Independent Advocate

SANDWELL ADVOCACY

Job Description

Job Title: Independent Advocate - Sandwell Advocacy Voice and Empowerment (S.A.V.E) Project

Salary: £21, 976 - £23, 360 per annum (pro-rata for 35 hours week) 16 Hours/week £10,042 - £10,683

Responsible to: Senior Independent Advocate and The Project Coordinator.

Job Purpose:

• To provide an Advocacy, Enabling and Support service for children and young people who are experiencing poor mental health and/or behavioural issues that empowers them to ensure that their rights are respected and their views and wishes are heard at all times.
• Provide one-to-one support for children and young people as required that is child centred and ensures that integrated support is offered to children and young people who are experiencing poor mental health and/or behavioural issues.
• Working within a multi-agency and holistic approach to meet the needs of children and young people effectively and appropriately by developing positive partnerships with all key stakeholders involved with the planning and delivery of their services.

Principle Duties:

• To support children and young people to enable them to become independent, improve their emotional wellbeing and ultimately ensure that they are empowered to feel able to access mainstream support services, social activities and education and employment opportunities.
• To support children and young people to become involved in the planning and decision-making processes that affect their lives and the services they receive.
• To raise awareness of issues affecting children and young people who are experiencing poor mental health and/or behavioural issues, and the work of the SAVE Project, within a range of health, social care and educational settings, utilising effective presentation methods appropriate for each setting.
• To work within an empowering framework to ensure that marginalised individuals are included and listened to and take an active role in decision-making and life choices at all levels within settings that impact on their lives.
• To develop partnerships with local professionals involved in the delivery of children and young people’s services and implement an accessible and responsive referral process.
• To conduct Initial Assessments that identify individual needs and develop an advocacy planning pathway based on meeting those needs working towards agreed advocacy outcomes.
• To support children and young people to ensure that they have had their holistic needs assessed and appropriate provision is in place to encourage them to engage/re-engage with universal or statutory services where relevant.
• To support children and young people to engage with relevant educational services to improve educational attainment and school attendance where necessary.
• To support children and young people experiencing poor mental health and/or behavioural issues to ensure that they have the same access to education and career choices as their peers by facilitating access to relevant support within schools, colleges and employment services.
• To recruit, train and support a team of Peer Advocates who have used the service and wish to volunteer to support other children and young people with shared experiences.
• Establish and facilitate a user engagement/peer support forum.
• Enable users of the project to co-produce and develop all aspects of this service including social media, branding, marketing, training and evaluation.
• Develop and facilitate a range of activities, training and workshops that increase the skills and knowledge of children and young people as well as improving their confidence and self-esteem.
• To contribute to the identification of gaps in service provision, new opportunities and the implementation of new initiatives.
• To provide quarterly monitoring reports that include information measured against key performance indicators and key themes and trends.
• To work within all policies, procedures and guidelines relating to safeguarding children as set out by Sandwell Advocacy and the local authority.
• To ensure the implementation of equal opportunities in all aspects of the work and carry out all duties in an anti-discriminatory manner and where necessary challenge oppressive behaviour and practices.
• To work as an active member of the Sandwell Advocacy team in enabling advocacy to flourish in the borough.
• To contribute towards the overall objectives of the project, ensuring a quality service to its users.
• To undertake other duties in conjunction with the team to meet the aims of the organisation.