, attention to detail, and a commitment to delivering a quality service.

· Keep abreast of the holistic range of services available in the community by developing links with service providers and keeping up-to-date with service changes and developments, in order to appropriately signpost individuals to the service then need when they need them

· Get involved with running events at the service for the different initiatives they provide, this can include speaking to clients at these events, as well as being involved in promoting them through creating posters, leaflets etc.

Experience Required:

· Experience of working with clients with substance misuse, eg. homelessness, drug and alcohol, housing

· Working with and engaging individuals and groups of adults

· Experience of actively engaging with local communities

· Experience of using Microsoft programmes (Word and Excel)

· Experience of team working

· Experience of managing a personal workload or caseload

· Being involved in events in the past

Morgan Hunt is a multi-award-winning recruitment Business for interim, contract and temporary recruitment and acts as an Employment Agency in relation to temporary vacancies. Morgan Hunt is an equal opportunities employer, job suitability are assessed on merit in accordance with their skills, qualifications and abilities to perform the relevant duties required in a particular role.

Do you have skills in community engagement, providing advice, support and training? Could you motivate and support local communities to engage with their local railways and sustainable travel?

We’re looking for a community rail support officer to support our network of community rail partnerships (CRPs) and station adoption groups in the Midlands and East of England.

About us

Community Rail Network is a not-for-profit organisation, working across Britain, supporting a growing ‘community rail’ movement, which helps communities get the most from their railways, promotes sustainable and inclusive travel, coordinates volunteering and place-making, and brings people together.

Community rail is made up of 75 community-based partnership organisations, and around 1,200 station friends volunteer groups and other community-led initiatives around Britain. Their activities range from creative projects for young people, to advising train operators on service improvements, to building travel confidence with families and disabled people, to biodiversity projects at stations, to promoting greener travel and tourism by rail.

Our enthusiastic staff team of 22 people works mainly from home in different locations, but we come together regularly in person and online. We work collaboratively to advise our members, provide training, events and resources, run campaigns, and champion community rail and its insights via decision-makers and the media. We believe in developing our team and supporting everyone to reach their potential while having a good work-life balance.

About this role

The purpose of this role is to provide support and advice to community rail partnerships and groups on delivering maximum benefit within and with their communities, working collaboratively with the railways and wider partners. The role will support our members across an area covering the West Midlands, Central England and East Anglia, so it is desirable for you to be based in this area.

You’ll be comfortable engaging and advising local groups and communities to extend existing and set up new initiatives, and to reach wider audiences with an evidence-led, place-based approach. As well as supporting local groups, you’ll work closely with the rail industry, and wider third and public sector partners to ensure collaboration and shared success.
 

Main responsibilities

1. Provide direct support and advice to CRPs and their officers, and other community rail groups in the region. This includes responding to queries and requests, passing on specialist queries to other members of the team, and providing proactive support through an annual planning and accreditation process and as set out in our plans.

2. Support the development of skills, confidence and effectiveness across the network of CRPs and station groups, helping them to increase their positive social, environmental and economic impact, including through referral to our training, events and resources.

3. Support the development of emerging community rail partnerships, station friend groups and community-led stations and railway-related projects in the region.

4. Helping our members to work effectively with rail, transport, local government and community partners, supporting effective relationship building and showing positive leadership and insights on community rail within the region.

5. Work with our regions support manager on delivery and monitoring of our grant schemes, and support CRPs and groups in the region to apply, deliver successfully and report back on funded work.

6. Gather and share examples, feedback and insights from our members across the region, to facilitate best practice sharing and confidence across community rail and to feed into our communications, resources, events and public affairs work.

7. As a member of the Community Rail Network team, participate and contribute to our wider work as relevant, such as Community Rail Week, our annual conference and Awards.

Skills, competencies and experience

1. Skills in supporting community engagement projects; an understanding of and confidence in using community engagement, local communications, project planning and evaluation techniques

2. Interpersonal skills and the ability to work confidently with stakeholders at all levels and facilitate positive discussion; articulate and assertive

3. Excellent writing and presentational skills

4. Awareness of sustainable transport and social inclusion, and an appreciation of the importance of rail, sustainable travel and mobility to communities

5. A demonstrable ability to manage time effectively and juggle a range of activities in an organised and professional manner. 

