Practitioner Jobs in Belfast
Contract: Permanent, full time, 35 hours per week over 5 days
Salary: £52,265 - £65,286 + company car and competitive benefits
Location: Home based with travel across UK
Closing date: 23:59 Sunday 4 August 2024
Are you a passionate and experienced operations leader with a commitment to animal welfare? This is a unique opportunity to join our senior leadership team as the Head of Rehoming and Foster Service Operations and make a real difference in the lives of animals.
More about the role
As our Head of Rehoming and Fostering Service Operations, you'll oversee our national network of 12 rehoming facilities and foster services, managing a dedicated team committed to finding loving homes for pets in need. This is your opportunity to lead, innovate, and drive continuous improvement in our crucial services.
In 2023, we helped nearly 6,000 pets find loving homes, but thousands more need our help. That’s why we’ve invested £1 million in our Rehoming and Fostering directorate, with the ambitious goal of rehoming over 10,000 pets annually by 2026. In this pivotal leadership role, you'll witness the impact of your efforts every day, knowing you're directly improving the lives of animals.
You'll collaborate with a supportive senior leadership team and receive ongoing professional development to refine your skills. This role allows you to thrive in a positive work culture where you can build strong relationships with colleagues and drive our mission forward.
What You’ll Be Doing
At Blue Cross, we understand a fulfilling career matters. We offer the chance to play a key role in animal welfare by leading innovative rehoming and fostering services. Your responsibilities will include:
- Leading our national network of rehoming facilities and fostering services, managing a team of Operations Managers.
- Championing collaboration within the Rehoming and Fostering leadership team, ensuring smooth transitions for new services across our centres.
- Driving continuous improvement in operational practices, focusing on efficiency, income generation, and cost management.
- Building and maintaining a strong reputation for Blue Cross rehoming and fostering services.
- Developing and analysing data to benchmark practices and demonstrate their effectiveness.
- Fostering a healthy and positive culture within the Rehoming and Fostering team.
- Contributing to the wider Blue Cross leadership team with a collaborative spirit and willingness to share expertise.
- Networking with key stakeholders to foster collaboration and support for our rehoming and fostering initiatives, both internally and externally.
Want to know more? We've attached a detailed job description that outlines the role and responsibilities in greater depth.
About You
You will be a passionate leader who can navigate complexity with ease. While extensive experience within the animal welfare sector remains important, the primary focus for this role is on operational leadership with a strong emphasis on collaboration and inclusivity.
Your experience in the animal welfare sector, ideally multispecies, will be invaluable. You'll leverage your proven track record to optimise operational efficiency and effectiveness.
You'll foster a collaborative and supportive environment, empowering your team members to reach their full potential. This aligns perfectly with your experience as a sector leader, influencing and delivering strategic initiatives.
Open communication is key, and you excel at using data analysis to make informed decisions that benefit both the team and the organisation.
Building strong relationships comes naturally to you. You'll create a positive and inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels valued and heard. You're a skilled communicator who inspires and motivates your team, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability. Your strong networking skills will be essential in fostering collaboration with key stakeholders in support of our rehoming and fostering initiatives.
Your experience in performance improvement management and delivering animal welfare services within a complex organisation will be instrumental in achieving this.
In essence, you're a change champion with a passion for animal welfare who thrives on building and nurturing a high-performing team.
To effectively fulfil this role, you will be required to travel to various sites. A full driving license is therefore essential.
Desirable Animal Welfare Experience
- Animal welfare qualification
- Leadership/lean qualification or equivalent experience
- Leading in a commercial environment, delivering sustainable services or profit-making services
- Working in cross sector animal welfare working groups and forums
- Media and public speaking
- Responsibility of physical asset management
- Managing multi-million-pound operational budgets
Blue Cross Benefits
Our people are the most important part of delivering our purpose. If it weren’t for their amazing efforts and commitment, we wouldn’t be able to make the difference that we do today. In return, we want to provide you with the best working environment we can. With a wide range of perks aimed at enhancing your life both inside and outside of work, you'll thrive in a supportive and rewarding environment.
