Dear applicant,
Thank you for enquiring about the post of Information, Advice and Advocacy Manager.
This pack contains:
· An introduction to Transport for All
· The Job Description
· The Person Specification
· Application form
· Equality Monitoring form
The closing date for applications is 5pm, Wednesday 22nd June 2016
We will inform all candidates as to whether or not they have been shortlisted. The interviews will take place at our offices in Brixton.
About Transport for All
London is one of the wealthiest cities in the world yet many transport services remain out of bounds for its disabled and older citizens. Physical barriers like flights of stairs, gaps and obstacles combined with the way services are run prevent many from getting out and about and living independent lives.
These barriers can seriously restrict lives, and at worst condemn people to becoming isolated, housebound and undermine health and quality of life.
Rooted in the social model of disability, Transport for All (TfA) has been dedicated solely to tackling these problems and championing the cause of accessible transport in the capital for over two decades. We pride ourselves on being a pan-impairment grassroots organisation that is small yet ambitious and dynamic. We have disabled and older members from across every borough of London and an on-line community of over 9000 followers across our social media platforms.
The work we do includes:
· Maintaining our ‘one stop shop’ website www.transportforall.org.uk with regular stories, news, links, maps and tips on travelling around London accessibly. It has on average 13,000 visitors a month.
· Running campaigns and lobbying on local, London-wide and national accessible transport issues. Recent significant successes have included ensuring Crossrail is fully accessible when it opens in 2019 (as it was initially planned without full step-free access) and overturning the ban that some rail companies have on the carriage of mobility scooters.
· We run five Transport Action Groups that bring together disabled and older residents to campaign, lobby and exert influence around local accessible transport issues. They are in the boroughs of Newham, Redbridge, Lambeth, Ealing and Brent.
· We are a partner in the successful London-wide Power Up Project which provides training in capacity building for the capital’s disability sector and works with over 100 disabled and older people’s organisations.
· We run the Pan London Mobility Forum which is the only forum in the capital that brings together disabled and older representatives to discuss strategic London-wide transport issues.
· We provide disability equality training (DET) to the transport industry based on the experiences of our members and service users. Our clients include London Underground and Uber.
· TfA has established a ‘critical friend’ relationship with London’s transport commissioners and providers including Transport for London, London Councils, Association of Train Operating Companies, the Transport Committees of Parliament and the London Assembly as well as many local authorities. We have regular meetings with these agencies, senior management teams and elected representatives; and we are the ‘go to’ organisation with regard to eliciting the feedback of disabled and older Londoners on transport issues.
In addition we also run Information, Advice and Advocacy (IAA) services.
· Our services are unique in London as they are solely dedicated to accessible transport. Operated primarily via a telephone helpline and website/email, our IAA services answer access queries about all of the capital’s transport modes from the Tube to Riverboats to the Taxicard scheme. We also inform our service users of the range of transport concessions and benefits they are entitled to, from the Blue Badge to the Disabled Person’s Railcard.
· Our advocacy services work to: support Disabled and older people to speak up for their rights, make appeals against decisions that have gone against them (for example when applying for a Disabled Person's Freedom Pass), and importantly register complaints against transport providers when disabled and older people have been let down. We organise face-to-face meetings between service users and transport providers to resolve problems and educate transport staff about the realities of travelling as a disabled and/or older person.
· Transport complaints that have been escalated to a higher level also feed into our campaign and media work and we work closely with our service users to come up with strategies that apply the maximum amount of pressure on transport providers, commissioners and decision-makers. This can include using the law or campaigning tactics.
TfA’s IAA services have a track record in winning improvements and change when services fail. They also empower disabled and older people to secure their rights and travel with greater freedom and independence.
We are looking for a driven and motivated manager with the vision to grow our IAA services at an important juncture in their history – ensuring that these vital services continue to provide much-needed support to London’s disabled and older transport users.
Our ideal candidate will have a passion for promoting the rights of disabled people combined with a systematic approach to running a busy service. They will relish the prospect of making their mark and setting up new internal systems and ways of working that result in the growth of TfA’s IAA services and our achievement of quality marks and standards for the first time. They will also be able to communicate their ideas lucidly and motivate others to adopt the systems they have put in place.
Is that you? If so then we very much look forward to reading your application.
Yours sincerely,
Faryal Velmi
Director
Information, Advice and Advocacy Manager Job details
Job Title / Information, Advice and Advocacy ManagerContract Duration / Three years from the start of employment. Subject to a 6 month probation period
Hours / 35 hours a week. (A request for part time hours will be considered for the right candidate).
Salary / £31,000 - £35,000 per annum dependent on experience
Pension / Employer contribution of 6% of gross salary to a private pension scheme of the employee’s choice
Annual Leave / 25 days (pro rata) and rising by 1 day for each year worked up 30 days (pro rata)
Reports to / Director
Line manager to / Two part time Information, Advice and Advocacy officers
Location / Our offices in 336 Brixton Road, Brixton. London.
SW9 7AA. Some London wide travel will be required
Information, Advice and Advocacy Manager
Job Role Overview
We need London's only dedicated accessible transport Information, Advice & Advocacy (IAA) service to step up to the next level.