6. Proactive, positive and self-motivated, able to work on own initiative and inspire and enthuse others, and overcome hurdles to achieve results.

7. IT literate with a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, the internet and social media

This is a permanent position and includes a probationary period of three months from the date of appointment. Successful applicants will need to provide proof that they have the right to work in the UK and provide two references.

Other information

The community rail support officer reports to our regions support manager within the Support and Development team. This is a new position, expanding our small team.

The role is 3.5-4 days per week (25.9 to 29.6 hours) with a degree of flexibility and out-of-hours working (evenings and weekends). It is home-based, but with regular travel (including occasional overnight stays) across your region and occasionally beyond for member meetings and events and to take part in our wider national activity. Applicants will need local access to a train station to enable rail-based travel for work as needed, including good links across the Midlands and East of England.

We are committed to being a flexible, supportive, inclusive and understanding employer.

Barnsley Council have an exciting opportunity for a Head of Resilient Communities to join the team based in Barnsley. You will be working on a full-time, permanent basis and in return, you will receive a competitive salary of £80,391 - £88,210 per annum.

Working Arrangements: Agile and flexible working, with an expectation of at least 3 days in the office.

About the Role and Ideal Candidate

Due to the promotion of the previous post-holder, an exciting and rare opportunity has arisen to join Barnsley Council as our Head of Resilient Communities.

In this role you will provide the strategic leadership and development for our Resilient Communities Service.  The service represents a diverse portfolio of functions with some of the key strategic responsibilities being:

• Domestic Abuse
• Homelessness and Rough Sleeping
• Substance Misuse
• Cohesion
• Poverty

We're seeking a candidate with extensive high-level experience in one or more of the key areas of responsibility outlined above. 

Service delivery comprises elements of commissioning, operational service delivery, and coproduction with the community and voluntary sector.  As a result, the successful candidate will be adept at adjusting their leadership style and approach to fit a variety of situations and audiences.

Excellent communication, partnership working and stakeholder engagement skills are essential, as is the ability to influence at a senior level, including directors, CEOs and elected members.

The successful candidate will have a strategic mindset focused on innovation, transformation and continuous improvement, and will ensure the Council's vision, priorities and values are actively delivered in line with our Council Plan.

About Barnsley

Barnsley’s industrial past has shaped our borough.  We’re proud of our rich heritage, and we know our residents are too.  We take care of our local environment, and our welcoming people and communities are one of our biggest assets.  We’re home of one of the best markets in South Yorkshire and everyone can enjoy the borough’s excellent cultural attractions, leisure facilities, and our beautiful outdoor spaces. 

Our attractive local offer also makes Barnsley an appealing place to live, with our thriving town centre and Principal Towns and Local Village Centres. 

Barnsley is open for business, with our central location, digital connectivity, excellent links to major road networks, and strong ties across the South Yorkshire and wider Yorkshire regions. 

Barnsley’s vision and ambition for 2030

Our vision is Barnsley - the place of possibilities. This builds on our past, reflecting the fabric of our borough and experiences of many Barnsley residents. It builds on the borough’s success over recent years.

By 2030, we want everyone to benefit from and contribute to making Barnsley a thriving place of possibilities.

Everyone has a vital role to play in working together to make our ambitions for the borough possible and improving the lives of local people. This includes our residents and organisations working together. This includes the private, public, voluntary and community sectors.

Barnsley is already a great place, and we want to do more.

This vision drives our council plan, showing our commitment to making it happen. We'll provide services where they're needed and have the most impact. We're helping people do more for each other and their community.

We’re committed to building skills, talent and creativity across our borough. We're creating exciting prospects for people of all ages and meeting the demands of the future economy. This will help us make Barnsley a better place to live, work and learn.

At the heart of all of this are the proud people of Barnsley. It’s about celebrating and championing what makes our borough unique to inspire others and working together to make an even better Barnsley.

Our values

We live and work by our four values:

• honesty
• teamwork
• excellent service
• taking pride in what we do

As part of our team, you can be sure we’ll do all we can to support you in being truly excellent. You see, we prioritise learning and helping staff to achieve their potential. That’s one of the reasons why you’ll find your career here inspiring and rewarding.

Closing date for applications: Friday 15th November 2024

If you think this role is for you then we would very much welcome your application, apply now to become our Head of Resilient Communities.

