Job Description

We are looking for an experienced and passionate Trainee/Qualified Single Discipline Advocate to work as part of our Wandsworth and Richmond Advocacy Team.


Imagine being part of an organisation whose common purpose is to help those who are severely impacted by mental illness. We believe that everyone should be treated with respect and dignity - and that's why equity is one of our core values. We draw on the expertise, unique perspectives and lived experience of our people - regardless of who they are or their background - to help us become inclusive and anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider that reflect the diverse communities we support as a mental health charity.


Advocacy is having someone by your side, and on your side, when you want to be more involved in decisions about your care, treatment and living arrangements. An advocate can talk through the situation you're currently in and the options open to you. They can help you decide what you want and then communicate it to people. This is particularly useful if it's difficult to understand things or to speak up and be heard.


Our Wandsworth and Richmond service provides a range of specialist advocacy services to Adults (and children) as appropriate across a range of disciplines. We provide a range of statutory (instructed or non-instructed) and non-statutory advocacy support in secure units, hospitals, care settings or in the community, working with a range of health and social care partners.

How you will make a difference

As an

unqualified, inexperienced

independent single discipline advocate, you will be required to enrol on the Level 4 Independent Advocacy Practice qualification and complete the course within a set timescale, using protected study time to focus on this. You will shadow experienced team members and then be observed providing advocacy to those who are eligible for our services until you are able to pick up a caseload of your own. Although your focus will be on one particular remit of advocacy, you will receive training across the different remits of advocacy, instructed and non-instructed advocacy and safeguarding and be supported to develop a thorough understanding of the role and boundaries of advocacy. The role involves acting on the instruction of the people you support, empowering them to have a say in their situation, to understand their rights and any options open to them and supporting them towards self-advocacy. When providing non-instructed advocacy, you will ensure that the unique preferences and views of the person are taken into consideration in any decisions made by care providers.


However, if you are

a qualified and / or experienced

independent advocate, you will provide statutory and / or non-statutory independent advocacy to those who are eligible for the service within the community or care settings. This may include secure facilities, hospitals, care homes, supported living facilities and people within their own homes or temporary accommodation.


As a field worker, you will be based in the community and will manage your own calendar, planning in client visits effectively as well all administrative tasks.


You will work across Wandsworth and Richmond and therefore will need to have the ability to travel between multiple client appointment locations across the day, as well as travel to team meetings and training sessions as required.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

Diversity is important to us and we appreciate difference through difference, inclusiveness and belonging. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world, our society and the diverse communities we're working with. By including everyone, we are able to draw on the unique experiences and expertise of our people to help shape and enrich our workplace and improve our services. One way we are doing is through our valued staff networks which play a critical and highly valued role in keeping us focused on creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged employer.

We recognise and support staff networks and support groups for our ethnically diverse and LGBTQIA+ colleagues. We are also proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status

and are a signatory to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter.

We aim for our workforce to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve; for those who work for us to feel heard, valued and feel they belong; and for our work to help tackle wider mental health inequalities. We therefore actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including applicants with lived experience of mental illness, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and any other gender identity not expressed here (LGBTQIA+); people who are neurodiverse, have a health condition, or a disability or hidden disability and people from an ethnically diverse background - regardless of your age, religious or spiritual belief, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, political view or socio-economic status.

Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation

We have an ambition of become a truly anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider -

and in our efforts to influence policy and wider societal factors impacting on mental health set out in our

anti-racist statement

.

We have designed a multi-year anti-racist programme of work contained in our

Race Equality Action Plan

which demonstrates our intention to hold ourselves accountable and be judged on our progress on becoming a truly anti-racist organisation. You can read more about our progress

here

.


If you have any questions about the position, please contact - recruitment@rethink.org



Our work to achieve this is guided by seven core values:

Commitment

Equity

Expertise

Hope

Openness

Passion

Understanding

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