Building on previous successes you will have the drive and experience to set up new internal systems and ways of working that improve the effectiveness of how our IAA work operates - so to achieve the best results for disabled and older service users.
You will inspire colleagues and lead TfA to achieve sector recognised advice and advocacy standards and quality marks for the first time in our history.
You will manage Transport for All’s IAA team of two officers and ensure that all queries and advocacy cases are dealt with to the highest standard and achieve the best possible outcome for our service users.
Working with the IAA team and other colleagues you will work on advocacy and transport complaints, primarily focusing on those that have been escalated to a higher level. This will include working with other TfA colleagues (namely the Campaigns Officer & Communication Officer) to maximise the pressure put on transport commissioners and providers using a variety of methods to improve failing services and effect change.
In this post you will work to expand our range of information resources (digital and on-line) and ensure they are kept up to date.
You will also lead on the development of new IAA services according to the changing needs of our service users and members.
Information, Advice and Advocacy Manager
Job Description
Overall
1. To oversee the effective and efficient running of TfA’s Information, Advice and Advocacy (IAA) services.
2. To manage IAA staff and volunteers and ensure that they are adequately supported and supervised in accordance with relevant policies.
3. To prepare TfA and work towards the achievement of the Advocacy Quality Standard and other sector recognised benchmarks and quality standards.
4. To ensure that all monitoring systems are kept to up to date, systematically integrated into routine operation and reports regularly produced from the data.
5. To ensure information systems and records, including the Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) is maintained accurately on a daily basis by the IAA team.
6. Work with colleagues to create a sustained multi-channel programme of promotion of TfA’s IAA services.
7. To identify, analyse and proactively respond to trends and issues within the IAA service, producing information and written reports as required by the funder(s).
8. To develop and set up new IAA schemes and initiatives working in collaboration with colleagues.
Information and Advice
9. To build up an advanced level of knowledge of London’s transport network, how it can be navigated accessibly, as well as the range of accessible transport services, benefits and concessions available so to provide high quality IAA to service users.
10. To oversee the running of the IAA helpline and ensure that all enquiries are answered and monitored to a high standard.
11. To provide cover on the helpline as and when is needed.
12. To ensure up-to-date information is maintained and work with staff to keep TfA’s information resources (on-line and hard copy) updated on a regular basis.
13. To maintain and develop a network of contacts across the transport industry in London.
14. To ensure the telephony system is working to its optimum level of operation.
Advocacy
15. To further develop and grow TfA’s IAA services with the aim of offering a person-centred holistic approach to advocacy and complaints.
16. To constantly keep advocacy casework under review, working in conjunction with the IAA officers.
18. To manage complaints against transport providers that have been escalated to a higher level and work with other colleagues to ensure successful outcomes.
19. Set up face to face meetings between services users who have registered complaints and transport providers in order resolve problems and improve services.
20. To lead on the monitoring and evaluation of the advocacy service through the analysis of data and production of the reports.
Additional duties
21. To comply with the data protection regulations and legislation, ensuring that systems are maintained by which service user information remains confidential.
22. To be responsible for own personal learning and development.
23. To work collaboratively across TfA’s teams, sharing responsibility for the achievement of jointly agreed objectives, as and when is appropriate.
24. To administrate and organise own work to ensure that it is accurate and meets deadlines and reporting requirements laid out by the funder(s).
25. To work with the IAA team to recruit, induct and support volunteers.
26. To undertake any other tasks, duties or projects which may arise from time to time which are in line with the general level of this post and as instructed by the Director.
Information, Advice and Advocacy Manager
Person Specification
Criteria / Essential / Desirable / Assessed?Experience and knowledge
1) To hold a recognised and accredited qualification related to Advice and/or Advocacy / X / Application
2) At least two years’ experience of managing or playing a leading paid role in the delivery of an Information, Advice and Advocacy service / X / Application
Interview
3) Experience of setting up, managing or using internal office systems to a high level (e.g. a CRM, referral, monitoring or case escalation system). / X
4) Experience of managing and supporting staff / X / Application
Interview
5) Experience of using monitoring databases and CRM systems to both quantitatively and qualitatively monitor and evaluate services / X / Application
Interview
6) Experience of working with disabled and older people / X / Application
Interview
7) Willingness to acquire an in-depth knowledge about London’s transport network and keep that knowledge up to date / X / Application
Interview
8) Knowledge of how inaccessible transport services affect disabled and older people in London / X / Application
Interview
9) Commitment to and understanding of the Social Model of Disability / X / Application
Interview
10) Direct lived experience of being a Deaf or Disabled person / X / Application
Interview
Skills
11) Excellent verbal and written communications skills appropriate to a diverse audience. / X / Application
Interview Test
12) Highly developed inter-personal, negotiating and listening skills / X / Application
Interview
13) Proven ability to use own initiative to tackle problems and find solutions / X / Interview
Test
14) Good IT skills and experience of using Microsoft Office software / X / Application
Interview
15) Ability to manage a diverse workload and work under pressure / X / Application
Interview
Test
16) A team player who can both offer leadership and delegate when required / X / Application
Interview
All shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a short test as part of the interview process.
Information, Advice and Advocacy Manager
Application form
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