Our generous benefits package includes:
- Enhanced annual leave entitlement: 30 days plus bank holidays
- Pension scheme with enhanced employer contribution
- Life assurance
- Unlimited access to an employee assistance programme
- Programmes for physical and mental wellbeing support
- Free access to a GP via MetLife
- Recognition scheme
- Annual volunteer days
- Claim for professional fees
- Charity worker discounts across a variety of retailers
To read more about the benefits Blue Cross has to offer, please visit the 'Why work for us' page on our website.
How to apply
Apply via the link to the vacancy on our website and complete the online application process before the closing date on Sunday 4 August 2024.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response.
What happens next?
We appreciate your application! We aim to contact all applicants as soon as possible with the outcome.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a virtual conversation on Microsoft Teams. This is a chance for us to learn more about you and your interest in the role, and an opportunity for you to ask questions about Blue Cross and the position.
Following your first interview, if shortlisted, we'll invite you to the final stage at our Burford site. Here, you'll gain a deeper understanding of Blue Cross through a tour and meet some of our team. We'll also invite you to complete a psychometric assessment to understand your work style and preferences, discussing your results with you before your second interview.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E.) is a long-term (chronic), fluctuating, neurological disease that causes symptoms affecting many body systems, more commonly the nervous and immune systems. M.E. affects an estimated 250,000 people in the UK, and around 17 million people worldwide.
Action for M.E. is the only charity in the UK providing direct support to children and adults with M.E. We provide vital support services, campaign for change and invest in ground-breaking research to help put an end to the ignorance, injustice and neglect experienced by people with M.E.
We are looking for an empathic and resilient individual to join a friendly and well-established team of part-time, remote-based Information and Support Officers, on a 12-month contract. The purpose of this role is to provide a holistic, client-centred, effective and efficient Information and Support Service to people affected by M.E. We do this primarily via outgoing calls made in response to triaged voicemail messages, and also via email.
You can choose to be home-based anywhere in the UK, work from our Bristol office, or a hybrid of the two.
Our Information and Support Service team has a deep understanding of the issues affecting people with M.E. and their family and carers. Some of our clients come to us in considerable distress so this work isn’t always easy, but it can be incredibly rewarding and is valued by our clients and the wider organisation.
You will need experience of working in a service providing information, advice, support or advocacy by telephone and email (or proven transferable skills). You will be experienced and confident at working with people in distress, and identifying and escalating safeguarding concerns, with the courage and emotional resilience to set and maintain realistic boundaries.
You can expect a warm welcome, daily huddles with your line-manager and peers, and a strong team culture of collaboration, self-care and peer support. Our Employee Assistance Programme, available to all staff and their immediate families, includes one-to-one counselling and a range of online support and toolkits.
Duties for the role include (this list is not exhaustive, please refer to the Information and Support Officer Recruitment Pack, which you can find below):
- Offering emotional support via active, empathic listening, including to people in significant distress.
- Setting and maintaining boundaries; managing clients’ expectations and ensuring commitments to them are met.
- Helping clients unpick a situation which seems overwhelming and break down complex situations into discrete issues which can then be progressed.
- Working with the client to understand their needs and wishes, empowering them to make informed choices and to take action to achieve their self-identified goals.
- Providing information and support on a wide range of issues, including on sensitive and confidential matters, in a way that is tailored and appropriate to the individual.
- Identifying safeguarding concerns as they arise from contact with clients and escalating these to a manager, in line with our organisational Safeguarding Policies.
- Making safeguarding referrals where directed to by the Information and Support Supervisor or other manager.
- Gathering outcomes and satisfaction data from clients to enable service evaluation and improvement.
All the following person specification criteria are essential unless otherwise stated.
- Educated to A level standard or equivalent experience in a similar role is preferred, however no one specific qualification is required.
- Experience working on a helpline as part of an information, support, navigator or advocacy service, supporting clients to identify options and services available to them.
- An understanding of the challenges facing people with a long-term health conditions, physical impairments or disabilities, such as M.E.
- Demonstrable experience of working in a person-centred, needs-led way.
- Experience identifying and escalating safeguarding concerns, working strictly within organisational policies and procedures.
- Experience of working with people in distress, including people who disclose suicidal thoughts.