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Then Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!

We are looking for a Community Key Worker

Salary:   £26,000 - £32,000

Location:            Hammersmith

Contract: Fixed Term Contract – until 31st March 2026

Hours p/w           35 Hours per week

This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.  

Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references, confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check. This role is also subject to Police Vetting.

About us

Advance is an award-winning and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women and girls survivors of domestic abuse and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending.  We believe in empowering women and girls to lead safe, non-violent, equal lives so that they can flourish and contribute to the community. 

We are a community-based organisation who lead in best practice approaches to supporting women in their local community. We achieve this by being available to meet and support women in local settings and at our women’s centres, and by working in close partnership with other agencies.

Our values are to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaboration, innovation, and accountability. 

About the role:

Are you an excellent relationship builder who can work with women and a diverse range of delivery partners to ensure that she meets her potential and successfully progresses through and beyond her probation supervision? Can you meet a women wherever she is at in her journey and work with her to create an individualised support package that gives her the best chance of breaking the cycle of offending?

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for a feminist organisation who understand that supporting women in the criminal justice system requires a specialist and gendered approach? Do you believe in our values; to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaborate, innovate, and take accountability? 

In your role as a Community Keyworker, you will be working with women involved in the Criminal Justice System; those on Probation in the Community and those women being released from Prison as part of their Post Sentence Supervision; providing some in-reach and ‘Through the Gate’ support. You will be working in a team of Community Keyworkers in your region. Each Keyworker will provide holistic one to one community support to women with a variety of needs.

About You:

To be successful as the Community Key Worker you will need the below experience and skills.

You will need to hold a UK driving licence with access to car that can be used for work purposes. A creative self-starter who will support the service and look for innovative solutions to support clients with complex needs. You are confident professional relationship builder with have good awareness of Safeguarding procedures. Strong Administration skills and understanding of compliant behaviours also, experience of supporting. With good knowledge of the criminal justice system and awareness of other support provisions within the North London.

How to apply:

Please submit your up to date CV along with a covering letter to the Talent email address  - PLEASE WRITE THE JOB TITLE IN THE *SUBJECT* 

• Closing Date for Applications: 16th November 2024 @23:59
• Interviews are taking place on a rolling basis

*Advance reserves the right to close the advert early, or on the appointment of a candidate

What we can offer you - Employee Benefits: 

• A 35-hour working week
• An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!) 

• Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home
• Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more
• Pension scheme
• Enhanced maternity/adoption provision
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee eye-care scheme
• Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles
• Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation
• Organisation wide away days
• Thorough induction and training
• Career development pathways 

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Under the Equality Act 2010, we are required to make any reasonable adjustments. If you have a disability as defined under this act and/or have special needs, please email  the Talent Acquisition Team via the Advance website and we will aim to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and actively seek to recruit people from groups underrepresented in our current team. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay and benefits.

Safeguarding

Advance is committed to safeguarding and creating a culture of zero-tolerance of harm and expects all staff, including volunteers to share this commitment. We believe all individuals have the right to live their life free from violence and abuse and the right to feel and be safe.  We have a suite of safeguarding policies, procedures and practice guidance, accessible to all staff, which promotes safeguarding and safer working practices across all our services and activities. When we recruit staff, we follow rigorous safer recruitment practices, this involves carrying out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and identity checks.  We ensure all staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training relevant to their role and responsibilities, to empower them to be competent and feel confident in recognising and responding appropriately to safeguarding issues and promote wellbeing.

The role (what you will be doing)

You will work to create a strong sense of belonging and community cohesion in Lyde Green and the surrounding area, helping Lyde Green be a great place to live, work and play.

You will do this by embedding our strengths-based approach to community development and building a sustainable approach to volunteering, community engagement, and support.

You’ll champion that people know best what is needed in their local area and that they have the ideas, skills, and talents to make it happen, connecting like-minded individuals together and encouraging people to engage and act on things that matter to them.

The LGCA (about the charity)

Lyde Green Community Association CIO (LGCA) is a charity that has been set up by residents for the benefit of the community in Lyde Green and the surrounding area. It is run by local volunteers, with the objective of generating community spirit and making Lyde Green a great place to live and visit. As well as organising community events, we support a community partnership that meets regularly to solve problems that matter to residents and help the whole community shape its future.

