Job Pack: Parent Advisor / Inclusion Coordinator

Thank you for your interest in this vacancy. The job pack consists of the following documents:

Application Form* Guidance Notes Job Benefit Details Background Paper Job Description/Person Specification Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

The closing date for applications is: Friday, 2nd March 2018 (12pm)Interviews will be held on: Monday, 12th March 2018

Please return a completed application form along with an equal opportunities monitoring form by the date stated above.

It would be really helpful if you could save your documents in the following format ‘yoursurnameappform.doc’ and ‘yoursurnameequalopps.doc’. This is so that we can identify them easily in a group of applications and cut down on the processing time in sending them to the panel.

If you do not hear from us by the interview date it does mean that we have not been able to include you on our shortlist.

Completed applications should be emailed to: recruitment@contact.org.uk or sent by post to:

HR: Recruitment209-211 City RoadLondon EC1V 1JN

Sazeda BegumInterim HR Business Partner

* Download from our website https://contact.org.uk/

Guidance Notes for Applicants

Filling in the application form

Please complete all parts of the application form. (CVs will not be accepted in place of an application form).

Show clearly how your experience, knowledge, skills and abilities are relevant to the requirements of the person specification.

Give full details of your duties in your present or most recent job. This may be a voluntary role. Do not miss out experience gained in previous jobs, but select the most relevant points. Also include details of any skills or experience gained from voluntary, committee or community work, etc.

Use extra sheets if necessary, noting your name and the post you have applied for at the top of each sheet. Check the closing date to allow time for your application to reach us. We suggest you keep a copy of your completed application. Contact does not usually acknowledge receipt of application forms unless specifically requested and a

stamped, self-addressed envelope is enclosed. Please note that if you have not been contacted by the advertised interview date then unfortunately you have not been successful in your application.

Short-listing

When short-listing we will be looking for evidence that you have the knowledge, experience, skills and abilities to do the job as detailed in the job description and person specification. These provide the essential criteria against which your application will be assessed. The short-listing panel will not have access to the monitoring details you provide.

Disabled candidates

Contact welcomes applications from disabled candidates. Please make us aware of any reasonable adjustments we may need to make for you as a disabled person and particularly address any special requirements you may have if you are invited for interview.

Equal Opportunities Monitoring

For statistical purposes please complete and return the monitoring form. As stated above the form will be detached from your application form before the short-listing exercise.

Criminal Record Declaration and the Criminal Records Bureau & Central Registered Body in Scotland Disclosure Service

The declaration must be completed. Contact is an organisation that provides services for families of children with disability. You will appreciate therefore, that Contact must be particularly careful to enquire into the character and background of applicants for appointments to posts that (a) involve contact with children or supervise those who have contact with children, (b) who are in positions of trust and influence and (c) who, by virtue of the authority and responsibility inherent in the post they hold, might be expected to be positively suitable to work with children. Seeking this information is not, in anyway, to reflect upon applicants integrity but is necessary to protect the vulnerable and to assist us in making safe recruitment decisions. If you wish to check any aspect of this, further details are available on the DBS website www.dbs.gov.uk or their DBS information line 0870 909 0811. The declaration form is not part of the short-listing process

We aim to make the application process as straightforward as possible. If you have any further questions regarding your application, the Disclosure or monitoring processes, or require any further general guidance or information about Contact please contact a member of our Human Resources Department 020 7608 8766 or email recruitment@contact.org.uk

Thank you for applying to Contact.

Staff Benefits

Parent Advisor / Inclusion CoordinatorSalary

£25,207 – £26,772 NJC scale 26-28 (Pro rata £17,644 - £18,740). The pay range is drawn from the NJC scales appropriate to the not-for-profit sector. Incremental progress where appropriate occurs on the yearly anniversary of the start date.

Annual Leave 25 days a year plus one extra day for each completed year of service up

to a maximum of 30 days after five year service. Pro-rated for part time employees. Holiday year runs January – December.

Concession Leave 3 days a year for the period of office closure between Christmas and

New Year. Pro rata for part time employees.

Probationary Period 6 months

ContractPost funded until 30 November 2020

Hours of Work 24.5 hours per week. Normal office hours are observed but flexibility

can be arranged in most areas of work. Family Friendly and Work Life Balance policies are observed.

Pension Scheme Private pension scheme available through Friends Life. 1% contribution rate for

employee and employer.

