Application for the Post of Services Adviser

George House Trust 77 Ardwick Green North Manchester M12 6FX

0161 274 4499 www.ght.org.uk

April 2012

Dear applicant,

Application for the post of Services Adviser

Thank you for the interest you have shown in the above post. In this pack you will find  an application form  job description  person specification  additional information  Further information about the organisation and archives of previous policy documents can be viewed on our web-site at www.ght.org.uk

If you require the application pack or any of our other materials in a different format to support your ability to make an application please contact us.

All applications must reach us by 5pm on Friday the 11th of May 2012

Interviews will take place on Wednesday the 23rd and Thursday the 24th of May. Successful applicants will only be required to attend on one of these days. Regrettably we are unable to contact unsuccessful applicants. We will inform all successful applicants by Friday the 18th of May at the very latest.

If you would like further information please contact the office on 0161 274 4499.

Please send your completed form and equal opportunities monitoring form by post to: APPLICATIONS, GEORGE HOUSE TRUST 77 ARDWICK GREEN NORTH MANCHESTER M12 6FX

Or by e-mail to [email protected].

Many thanks for your interest in George House Trust.

Yours sincerely

Lynda Shentall Director of Services [email protected] 0161 274 5652 Application Form Post applied for: Services Adviser Please complete every section of this form and remember to link your information to the Person Specification. Please use black ink or type your application. You can e-mail the form to us if you wish; however please ensure that we have received it and that we have done so in a readable format. This page, and the equal opportunities monitoring form, will be removed prior to shortlisting of applications.

About You Surname

Other Names

Address

Telephone Number(s)

Email address (if any)

Declaration “I agree that George House Trust may use the information provided in this application form for monitoring purposes. I agree that George House Trust may ask my referees for comments on my suitability for the post and request details of my attendance, sickness and salary. I also understand that if I am successful I will need to undertake a Criminal Records Bureau check. In submitting this application form, I confirm that the information I have given is correct and complete and that misleading or untruthful statements will result in my dismissal if they become known after my appointment.”

Signed: Date:

For electronically submitted forms, you will be asked to sign below if invited to interview.

Signed: Date: Please explain your motivation for applying for the role and why you wish to work for George House Trust

Please list any previous jobs you have had, beginning with the most recent, and any voluntary work you have done which you feel is relevant to this application. Please use additional sheets as necessary.

Dates Job title & employer’s name Key responsibilities Salary on from/to and address leaving Please provide evidence of your skills and knowledge capabilities against EACH of the points in the person specification. Please structure your example using bullet points, providing specific examples from your professional and / or voluntary experience. Please use additional sheets as necessary.

Please tell us about any qualifications you have.

School/ college/ other Qualification Level Subject(s)

If you wish, please add any further information that you would like us to consider in support of your application. Please use this section to highlight any difficulties you may have experienced in completing this form so that we are able to take this into account during the shortlisting process. Have you any unspent criminal convictions Yes / No in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (see information included)? If so, please specify below or on a separate sheet.

In addition please note that this role is subject to an enhanced CRB check. References

Please give us the names, addresses and telephone numbers of two people, including your current or latest employer who would be willing and able to be contacted to verify the information you have given and to let us know their assessment of your ability to carry out this job.

Please indicate if you would like us to contact you first before we contact these references.

Referee One Referee Two

Name: Name:

Job title: Job title:

Address: Address:

Tel: Tel:

E-mail (if any) E-mail (if any)

Can we contact this person prior to interview? Can we contact this person prior to interview?

YES/NO YES/NO

Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form The information submitted on this form is treated in the strictest confidence and is used for monitoring purposes only. The information will be stored either on paper records or a computer system in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will be used solely to monitor the diversity of George House Trust’s recruitment regarding Equality and Diversity issues. You may choose to return this form with your application form, in which case it will be removed immediately, or you may wish to send it under separate cover. You may also choose not to answer certain questions, however all information you can share with us is very useful to ensure we are achieving equality and diversity within our recruitment procedures.

