Background
Share provides vocational training and education to disabled people and those facing health related barriers to employment. We provide a range of training programmes, including ICT, life skills, literacy and numeracy, customer care, basic food hygiene, and horticulture. Activities such as yoga, cooking and arts and crafts complement our main programme.
Our students with learning disabilities have told us that they want more opportunities to go out and about, both during the day and in the evenings. Some want to play sport and take part in physical activities, and others want to enjoy theatre, cinema, or discos. They need support to organise these activities, and this post will be key to managing our response to that. The post holder needs to be a skilled communicator, with experience of working with people with learning disabilities and autism, practical and well-organised, with a great sense of fun.
Working for Share has a number of benefits. As well as a staff team that is friendly and enthusiastic, we provide five weeks paid holiday (excluding public holidays), increasing by a day for each year of service until 6 weeks has been reached; an Employee Assistance Programme; a 3% contribution towards a pension scheme, and ongoing access to training and development opportunities.
We currently operate from two sites. Our headquarters are in Clapham Junction – less than 10 minutes walk from the main line train station. Our garden, from where we provide both vocational training and horticultural therapy, is in the grounds of Springfield Hospital, Tooting.
Principal Responsibilities
- To develop and facilitate a working group of service users with learning disabilities to plan and take part in arts, sports, and leisure activities;
- To support people with learning disabilities to speak for themselves and make life choices;
- Working closely with the HR and Projects Officer to identify the skills and interests needed in volunteers;
- Working closely with the HR and Project Officer, matching individual students and groups of students to volunteers with shared interests;
- To make administrative arrangements for activities where needed;
- To carry out health and safety and risk assessments, enabling students to take a degree of risk whilst staying safe;
- To liaise with students’ families and carers;
- To monitor and record the activities, building up a portfolio of evidence with which to evaluate the project;
- To work flexibly, attending activities and visits with students whether at night-time or weekends;
- To work in a way that celebrates diversity and values each individual and their choices;
- To attend meetings and events as required.
Skills, Experience, Knowledge, and Values
Our ideal candidate has:
- Experience of working with disabled people, including those with learning disabilities;
- Experience of working in an empowering way with people from diverse communities;
- Experience of assessing people’s needs within a person-centred framework;
- Experience of liaising with a range of individuals and agencies on behalf of service users;
- Experience of monitoring and evaluating programmes and/or interventions;
- Great listening and facilitation skills;
- The ability to help someone to make choices;
- Excellent administrative skills and a passion for order and completion of tasks;
- The ability to work well as a member of a team, bringing out the best from volunteers, and drawing on others’ strengths to further the progress of the students;
- A wide range of social, leisure, or sporting interests and the ability to relate to the varied needs of our student group;
- An understanding of what helps disabled people to become fully socially included;
- A deep sense of justice and commitment to equality for all;
- A belief that everyone has something to offer others.
How to apply
Please complete our application form and equal opportunities form and email both to hradmin@sharecommunity.org.uk.
We will endeavour to acknowledge receipt of your application form by email; however only candidates selected for interview will be contacted. You will be required to provide proof of qualifications, and ID at the interview.
We welcome applications from everyone. We focus on ability and believe people work best when they feel valued, safe and happy. We do all that we can to make sure that Share is friendly and welcoming to everyone.
This job is subject to two satisfactory references, evidence of qualifications, an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Check (DBS) and providing evidence of right to work in the UK.
If you have a disability and would like to discuss other ways of submitting your application, please call Leanne on 0207 801 9825.
We are very much looking forward to receiving your application.