The LGCA run and operate Lyde Green Community Centre, situated at the heart of Lyde Green near the local primary school and nursery. It is an exciting time to be working in Lyde Green, and the LGCA have received lots of support from both residents and local partners to date.

Your responsibilities

General

• · Work closely with the Charity Manager and Trustees to ensure the outcomes of the Community Connector project are delivered
• · Lead and embed the LGCA’s strengths-based community development approach
• · Work as the Charity’s Volunteer Coordinator, developing and maintaining guidance and encouraging active participation in the community
• · Help plan and support charity events
• · Being an initial point of contact for the charity’s community engagement work, dealing with enquiries across multiple channels
•  
• · Report on and monitor project progress and agreed KPIs at the quarterly partnership meeting and via grant funding reports
• · Ensure notice boards, website and social media are up-to-date with opportunities to get involved
• · Work within LGCA’s policies and procedures
• · Undertake any other reasonable duties as required

Explore and discover

• · Develop a good understanding of Lyde Green and the surrounding area
• · Find out what is already happening in the area
• · Listen to local people and find out what they care about, what their hopes and dreams are for the area, and what they’d be willing to take action on
• · Build trusted and respectful relationships with residents, services and partners in the area

Make connections

• · Connect people together based on their interests or ideas
• · Connect people to existing groups or organisations
• · Signpost people to relevant support services eg employability, training
• · Encourage people to try new things
• · Promote use of Lyde Green Community Centre as a safe, warm space and use it and other local assets to bring people together
• · Share knowledge on how to access funding and guidance so that people can get started with their ideas or projects

Celebrate success

• · Help people share and celebrate their stories of success and encourage more volunteering
• · Work with those already linked to and engaged in Lyde Green to understand the role they wish to play in the wider community
• · Share what has worked well with other volunteers, groups and projects

Build momentum

• · Support the design of project outcomes when working with people
• · Contribute to the monitoring and evaluation requirements of a project
• · Demonstrate a commitment to personal learning
• · Increase the number of people volunteering and actively engaging in the community
• · Help demystify volunteering and overcome barriers (eg setting up groups, navigating processes, assessing risk, accessing funding etc)

Are you an innovative, passionate and dedicated spiritual leader ready to shepherd a faithful congregation that has creative ideas for bringing people into the kingdom? The Farnhams and Hedgerley Community Church (FHCC) is seeking a committed Community Pastor to guide and inspire our small but thriving community.

Meeting in the village of Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire our church is a cornerstone of faith and fellowship. We are a close-knit community that prizes hospitality, and our small congregation of approximately 25 people serves its community with a big impact. We enjoy the benefit of traditions while embracing new ways to grow in our spiritual journey and to outreach to the community. Our church is not just a place of worship, but a hub of support, love, and service for all.

Sounddelivery Media is a dynamic charity that seeks to amplify lived experience stories and expertise to address social inequalities. We work alongside people with direct experience of injustice and inequality to advocate for themselves and their communities.

Our Spokesperson Network constitutes a network of media savvy spokespeople, who have direct experience of social injustices. Developed collaboratively with a network of leaders with lived experience, it aims to diversify the voices we hear in the media and make it more representative of the society we live in. Through training, media mentoring, peer support and speaking opportunities, we tackle the barriers that prevent these experts from engaging with journalists who have the power to influence coverage and ultimately drive change.

Members of our network have spoken on all the major news outlets from BBC Newsnight, BBC Radio Four, ITV News, to the Times, the Guardian, places where they can reach audiences of millions and have influenced documentaries and a storyline for a high profile drama. They’ve become part of policy and advisory conversations: APPGs (All Party Parliamentary Groups), Governmental select committees, speaking at Party Conferences and joining advisory panels.

Our work additionally seeks to support the wider charity sector to develop and amplify lived experience stories and expertise themselves. We work closely with charities to help them develop and train their own panels and spokespeople and are currently facilitating Future Voices, a unique spokesperson training programme for migrant domestic workers in partnership with The Voice of Domestic Workers.

About the Role 

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced media communications professional to join and shape a growing, friendly and flexible charity committed to advancing social justice through transforming representation in the media.