Employee Assistance Programme Covering employees and their families, a full EAP free counselling service is

provided through Health Assured.Season Ticket Loan

Yearly season ticket purchase available after six months satisfactory service, repayable over a ten month period.

Background PaperContact - Ealing and Southall

History of Contact

We are Contact, the charity for families with disabled children. We support families with the best possible guidance and information. We bring families together to support each other. And we help families to campaign, volunteer and fundraise to improve life for themselves and others.

Contact has been supporting families of children with disabilities aged 0-25 in the London Borough of Ealing since 1981. The project has an office in the Southall area in Ealing.

The project currently has 2 staff members: a Project Manager who works 35 hours a week and an Independent Supporter who works 21 hours a week (term time only).

Staff members are supported by a steering committee which meets every 6-8 weeks, and the project is directly line managed by the national Contact’s London Manager.

The project receives its core funding from Ealing Council and the Big Lottery Fund. This is topped up by fundraising work from the staff and committee.

The project currently runs a wide range of support activities for families who have children and young people with disabilities. These include:

One to one support and advice Regular meetings and groups for parents School holiday schemes A regular newsletter Outings and activities and the celebration of different cultural festivals

These activities are backed by fundraising and publicity work and by the recruitment of volunteers.Our office acts as a resource and information base for families and also provides a good venue for meetings and activities.

Contact Equal Opportunity Monitoring Form The completion of this form is voluntary, but the information it contains helps us to monitor and improve our equal opportunities policies and procedures. This sheet is removed from the application form before the short-listing process, thus ensuring that all short-listing is based on merit.

1. Full Name:

2. Job Applied For:

3. Date of Birth 4. Marital Status

5. Gender: Male / Female(delete as appropriate)

6. Nationality:

7. I belong to the following ethnic grouping: (tick as appropriate)

A: WhiteA1: BritishA2: IrishA3: Any other white background (please specify)

B: Of Mixed Race:B1: White and Black CaribbeanB2: White and Black AfricanB3 : White and AsianB4: Any other mixed background (please specify)

C: Asian or Asian British:E1: IndianE2: PakistaniE3: BangladeshiE4: Any other Asian background (please specify)

D: Black or Black British:D1: CaribbeanD2: AfricanD3: Any other black background (please specify)

E: Chinese: F: Any other ethnic group (please specify)

Please note that Contact is committed to making reasonable adjustments to allow candidates with a disability to meet the requirements of the role.

8. Do you consider yourself to have a disability? Yes / No 9. Do you have any disability for which special arrangements should be made, either in

an

interview or employment situation? If so, please specify the nature of the disability and your requirements:

10. Are you a carer of a child under the age of 18: Yes / No

I understand that this information may be stored and processed as part of the Contact Monitoring of equal opportunities and I give my consent to my details to be used for this purpose.

Signed: ……………………………………………. Date: ………………………………………………………..

Parent Advisor / Inclusion Coordinator (24.5 hours per Week)

Join us!

Contact (Formerly known as Contact) is a national charity for families with disabled children. We provide information, advice and support, and bring families together so they can support each other. We campaign to improve their circumstances, and for their rights to be included and equal in society.

Your role:

This post is funded by the John Lyon’s Charity and Reaching Communities Programme of the Big Lottery Fund to empower Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and East European families with disabled children in the Ealing borough. You will develop effective support mechanisms for parents with disabled children through support groups, training and parent linking and social events and activities. You will respond to enquiries from parents and professionals and provide in-depth face to face support to families, empowering them to tackle debt, poverty and isolation and reduce social and financial exclusion and provide in-depth support at events and activities in case of emergency. You will also work closely with statutory and voluntary services in Ealing in order to improve services for families with disabled children and plan and organise a year round programme of support groups, trainings and workshops and social events and activities for families. You will network with partnering organisations in and outside the borough to support families better.

What we are looking for:

- Experience of working with and supporting families who have disabled children.-Knowledge and experience of the issues and concerns that affect families who have disabled children e.g. leisure provision, education, respite care.-Knowledge and experience of welfare benefits, especially DLA/PIP and other benefits targeted at families with disabled children. - Experience of managing volunteers, compiling reports and newsletters.-Good communication, time management and networking skills.

