Community Advocate

Community Advocate

Salary: £30,300.

Hours: 36 hours per week. A compressed working pattern is available, allowing employees to work their contracted hours over nine days per fortnight, with one non-working day every two weeks.

Contract: Fixed term for 1 Year (subject to continued funding).

Location: HF Mencap Office, W14 0AH
, with flexible home working by agreement.

HF Mencap is a local charity supporting people with learning disabilities, autism and other support needs, as well as their families and carers. We work to reduce inequality, increase opportunities and ensure local people are supported to live the lives they choose.

HF Mencap is seeking a committed and values-driven Community Advocate to join our team supporting adults across the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.

HF Mencap delivers Community Advocacy as part of the Hammersmith & Fulham Advocacy Network (HFAN), working in partnership with Libra Partnership as the Lead Provider. HF Mencap has delivered advocacy support for the local community since 1999.

The Community Advocacy service provides advocacy support to adults aged 18+ living in the borough who may have one or more of the following:

• Learning disabilities and/or autism.
• Mental health needs.
• Brain injury.
• Physical disabilities.
• Sensory impairments.
• Older people and people with dementia.
• Long-term illness.
• Profound and multiple disabilities or complex health needs.

As a Community Advocate, you will empower people to have a stronger voice, be heard and be involved in decisions that affect their lives. You will support individuals with a wide range of issues, including wellbeing and health, housing and benefits, access to services and participation in meetings.

You will work collaboratively with professionals and partner organisations to help remove barriers, increase opportunities and improve outcomes for local residents.

The Community Advocate will be responsible to the CEO and Senior Manager.

You will:

• Provide one-to-one advocacy support to adults living in Hammersmith & Fulham with disabilities, mental health conditions and complex health needs, based on individual need.
• Enable people to have greater choice and control over their lives.
• Encourage self-advocacy by supporting people to make informed choices and, wherever possible, to speak for themselves.
• Support individuals to understand their rights, options and choices and to challenge services and decisions where necessary.
• Meet and support clients in a range of settings, including at the HF Mencap office, in clients' homes and in community settings, and accompany clients to appointments and meetings where advocacy support is required.
• Work collaboratively with social services, Libra Partnership and other relevant agencies and professionals to remove barriers and increase opportunities.
• Promote equality and inclusion and challenge discriminatory behaviour.
• Manage an advocacy caseload of up to 21 people at any one time, ensuring cases are progressed and closed within appropriate time frames.
• Support individuals to access communication support where needed, for example Speech and Language Therapy, and use accessible communication approaches including signs, symbols, photos and multimedia.
• Provide information in accessible formats to help people understand their rights, options and choices.
• Attend relevant meetings and forums, supporting individuals and raising awareness of key issues where appropriate.
• Support people to access opportunities through Individual Budgets and Self-Directed Support.
• Support people to access adapted housing, healthy lifestyles and community activities, recognising carers' needs where appropriate.
• Participate in campaigns facilitated by HF Mencap to improve resources, raise awareness and strengthen community inclusion.
• Link with London and national networks, including National Mencap, and share resources and good practice.
• Maintain accurate and timely case records using agreed case-management systems and contribute to monitoring and reporting requirements.
• Attend supervision regularly and participate in appraisal processes.
• Attend relevant training, events and consultations, including those organised by the Local Authority where required.
• Carry out the role in line with HF Mencap's policies, procedures and service standards.
• Undertake other duties appropriate to the role as reasonably required.
• Recognise and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns, following HF Mencap's…