Sounddelivery Media is on the lookout for a dynamic individual with great media engagement know-how, a hands-on approach, strong relations with journalists and a passion to address how issues are represented in the media. Join our growing and impactful team working alongside dynamic leaders and their communities addressing social injustice and social inequalities. Our Media and Community Engagement Lead offers a fantastic opportunity to work closely with an incredible network of leaders.

This is a full time role (although we would consider a 4 day week) with 2 days a month minimum working with the team in London.

Could this be you?

Role Overview:

You will provide strategic support to our dynamic Spokesperson Network of leaders with direct experience of social injustices, through;

Managing our existing media relationships, and developing new ones, to create opportunities for our network of confident public spokespeople to be visible
This role will enable us to increase the visibility and impact of our programme participants and their communities by engaging with journalists, media professionals, and other influential platforms. You will be responsible for broadening speaking opportunities, such as broadcast interviews, opinion pieces, and identifying potential storyline collaborations across various media outlets. You’ll also seek opportunities to feature our network in public forums like TEDx talks, conferences, and other platforms that influence public conversations.

Empowering Network members through training and support to develop and maximise media opportunities themselves.
In addition to media engagement, you will play a key role in empowering our network to create and share their own content. This includes helping participants build confidence and develop skills in content creation (eg vlogs), and pitching to the media, ensuring their voices reach those in positions to drive meaningful change.

Building trusted relationships with lived experience leaders in a ethical, trauma-aware, and holistic way
You will work closely with our community to activate and strengthen our network, driving collective action and amplifying the important issues they are addressing. Building trusted relationships with lived experience leaders is key, and you will ensure that all engagement is grounded in ethical, trauma-aware, and holistic support.

Sharing knowledge with other charities supporting Spokesperson Networks
You will help share what we learn through our work with other charities and learn from them too. Using peer-led sessions to share best practice, challenges and ideas for charities working to amplify the voices of people with direct experience of social injustice.

As a small but growing charity, this is an exciting opportunity to shape the direction of our organisation alongside a supportive trustee board, a dedicated team of four staff, and a group of skilled freelancers. Your contribution will be integral to our mission and the positive change we aim to create.

Who you are

-With a background in media relations and/or journalism at a senior level you are someone who cares about the way issues are framed, reported and covered in the media.

-You’ll be driven by a desire to amplify the voices of those with direct experience of inequality and injustice from diverse communities, and will work closely with them so that they feel safe and supported in sharing their experiences and solutions for change. 

-You are a creative self-starter, happy to work alone but also as part of a small team. 

-You come with ideas to develop this work to have a bigger, positive impact.  This work takes time and is deeply relational. 

-You can adapt the way you work to meet the needs of different communities. 

We’re an equal opportunities employer aiming to recruit from a diverse range of backgrounds. All staff who work at Sounddelivery Media will be asked to have a DBS check.

What You’ll Be Doing –  Key responsibilities:

-Taking the lead on strategic media engagement across all our programmes of work- maximising and creating media and speaking opportunities for our members

-Nurture and grow our network of journalists, updating them about our work and the issues our networks are speaking on through regular and responsive communications

-Supporting our community to feel confident and prepared for interviews, honing their media messages and accompanying them to interviews where appropriate. 

-Regularly engaging our community and being a sounding board to help to develop their ideas 

-Proactively source longer-term opportunities for the issues our community addresses to be more visible in the public eye this could include building relationships with soap storyliners and documentary makers. 

-Support the team on Sounddelivery Media events that increase the visibility of our community and our work

-Support with delivery of media training and coaching on our programmes. 

-Work with the communications team on content- ensuring messaging is impactful in blogs 

-Participate in our peer-led meetings to share our learning and invite guest speakers to share theirs.

-Contribute insights on our media work for reporting to Funders and Trustees

Find the full description of the role in our application pack attached.

What skills and experience you’ll have:

Essential

-Experience at a senior level working in media relations within a charity, journalism or similar.

-Significant experience of developing and maintaining good relationships with a range of journalists and media professionals;

-A sharp understanding of what makes a strong story with experience of pitching stories and ideas to journalists

-A confident communicator with strong written and verbal skills 

-IT literate with multimedia experience – video, audio, visual content (or willing to learn)

Desirable

-Experience of working with people who are using lived experience of social injustice to affect change including excellent understanding of safeguarding and risk management

Why we’re good to work for

-Flexible working in a friendly, supportive environment

-A track-record in this work with great feedback from our clients.