- Ability to communicate complex concepts clearly, systematically and with nuance, both verbally and in writing.
- Ability to demonstrate empathy while setting boundaries; emotionally resilient and resourceful, with ability to adapt in the face of challenging circumstances to maintain your wellbeing.
- Strong team player and also able to work on own initiative; ability to work remotely while building strong relationships with your manager and peers.
- Ability to analyse complex situations, identify options available to clients and signpost appropriately.
- MS Office skills including Outlook, Teams, Word and Excel, and proficiency with web-related programmes and software.
Please note that an enhanced DBS check will be sought for the successful candidate.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) is the only UK charity dedicated to raising awareness of economic abuse and transforming responses to it. Our vision is a world in which all women and girls are economically equal and live their lives free of abuse and exploitation.
Economic abuse is a form of coercive and controlling behaviour: 95% of women who experience domestic abuse will experience economic abuse. It limits their choices and ability to access safety.
We work in partnership to ensure women have access to and control over their own economic resources. We focus on four strategic priorities: public education and awareness-raising; transforming professional responses; ensuring systems do not inadvertently facilitate economic abuse; and influencing policy.
Our work is led by victim-survivors of economic abuse (Experts by Experience). Their lived experience and knowledge shapes everything we do. We are always learning, and we share our expertise via a national working group and an international network of practitioners, researchers and policymakers.
Founded in 2017, we are purposeful and agile in approach. We led the successful call to recognise and define economic abuse within the UK Parliament’s Domestic Abuse Bill. This has created a framework and momentum for change. Our aim now is to ensure that policy and practice recognises economic abuse so that victim-survivors are supported to achieve economic justice and abusers are held accountable for their behaviour.
About the Compass Project
The Compass Project Coordinator will work as part of an exciting new partnership between Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA), Living Without Abuse (LWA) and RISE (Refuge, Information, Support & Education). The Compass Project seeks to develop best practice responses to economic abuse within the coordinated community response by working with local professionals to help them understand and respond to economic abuse.
About the Compass Project Coordinator role
The Compass Project Coordinator will work to:
- Act as a point of contact for stakeholders across the Project areas (Brighton & Hove, Leicester, Rutland and Leicestershire), coordinating stakeholder engagement and access to training and resources.
- Work closely with the Interim Women’s Sector Manager to coordinate and implement the Compass Project in pilot sites.
The Compass Project Coordinator will:
1. Collaborate with Compass Project Partners to:
- Support the coordination of training and dissemination of resources to professionals across the two pilot sites.
- Identify and engage with local lived experience groups and women with experience of economic abuse, ensuring inclusion of women from minoritised groups, to inform and guide our work.
- Develop and maintain key working relationships and partnerships with various stakeholders and partners across the two local sites including the facilitation of links with money and debt advice services, and local financial services.
- Support the collection of qualitative and quantitative data from the network for the purpose of project and external evaluation.
2. Facilitating access to economic abuse training and resources:
- Develop and deliver tailored training sessions on economic abuse to enable frontline workers to recognise and respond to economic abuse.
- Work with Compass Project Partners to integrate relevant economic abuse content into existing resources.
- Implement data collection processes to support the evaluation of the project.
- Ensure effective communication with the project group and coordination of activities across the two pilot sites. Promote and facilitate SEA’s established routes to support for survivors and professionals.
- Attend local VAWG/DA Network meetings in a consultative capacity as an expert for economic abuse.
- Work with the communications teams across project partners to effectively promote the project.
- Facilitate referrals for women to the Domestic and Financial Abuse Team at Lloyds Banking Group and other banks/building societies we have direct links into.
3. General Duties and Responsibilities
- As part of the Specialist Team at SEA, manage the info@ email account on a designated day.
- Represent SEA in training and presentation requests.
- Contribute to evaluation reports and presentations as required for the Compass Project.
- To contribute to the promotion of SEA and its work and uphold its behaviours and values.
- To participate and contribute to team meetings and organisational development.
- To engage in learning and take responsibility for continuous personal development.
- To comply with SEA and MAP’s policies and procedures and legal requirements, such as provisions set out in the GDPR, Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and Equality Act 2010.