To Apply:

Please return a completed application form along with an equal opportunities monitoring form (downloadable as part of the job pack) by the date stated below to: recruitment@contact.org.uk

Important Dates:Closing Date: Friday, 2nd March 2018 (12pm)Interview Date: Monday, 12th March 2018

Job Description

Contact

Job Title: Parent Advisor / Inclusion Coordinator

Disclosure Level: Enhanced

Responsible For: Volunteers

Responsible To: Contact Ealing and Southall-Manager

Team Membership:

Contact-Ealing and Southall

Location: St. Georges Community Centre, 8-12 Lancaster Road, Southall, UB1 1NW

Salary: £25,207 – £26,772 NJC scale 26-28 (Pro rata £17,644 - £18,740).

Hours of work: 24.5 hours per week

Annual leave entitlement:

25 Days per year (pro rata for part time employees) additional one day’s annual leave for each complete year of service, up to a maximum of 30 days’ annual leave (pro rata for part-time employees). See Annual Leave policy for more information.

Job Purpose: 1. Develop effective support mechanisms for parents with disabled children – including support groups, training and parent linking and social events and activities.

2. Respond to enquiries from parents and professionals in the borough.

3. To provide in-depth face to face support to families empowering them to tackle debt, poverty and isolation, and reduce social and financial exclusion and to provide in-depth support at events and activities in case of emergency.

4. To work closely with statutory and voluntary services in Ealing in order to improve services for families, and increase the take up of services and entitlements.

5. Planning and organising a year round programme of support groups, trainings and workshops and social events and activities for families.

6. Maintaining and monitoring the budget for support groups, workshops and family events.

7. Keep up-to-date record of family information, events and

activities on database.

8. Recruit and manage a team of volunteers to assist in the office, at workshops and on family events and trips.

Main Duties: Enquiry and Information Work

a) Respond to enquiries for information and advice. Monitor take up of services, make referrals to other agencies as appropriate

b) Assess the needs of families and encourage them to avail appropriate services within project and make referral and signposting to other services in the borough.

c) Contact and link families living in Ealing who have disabled children. Families are linked individually and through groups and family events enabling them to give one another mutual support and help.

d) Encourage families to decide what kind of support and activities they might want. Then co-ordinate these, for example, support groups, drop-in sessions, workshops and training and events.

e) Take lead on planning, organisation and development of a year round programme of workshops, trainings, support group sessions and family activities and events during school holidays to empower, inform and give confidence to parents.

f) With the Manager and other team members, work with health, social services, education and local voluntary organisations to:

-Identify families with children who may be interested in linking up with other families through the Contact network of groups and activities.

-Contact families who have children with additional needs who live in the Borough of Ealing, both newly referred families and established members.

-Make families aware of the services available to them and to inform agencies of families who may benefit from the provision they offer.

-To bring agencies together to encourage communication across organisations and look at possible joint initiative.

Outreach work

g) Compile, supervise and dispatch quarterly newsletter to advertise local and national information of interest to parents and advertise project activities including workshops, training sessions, trips, events to families and professionals in the Ealing Borough.

h) Regular circulation and dissemination of information to parents and professionals through emails, text messages, flyers and bulletins.

i) Liaising with other team members and volunteers by organising team meetings and taking minutes of the team meetings. Networking with service providers to organise socially inclusive activities for families of disabled children through forums, information stalls and exhibitions.

j) Undertake administrative tasks to book trips/events with providers and take bookings from families as per individual family’s needs. Allocate and confirm places/seats on specific family trips, events and activities. Making sure are every disabled child and their parent carers needs are considered and met on family trips.

k) Maintain accurate record of attendance at all events, trips, activities, workshops and trainings by recording the data on the Contact database.

l) Where appropriate, identify and apply for new funding opportunities for the family trips, events, activities, workshops and trainings to be held in the project.

m) Produce regular monitoring reports after delivery of family activities, workshops, trainings and events that need to be sent to funder. Collate regular feedback forms received at the point of contact through face-to-face sessions, workshops, trainings, family events and any other activities.

n) Attend, respond and record telephonic/email/face-to-face enquiries on the database. Record enquires for team members in the log book. Make referrals or signpost to appropriate services and keep record on the database.

o) To record and report any safeguarding issues in line with the Safeguarding policy.

Cross functional duties:

1. With the other staff, help with the organisation of theAnnual Conference.

2. Work with team members to ensure a seamless service across the borough and to ensure that representation is effective, duplication is avoided, and good joint working and effective communication takes place.

3. To work with colleagues in order to produce appropriate information and publicity materials for all families including translated materials when deemed appropriate.

