Community Link Worker

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.