-28 days per year holiday, plus bank holidays

-3% pension contribution

-Access to an Employee Assistance Programme

-A mentor following successful completion of the 6 months’ probationary period working with us

-Training allowance 

-Team wellbeing budget 

Please note that this is a London based charity and our training predominantly takes place in London.

Application process and key dates:

To apply, upload your CV and separate cover letter demonstrating your capabilities in relation to each of the points on skills and experience in the person specification. We will only consider applications with a cover letter. Where relevant, use your answers to illustrate how your competencies have helped you to achieve positive results. This will give you the best possible chance to be shortlisted.

Our downloadable application pack has more information.

Please apply as soon as possible by submitting your application through our recruitment portal

Weds October 9th  1-2pm Zoom webinar Meet the Sounddelivery Media team, hear more about what this role involves and ask any questions you may have. Register on our website.

Closing date for applications: Monday 21st October 2pm

First interview: Thursday 31st October  (Online)
Second interview: Friday 8th November  (London)

We recognise that the interview dates might not suit all applicants. There is an opportunity to let us know in the application. 

Sounddelivery Media is committed to building an inclusive and accessible environment for people of all backgrounds and communities. We actively encourage applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds, If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview, please get in touch.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for an organisation with the feminist agenda at the core of its ethos? Then Advance Charity could be the career choice for you!

We are looking for x2 Community Key Workers

Salary:             £22,000 - £26,000 

Location:         1x  Keyworking across Colchester and Chelmsford. Must attend our main office once a week in Waltham Cross (Hertfordshire)

1x Keyworking across Basildon and Thurrock. Must attend our main office once a week in Waltham Cross (Hertfordshire)

Contract:         Fixed Term until 31st March 2026

Hours p/w    Full Time 35hrs per week

This post is open to female applicants only as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.  

Please note: Any offer of employment will be made subject to references, confirmation of the right to work in the UK, and satisfactory enhanced DBS check. This role is also subject to Police & Prison Vetting.

About us

Advance is an award-winning and innovative women-only organisation, established in 1998, providing emotional and practical support to women and girls survivors of domestic abuse and supporting women with short-term sentences to reduce offending.  We believe in empowering women and girls to lead safe, non-violent, equal lives so that they can flourish and contribute to the community. 

We are a community-based organisation who lead in best practice approaches to supporting women in their local community. We achieve this by being available to meet and support women in local settings and at our women’s centres, and by working in close partnership with other agencies.

Our values are to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaboration, innovation, and accountability. 

About the role:

Are you an excellent relationship builder who can work with women and a diverse range of delivery partners to ensure that she meets her potential and successfully progresses through and beyond her probation supervision? Can you meet a women wherever she is at in her journey and work with her to create an individualised support package that gives her the best chance of breaking the cycle of offending?

Are you looking for a dynamic and rewarding role working for a feminist organisation who understand that supporting women in the criminal justice system requires a specialist and gendered approach? Do you believe in our values; to listen and support, to empower and respect, collaborate, innovate, and take accountability? 

In your role as a Community Keyworker, you will be working with women involved in the Criminal Justice System; those on Probation in the Community and those women being released from Prison as part of their Post Sentence Supervision; providing some in-reach and ‘Through the Gate’ support. You will be working in a team of Community Keyworkers in your region. Each Keyworker will provide holistic one to one community support to women with a variety of needs.

About You:

Are you a strong believer in advocating for others? Are you empathetic, patient and determined? Then this opportunity could be right for you.

The Minerva London service provides holistic, trauma-informed support for women in touch with the Criminal Justice System. We do this through offering dedicated one to one support, safer women’s centre spaces and specialist interventions and partnerships.

To be successful as the Community Key Worker you will need the below experience and skills.

You will be working in a supportive, friendly, and welcoming team whilst having oversight of a caseload of women, who may be under the supervision of the National Probation Service or in custody, enhancing the offer of holistic support and advocacy services available to them throughout their journey.

Building relationships with other statutory and non-statutory agencies in local communities is vital to build referral pathways and provide a whole system approach to supporting individuals.

To carry out this work you will meet women in the community in your designated borough and co-locate with other agencies including the National Probation Service, as well as regularly attending Advance’s North London vibrant Women’s Centre/office space.