4. Support the project's steering committee. This will involve attending regular committee meetings of the project, which are held every 8 weeks

5. Work with the London Manager to comply with monitoring requirements for funding.

6. With the other staff, continue to build up and develop Contact’s information base at the Ealing and Southall office.

7. When required, speak at meetings about the work of Contact.

General: a) Contact’s aims and objectives are set out in our Strategic Plan. Operating policies such as Equal Opportunities, Health & Safety and other professional matters are laid out in the Staff Handbook. The post holder will be expected to work within these aims, policies and procedures and to ensure that they are followed by all staff/volunteers for which line management responsibility is held.

b) The post-holder will be expected to assist with any reasonable administrative duty at the request of the line manager for the post and to maintain records and data on the work that is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the posts funders.

c) All members of staff are expected to participate in appropriate team meetings, steering committee meetings, projects’ day, annual staff conference held to discuss particular topics and the professional development of the staff. Staff members are also expected to attend training events relevant to their specific responsibilities.

d) All staff members are offered supervision, support and annual

appraisal incorporating their training needs.

This is a description of the job as it currently stands.  It is the practice of the organisation to periodically examine job descriptions (especially during the appraisal process) and to update them to ensure that they relate to the role as it is being performed, or to incorporate whatever changes are being proposed.  This process is generally carried out at supervision or appraisal meetings.  You will therefore be expected to participate fully in such discussions with your line manager and to help rewrite your job description to bring it up to date if this is considered necessary or desirable.  It is the organisation's aim to reach agreement on reasonable changes, but if agreement is not possible, the organisation reserves the right to insist on changes to your job description after full consultation with

Person SpecificationThe person appointed will be expected to have the key essential skills, knowledge and experience listed below. The items under the heading ‘desirable attributes’ will also be useful for Contact and the post holder. However, candidates who do not have these desirable attributes should not be deterred from submitting an application.

Job Title: Parent Advisor / Inclusion Coordinator - Ealing and Southall

Competencies

Essential skills, knowledge and experience

Competencies / Behaviours

Accountability - Delivers work on time to agreed standards and communicates clearly when deadlines cannot be metAdheres to organisation policy and practice, takes responsibility for own errors and those of the team

Delivering Results - Understands importance of targets and objectives and plans work to ensure results are achieved, adapts priorities effectively to cope with changes

Team Work and Collaboration – Works effectively with others to achieve shared outcomes, forges positive working relationships with team members and shares knowledge and experience with team

Relationship Building - Helpful, professional and approachable in working with others, remains calm and maintains professionalism, personable and approachable in dealing with others and treats others with respect

Leadership - Displays energy and enthusiasm about their work and helps to support a productive team environment

Experience Excellent computer/word processing skills including

accurate maintenance of an access database. Bookkeeping skills:

a) Ability to keep a basic income and expenditure account.

b) Ability to maintain and monitor an office petty

cash account. Ability to recruit and supervise volunteers. Experience of compiling reports and newsletters. Experience of using and reporting on a database

for monitoring requirements Experience of working with, engaging and

supporting families (parents, children and young people) who have disabled children.

Experience of organising good quality play and leisure activities for families with disabled children.

Experience of a variety of approaches to project planning and evaluation.

Experience of making grant applications to local authorities and trusts

Experience of working with steering committees

Knowledge Knowledge of the issues faced by families with

disabled children trying to access play and leisure facilities.

Knowledge and/or experience of working with and supporting volunteers.

Knowledge of the issues families with disabled children experience

Other Clear, confident and friendly telephone manner General office skills e.g. filing, ordering stock,

maintaining an office diary Self-motivating. The person appointed will often be

working from the office on their own as the other project staff may be out for outreach work.

Ability to communicate clearly with a wide range of people including parents, children, social workers, health professionals and colleagues from other voluntary and statutory organisations.

Commitment to Equal Opportunity practice. Awareness of office health and safety procedures

including child protection, safeguarding and confidentiality.

This post may require occasional early evening and weekend work

Desirable skills, knowledge and experience

The person appointed will need to be a qualified First Aider. If not currently holding a First Aid certificate, the person will need to train for one.

Local knowledge of the London Borough of Ealing

CompetenciesAccountability: Delivers work on time to agreed standards

Communication and influence: Responds professionally and respectfully to others

Delivering results: Understands the importance of targets and objectives

Teamwork and collaboration: Shares knowledge and experiences with the team

Business orientation: has a basic understanding of how the organisation works

Relationship building: Remains calm and maintains professionalism when under pressure or when dealing with challenging individuals

Leadership: The ability to inspire, provide direction and guidance and encourage cooperation in order to achieve a shared goal.