Job Reference Services Adviser

Gender Male Female Transgender Do not wish to disclose

Ethnic Group (please tick appropriate box) White White – British White – Irish White – any other White background Mixed White and Black Caribbean White and Black African White and Asian Any other mixed background Asian or Asian British Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Any other Asian background Black or Black British African Caribbean Any other Black Chinese or other Ethnic Group Chinese Any other – please write in Do not wish to disclose Sexual Orientation Gay Lesbian Bisexual Heterosexual Do not wish to disclose

Age Date of Birth Do not wish to disclose

Do you consider yourself to be disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act? (The Disability Discrimination Act defines disability as “a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out day to day activities”.)

Yes No

Do not wish to disclose

Where did you hear about the vacancy?

If you give permission, we will collate this information anonymously and pass it onto our funders. This form will be stored separately from your application form.

“I am happy for this information to be collated and shared with funders.” Please tick the box if you agree.

Thank you for sharing this information. Services Adviser Job Description

Job Title: Services Adviser Location: Manchester Accountable to: Service and Development Manager Accountable for: George House Trust voluntary workers and social work students as appropriate.

Main Purpose of Post

1. To deliver George House Trust services for people with HIV as directed by the Director of Services and the Service and Development Manager.

2. To assess, identify, advocate for and plan support for HIV positive people according to needs.

3. As part of a team, to support and manage volunteers and social work students according to the needs of the organisation.

4. To contribute to innovative and effective service delivery for people living with HIV.

Services for People with HIV

5. To deliver and contribute to the development of George House Trust services for people with HIV, including those with complex needs relating to sexuality, asylum, immigration, drugs, housing, family, mental health, and financial hardship.

6. To assess the needs of individual people and to put in place appropriate services – both through George House Trust and through referral to other services.

7. To provide individual support, advice, information and signposting where relevant to people with HIV.

8. To organise and run group spaces for people with HIV and support colleagues as appropriate

9. To advocate on behalf of people with HIV and people affected by HIV to ensure the best possible quality of life.

10. To prepare and present applications to George House Trust’s Welfare Fund and other appropriate funding bodies in order to address the needs of those people with financial hardship needs.

11. To work with other agencies – statutory and voluntary – to promote service delivery and improvements and contribute to identifying gaps in service provision.

12. To ensure representation of the views of people with HIV, and people affected by HIV, through George House Trust structures including reporting to Managers, SMART (Service Monitoring and Review Team - the George House Trust service user involvement group) and the Board. 13. To monitor and evaluate service delivery in line with funder requirements.

14. To keep up to date with current developments around HIV and to be aware of appropriate information sources and requirements.

15. To maintain accurate systems of record keeping of service activity and provide monitoring information as appropriate.

16. As part of a team of advisers, to ensure consistent office cover.

17. As part of a team of advisers, to deliver George House Trust services in clinical and community settings as appropriate around the region.

General

18. To participate in paid worker team meetings and act in accordance with agreed office practices and to share administrative support and administration of all agreed office systems.

19. A commitment to work with and support George House Trust volunteers as appropriate.

20. To carry out all tasks in line with George House Trust policies and to uphold these at all times.

21. To respect and maintain appropriate confidentiality at all times.

22. To carry out other work, appropriate to the level and nature of the post, as agreed by the organisation in response to changing needs and circumstances.

Note: the nature of this work will require occasional evening and weekend work, for which time off is arranged under the terms and conditions of employment.

Terms and Conditions George House Trust terms and conditions apply.

Salary NJC scales SCP 26-31 plus 8% employer pension contribution Current salary level - £22,221 - £26,276

Hours 35 hours per week.

Notice period The post requires a notice period of 4 weeks.