Person specification
We are looking for a domestic abuse and/or frontline community professional with an interest in developing expertise around economic abuse. In order to apply, you should have the following skills and experience:
Essential knowledge/skills/experience
- Knowledge and experience of supporting and working with victim-survivors of domestic abuse. Frontline experience of working with victim-survivors would be an advantage.
- An understanding of the coordinated community response to domestic abuse and commitment to all aspects of partnership working to improve the response.
- A strong and demonstrable interest in economic abuse.
- Experience of developing and delivering training face to face and online.
- Strong communication and engagement skills.
- Experience of safeguarding and managing risk.
- Experience of working in partnership and managing relationships with voluntary and statutory sector agencies to enable their full participation in the partnership.
- Demonstratable experience of implementing project delivery plans with a range of stakeholders, and reporting on progress and risk management.
- Ability to produce high quality documents and maintain confidentiality.
- Excellent time management and organisational skills including the ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
- Ability to work effectively as a member of a team and on own initiative.
- A commitment to the values and ethos of SEA.
Desirable knowledge/skills
- Experience of contributing to the development of resources for self-advocacy/professional practice.
Abilities
- A fast learner who can hit the ground running.
- Adaptable and a good team player.
- A positive, can-do approach.
- Resilient, with a calm, measured approach.
Additional information
- This role is home-based. A laptop and telephone are provided, and travel expenses are covered.
- The team meets approximately once a month, virtually and in various locations across the UK on a quarterly basis.
- Appointment to this role will be subject to right to work in the UK.
- Due to the nature of our work, this role will also be subject to satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) enhanced check and references.
What we offer
- 25 days annual leave (pro rata), plus 5 Wellbeing Days (pro rata) and Statutory Bank Holidays.
- Flexible working.
- Working from home allowance.
- 3% Employer Pension Contribution.
- Reflective practice and Employee Assistance Programme.
- The chance to be part of our highly professional, supportive team.
Application and interview
- This post is only open to female applicants as being female is deemed to be a genuine occupational requirement under Schedule 9, Paragraph 1 of the Equality Act 2010.
- Apply via the link to the jobs page on our website.
- Applications will be reviewed, and interviews arranged, on a rolling basis, so for the best chance of success, please apply ASAP.
- If you have been shortlisted for interview, you will be informed by email.
- If you haven’t heard from us within three weeks of your application being submitted, please consider your application unsuccessful on this occasion.
- All posts, including remote posts, must be based in the UK.
- The deadline to submit your application is 2nd August 2024 at 1600hrs, although please note that we reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.
- Interviews will be held throughout July and August.
Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) is committed to developing an inclusive team which reflects the diversity of the communities we support. Our culture celebrates diverse voices, and we particularly encourage applications from Black and minoritised applicants and disabled applicants who are under-represented at SEA.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Salary: £30,753
Hours: 35
Contract type: Permanent
Location: Homebased within North & East Scotland area
Today, 12 children and young people will be diagnosed with cancer. We’ll stop at nothing to make sure they get the right care and support at the right time.
Change lives in a life-changing career
When a child or young person is diagnosed with cancer, their whole world can feel like it’s falling apart. Independence is taken and confidence is stolen. Stability no longer exists. The future suddenly feels uncertain.
The impact of cancer on young lives is more than medical. That’s why we exist. Our specialist social workers help children and young people with cancer and their families navigate the emotional and practical impact of cancer. We remove barriers, solve problems and prioritise wellbeing. And we stop at nothing to make sure they get the right care and support at the right time.
We challenge the systems and policies that surround children and young people, we highlight gaps and campaign for change. Because we know what a better future could look like. And we know what we need to do to make that future a reality. We need to push harder, reach further and work smarter. And we need the right people on our team to help us get there. People like you.
ABOUT THE ROLE
We’re looking for a Fundraising Engagement Manager with great personality and team ethic to join our Regional Fundraising team.
This is a role of variety, opportunity and innovation, and we are looking for someone who embraces change and constantly strives to achieve more.