You will be a creative self-starter who will support the service and look for innovative solutions to support clients with complex needs. You are confident professional relationship builder and has good awareness of Safeguarding procedures. Strong Administration skills and understanding of compliant behaviours also experience of supporting. With good knowledge of the criminal justice system and awareness of other support provisions.

​Interviews are taking place on a rolling basis

*Advance reserves the right to close the advert early, or on the appointment of a candidate

What we can offer you - Employee Benefits: 

• A 35-hour working week
• An exceptional 30 days of paid holiday per year (pro rata for part time), PLUS public holidays on top (that's nearly 40 days paid holiday per year!) if working a 35 a hour week.
• Additional days off to celebrate International Women’s Day, and for religious observance and moving home
• Perkbox - an employee discount platform where you can receive free rewards as well as take advantage of savings on clothes, groceries, travel, leisure and more
• Pension scheme
• Enhanced maternity/adoption provision
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee eye-care scheme
• Clinical supervision for front line staff and first line management roles
• Refer a Friend Scheme - £250 for each referral who passes probation
• Organisation wide away days
• Thorough induction and training
• Career development pathways 

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Under the Equality Act 2010, we are required to make any reasonable adjustments. If you have a disability as defined under this act and/or have special needs, please contact us via the Advance website and the Talent Acquisition Team will aim to make the necessary arrangements to accommodate your needs.

Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunities

We are committed to providing equality of opportunity and actively seek to recruit people from groups underrepresented in our current team. We have policies and processes in place to ensure that all employees are offered an equal opportunity in recruitment and selection, promotion, training, pay and benefits.

Safeguarding

Advance is committed to safeguarding and creating a culture of zero-tolerance of harm and expects all staff, including volunteers to share this commitment. We believe all individuals have the right to live their life free from violence and abuse and the right to feel and be safe.  

We have a suite of safeguarding policies, procedures and practice guidance, accessible to all staff, which promotes safeguarding and safer working practices across all our services and activities. When we recruit staff, we follow rigorous safer recruitment practices, this involves carrying out pre-employment checks including references, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, and identity checks.  We ensure all staff undertake mandatory safeguarding training relevant to their role and responsibilities, to empower them to be competent and feel confident in recognising and responding appropriately to safeguarding issues and promote wellbeing.

Help on Your Doorstep, is a pioneering charity working in the London Borough of Islington to improve the health and wellbeing of people and the communities that they live in. Our ‘Connect’ outreach and referral service, Social Prescribing Service and Good Neighbour Schemes all contribute to our goal of supporting individuals to thrive in happier, healthier communities.

Across all of our services we aim build trust based relationships with the individuals and communities that we work with. We work with partners with whom we have a shared vision and common goals, focused on reducing the social and health inequalities that exist in the borough of Islington.

Help on Your Doorstep’s Social Prescribing service supports patients referred by GP practices in the North and Central areas of Islington. The service benefits from working closely with the Connect service and our access to over 150 referral partners covering a wide range of needs and aspirations. Social Prescribing is a fast paced, patient focused environment where patients referred are supported to link into services and activities which will improve their health and wellbeing.

We are looking for candidates who are passionate about working towards a fairer society and who would relish the challenge of supporting people to overcome the personal and social barriers that stand in their way. The ideal candidates will have excellent interpersonal skills and some experience of providing personalised support to a varied caseload.

As a member of a six strong team of Social Prescribing team you will enjoy collaborating with internal colleagues and external partners in primary care and community settings to continuously improve the resident outcomes

Alongside your people skills, you will have the ability to take a methodical and organised approach to managing a caseload and completing related administrative tasks.

Please note: We are currently recruiting for 2.5 FTE posts

We are looking for a talented person who shares our values and is passionate about making a difference through grant funding. We need someone to help our funded projects achieve great things. As a small organisation, this role gives you the opportunity to have a major impact on our work.

With analytical skills that enable you to make judgements, and with good communications skills – both verbal and written, you will be expected to work under your own initiative as well as part of a small team.

This role will manage and assess funding requests made by clubs who are members of the National League and their linked charities. It will also help to support and develop organisations who are new to community delivery. We want to enable them to be able to achieve great results with our funding and to become skilled applicants to allow them to access other grant opportunities.  The successful candidate with need to demonstrate an understanding of Theory of Change and what makes an impactful project. A knowledge of charity governance would also be an advantage.

