Hammersmith & Fulham Mencap

Safety Net People First

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: Self-Advocacy Manager

RESPONSIBLE TO: CEO

HOURS OF WORK: 36 Hours per week

SALARY: £28,000

Safety Net People First (SNPF) is run by people with Learning Disabilities for people with Learning Disabilities. SNPF delivers self-advocacy services in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to support people with Learning Disabilities to speak up and have a say in their lives. We work in partnership with HF Mencap, who fund this role. We have over 160 members and attract over 100 people to our “Funky Nite” club night each quarter.

JOB PURPOSE:

The Self-Advocacy Manager will  support people with learning disabilities to govern, run and manage the organisation  support people with learning disabilities to be effective self-advocates in order to become equal and active citizens in their community  support people with learning disabilities to speak up and have a say in the development and running of local services  support people with learning disabilities around self-advocacy and campaigning around issues affecting them ie housing, employment, sexual health, equality, LGBT, etc.  assist in the organisation of events to promote Safety Net People First and increase the membership  be part of the senior management team at HF Mencap  manage staff with HF Mencap

Main Duties:

Internal 1. To support people with learning disabilities to set the goals, lead the project and be engaged and active members on the Committee of SNPF. 2. To arrange and facilitate regular meetings with members of SNPF 3. To work with the members of SNPF to build their skills and capacity for self-advocacy, delivering appropriate training to support this

Ref: SNPF 20/01/2015 4. To assist in the development and delivery of workshops on topics of importance to members of SNPF 5. To widen and extend the membership of the organisation ensuring the inclusion of individuals from hard to reach groups 6. To support SNPF members and other adults with learning disabilities to campaign on issues of importance to the needs of people with learning disabilities and to fight for the rights of people with learning disabilities 7. To produce accessible information for SNPF members and other adults with learning disabilities 8. To keep information, website and social media up to date 9. To support members of SNPF to organise social events 10. To support people with learning disabilities to organise and run the successful and regular club night (“Funky Nite”)

External 1. To provide support to SNPF members when contributing to a variety of forum meetings, consultations and conferences locally and nationally 2. To provide support to SNPF members and other adults with learning disabilities to participate in consultations within the borough 3. To work with service providers to ensure that people with learning disabilities are included in the planning of services 4. To support SNPF members to develop and deliver a variety of training to local organisations to raise awareness of the needs of people with learning disabilities 5. To ensure that self advocates are included in the recruitment of staff and training is provided for this 6. Develop links with other learning disability groups across London to strengthen self-advocacy and campaigns. Other 1. To carry out the duties of the post within an Equal Opportunities framework. 2. To work flexibly to meet the needs of Safety Net People First, including some unsocial hours 3. To manage the operational budget and finances. 4. To be part of the HF Mencap team and attend meetings, support related projects, and input into the monthly events diary 5. Provide supervision to other members of the team. 6. Attend regular training or other personal development tasks 7. Work with the senior management team in the running of the organisation. 8. To produce monitoring as requested by funders. 9. Identify opportunities for further self-advocacy, campaigning, development and funding for Safety Net People First. 10. Attend to any other duties that may come up in the course of the project.

Ref: SNPF 20/01/2015 Safety Net People First

PERSON SPECIFICATION ______

Job Title: Self-Advocacy Manager

Experience:

 Experience of working with people with learning disabilities.  Experience of campaigning.  Experience of being a member of a team.  Experience of empowering people with learning disabilities to speak up.  Experience of managing staff and providing supervision.  Experience of applying for funding.

Skills

 Excellent communication skills, especially with people with learning disabilities (including people who may not use words), members of the team, partner agencies and other stakeholders.  Able to work under the leadership of with people with learning disabilities, prioritising their needs and values.  Able to empower and support people to express their choices, opinions and control in a variety of different settings.  Able to adapt to meet the needs of the person or group of people you are working with.  Able to organise and facilitate events, including workshops, forums, and social events.  ICT and database skills.  Budget Management  Able to monitor and gather data, then produce reports for funding purposes.  Able to use social media to promote Safety Net People First.  Able to give and receive supervision for career development.  Able to build relationships with other organisations and professionals for partnership working.  Able to identify and challenge inequality alongside people with a learning disability.  Able to produce information in accessible formats.  To contribute to the development of Hammersmith and Fulham Advocacy (Mencap).

Ref: SNPF 20/01/2015 Knowledge:

 A full understanding of self-advocacy and the Independent Living Movement.  Knowledge of human rights and barriers people may face in achieving these.  An understanding of equality issues, especially where there are multiple issues of race, gender and disability.  An understanding of the day to day issues faced by people with learning disabilities and ways to limit the impact of these.  Knowledge of ‘Valuing People Now’ and the awareness of ways to apply its key principles.  An understanding of the importance of user involvement in the development of services.  To be able to demonstrate knowledge of the Social Model of Disability.  Knowledge of safeguarding and understanding how to safeguard vulnerable people.

Personal Qualities:

 A positive attitude towards people with learning disabilities to access equal rights and opportunities to be included as equal active citizens in the community  Commitment to improving the quality of life of people with learning disabilities.  Active, enthusiastic, resilient with lots of patience.  Ability to get the best out of people from various walks of life.  Work on own initiative and as part of a team.  Imaginative and creative in a work setting.  Reliable, flexible, willing to work unsocial hours and good organisational skills.

Ref: SNPF 20/01/2015