April 2012 George House Trust

Person Specification Services Adviser

Essential  An understanding of HIV and an awareness of current issues related to it.  A detailed understanding of the issues affecting all people living with HIV.  Experience of working with, and advocating on behalf of people with a range of complex needs.  The ability to work with people in crisis or under pressure.  Commitment to embracing diversity and challenging stigma and discrimination.  Excellent communication skills - written and verbal.  Ability to maintain client confidentiality at all times.  The ability to differentiate between high and low priority needs and to respond appropriately to all.  Ability to manage a complex workload and work in an extremely busy office environment.  Ability to work on own initiative and to take responsibility for own decisions.  The ability to delegate work appropriately.  Flexibility to respond to changing circumstances.  Commitment to and understanding of working within a voluntary organisation.  Ability to work with volunteers and social work students  A commitment to working within George House Trust’s ‘Red Carpet’ service delivery ethos.

Desirable

 An understanding of the needs of people subject to immigration control.  Experience of working with computer database systems and ability to use computer word processing.  Experience of assessing, planning and prioritising service user’s needs in a busy office environment  Experience of facilitating or co-ordinating group activities or services  Experience of managing volunteers.  Ability to speak a second language such as French, Portuguese, Arabic or any other language relevant to the service user group.  Experience of project management Additional Information

George House Trust is the HIV voluntary organisation for the North West of England. We exist to support people who are living with or affected by HIV. At present we are supporting around 1800 people, making us the largest HIV support charity outside London. We were founded in 1985 (as “Manchester AIDSLine”) and are the UK’s second oldest HIV charity (after the Terrence Higgins Trust). We have a long record of campaigning and lobbying to secure the best possible quality of life for all people with HIV and to challenge discrimination against people with HIV.

The support we offer includes: advice and information, treatment advice, volunteer community support, financial support, special courses and events, and targeted services for gay men, African people, women, children and carers.

George House Trust currently has a budget of c £800,000 a year, and relatively healthy reserves. We do anticipate, however, additional challenges over the coming years as a result of the economic recession and in particular cuts to public spending. Our income comes from a variety of sources: the NHS, local Government, central Government, charitable trusts, lottery distribution bodies, fundraising, donations and earned trading income. We have a robust income strategy in place, which is reviewed and monitored monthly.

Organisationally we have PQASSO level 1 – this is a quality assurance standard.

Employment by George House Trust We currently employ 14 people and regularly have social workers on placement. We also have around 140 volunteers, and hold the Investing in Volunteers Quality Mark.

New employees are subject to a six-month probationary period. Full time staff work a 35 hour week, normally Monday to Friday, though some evening and weekend work is necessary. Our opening hours are 9.00am to 8.00pm on Mondays and 9am to 5pm on Tuesdays to Fridays, and staff work different hours to ensure that services are covered at all times. Full time staff members are entitled to five weeks paid holiday (this increases after long service) plus three extra days at Christmas. All new staff members are required to undertake a Criminal Records Bureau check. We pay a contribution towards a personal pension of 8% of gross salary. Staff members are encouraged to join a Trade Union or professional body.

Our offices are on Ardwick Green North just south of Manchester City Centre. This is a short walk from Piccadilly train and Metrolink stations, on a major bus route and there is free parking behind our premises. More information about George House Trust is on our website www.ght.org.uk REHABILITATION OF OFFENDERS ACT 1974

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is intended to ensure that a person convicted of a criminal offence (whether in Great Britain or abroad), not involving a sentence of more than 2.5 years’ imprisonment who has not since re-offended for a specified period of time (a rehabilitation period) related to the severity of their sentence is treated as if the offence, conviction and sentence had never occurred.

Sentences of more than 2.5 years put an individual concerned outside the scope of the Act. Such convictions can never therefore become spent.

(Exceptions) (Amendment) order 1986

Exempted professions NOT covered by The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 are:-

 Medical practitioner

 Barrister (in England and Wales), advocate (in Scotland), solicitor;

 Chartered accountant, certified accountant;

 Dentist, dental hygienist, dental auxiliary;

 Veterinary surgeon;

 Nurse, midwife;

 Ophthalmic optician, dispensing optician;

 Pharmaceutical chemist;

 Registered teacher (in Scotland);

 Any profession to which the Professions Supplementary to Medicine Act 1960 applies and which is undertaken following registration under the Act