You will need to have a strong understanding of funding systems and how grant support can enable recipients to make the biggest impact on their communities. You’ll also need to understand the landscape of community activity within football, who the stakeholders are and help to sustain partnerships across the network. Work will include the management of applications to the Premier League’s flagship education programme PL Primary Stars.

Being responsible for a variety of projects you will need to understand and respond to the different needs of our club community organisations (CCOs) by providing advice and feedback and be willing to have challenging but constructive conversations.  You will give pre-application support, assess and report on new applications manage current grants, liaise with grant recipients, undertake project visits, identify and manage risk, while supporting CCOs to deliver their projects and measure their impact.

Job Purpose:

To lead, co-ordinate, manage and expand our Community Wellbeing Team services for children and families and to ensure the smooth running of these services. To jointly oversee the delivery of services from the Phoenix Youth Centre by YMCA East Surrey and by other partner organisations.

Hours of work:

35 hours a week, Monday to Friday 9.30am to 5.30pm, excluding an hours unpaid break each day, Occasional evening work required (with a corresponding later start time or possibility to claim time off in lieu).

Location:

YMCA Phoenix Youth Centre, Preston Manor Road, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 5FB

Salary:

£33,280.00 to £37,440.00 per annum depending on qualifications and experience

Annual Leave

Five weeks plus bank holidays.  Holidays increase after two years service to a maximum of six weeks after six years service.  The holdiay year runs from 1st April to 31st March each year. (Pro-Rata for Part Time).

Benefits

The post holder will be entitled to free use of the YMCA East Surrey fitness centre in Redhill and half price YMCA childcare for dependents.

There is free parking available at all sites. YMCA East Surrey also operates a Bike to Work Scheme.

There is an YMCA East Surrey pension scheme - details available on request.

Closing date and Interviews:

Close date:  14th October 2024

Presentation and Interview date:  TBC

Main Responsibilities:

Service Management & Development • To develop, oversee and expand existing service provision to meet the requirements of the EWMH services contract with Surrey Wellbeing Partnership. Services will be designed around the iThrive framework to deliver information, advice and early intervention for children, young people and families. They will build on existing YMCA East Surrey services

. • To work with the EWMH Manager to develop and implement a business plan across community services. • To manage a team of practitioners and an office administrator, including carrying out regular one-to-ones, annual appraisals, setting objectives and development and training.

• To be the first point of operational contact for the Community Wellbeing Team, including supporting practitioners with risk management and reporting.

• To work collaboratively and effectively with partners across the Surrey Wellbeing Partnership and Mindworks Alliance to keep up to date on and respond to local and emerging needs, to take referrals or refer on/signpost and to share good practice.

• To promote and publicise the Community Wellbeing Team and EWMH services among relevant agencies, referrers, service users and potential service users.

• To manage administration linked to the recruitment and induction of new staff. Service Delivery/Administration (Community Wellbeing Team Manager 03.06.24)

• To manage referrals into the Community Wellbeing Team and ensure that appropriate data is recorded accurately and kept up to date.

• To liaise with families and other professionals about referrals and service provision.

• To jointly oversee the Phoenix Youth Centre so that it is staffed and appropriately maintained to support delivery of both YMCA East Surrey services and services delivered by other organisations.

• To report to and liaise with the EWMH Manager regarding the delivery of the service. • To ensure that client complaints are investigated and dealt with appropriately

. • To work with the EWMH Manager to identify and manage safeguarding and other risks and to liaise with the Designated Safeguarding Lead in line with YMCA East Surrey protocols and team operational process.

• To contribute to the development and delivery of training and parent/carer workshops as and when required. Service Monitoring & Evaluation

• To set up and maintain appropriate record keeping systems in line with data protection requirements. • To ensure service outcomes and outputs are effectively monitored and evaluated and prepare service statistics in conjunction with EWMH Manager and Mindworks Delivery Manager.

• To produce reports on activity, impact and outcomes plus provide input to the wider YMCA East Surrey Annual Impact Report.

• To produce client case studies for internal and external communication purposes.

Other • Any other duties are required to be performed within the grade and renumeration of the role.

• We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults. This role will require an enhanced DBS disclosure (with barred children/vulnerable adults). We require you to understand and demonstrate this commitment and attend any required