You will maximise income for Young Live vs Cancer by coaching our supporters to reach their goals, whilst seeking out new fundraising opportunities for your geographical area. This role sits within the ‘Regional Engagement’ team and we need someone with natural customer service skills who wants to deliver an excellent experience to all of their supporters. Your team of supporters will range from volunteers and individuals, to groups and local corporates.
The North & East of Scotland is an area filled with some of our most committed supporters but there is still so much opportunity to grow corporate support across the counties. Our Social Workers support families from hospitals across the region, and our Home from Home, ‘Ciaran’s House’ in Edinburgh, enables families to stay close to their loved one for free during treatment, so building relationships with these teams are a must.
Candidates should live within North & East Scotland, in one of the following counties: Aberdeenshire, Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Edinburgh & the Lothians, Fife, Highland, Inverness, Moray or Perth & Kinross. Candidates who live outside of these counties should highlight an intention to relocate to the area in their covering letter for their application to be considered .
This role is subject to a criminal record check. In the event of a successful application a basic record check will be completed.
WHAT WILL I BE DOING?
No two days are the same at Young Lives vs Cancer. So, summarising your ‘day to day’ isn’t easy. Here are some of the main things you’ll be doing, but you’ll find more details in our Role Details document.
• To plan, monitor and report on your budgeted income with a constant eye on contingency planning to ensure annual targets are achieved
• To steward our most committed supporters and deliver legendary supporter experience
• To be a key, valued member of your regional team and UK wide team.
• To identify, cultivate and secure partnerships and donations within your area
• To work with your local service team/s to build and maintain strong and effective working relationships
• To be the first point of contact for service user families, to offer opportunities to them and their networks to engage with the wider charity as they would like I.e. fundraising, volunteering, sharing their story
WHAT DO I NEED?
• A proven track record of delivering amazing customer experiences
• Experience of relationship management in either a charity or corporate setting
• Ability to work within a financial target-based setting, and experience of reaching/exceeding set targets
• Demonstrable experience of winning new business
• Experience of managing own workload
• Proven ability to manage/complete projects
• Able to ‘make the ask’ for support and to influence/negotiate
• Have a full UK driving licence and access to a car (including business insurance)
• Have a sufficient Broadband connection
Diverse perspectives and unique skillsets are at the heart of Young Lives vs Cancer. If you're passionate about making a positive impact and eager to learn, we encourage you to apply, even if you don't meet the criteria and person specification fully. Your potential is what matters most to us, and we’re committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive work environment to help you develop.
The key skills we’re looking for in this role are:
• Natural storyteller
• Strong prioritisation skills
• Great communicator
• Great at spotting opportunities
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Compassion
• Integrity
• Team player
WHAT WILL I GAIN?
For people to reach their full potential, they need the right environment. As a member of Team Young Lives, you’ll be made to feel supported, valued and appreciated. Here’s how we do it:
• Flexible working: we’re open to working hours outside of 9 - 5 and we can talk through your flexibility requirements at interview stage
• Wellbeing days: four days a year to do what works for you – from catching up on training to going for a walk
• Generous annual leave allowance
• Great family/caring leave entitlements
• Enhanced pension
• Access to our employee savings scheme
OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING
At Young Lives vs Cancer, we recognise that opportunities for too many people remain a condition of their sex, ethnicity, class, gender identity, disability, sexual orientation – or a combination. This has never been acceptable to us as an organisation. We don’t just accept difference, we value it, celebrate it, nurture it and we thrive because of it.
We’re on a journey to be reflective of the diverse children, young people and families we support. We know we aren’t there yet, and we’re passionately committed to taking actions and making changes to be a truly diverse, inclusive and equitable organisation. This includes taking anti-oppressive action and removing barriers in our recruitment practices. We particularly welcome applications from members of minoritised communities. Our Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging strategy will tell you more.
ACCESSIBILITY
We’re committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process and we’ll always aim to be as accommodating as possible. Please let us know in your application form of any adjustments or access requirements we could make to help you with the application process and interview.
You may have experience in the following: Fundraising Coordinator, Philanthropy Manager, Donor Relations Manager, Fundraising Campaign Manager, Community Engagement Manager, Fund Development Manager, Advancement Manager, Fundraising Specialist, and Development Officer.
REF-215683