Advocacy jobs in Kirklees

Length of contract: Permanent (Subject to continuance of funding)

Based at: Community Focus Hub Burnley

Salary: £25, 464 (pro-rata for part time)

Hours: 22 hours per week

Based in our Community Focus Hub in Burnley, as well as working out in the community and from your own home, the role of the Community Focus Advocate will be to provide support to adults within the community to have a voice in decisions that affect their lives, whilst helping them to understand their rights around matters of health and social care, housing, benefits, work, education, and training.

The role will provide specialist community advocacy, face to face in community settings where residents across Lancashire feel comfortable in accessing. To promote self-advocacy and empowerment and enable service users to make informed decisions and get their views heard. This activity will include working with people of all backgrounds.

Examples include:

• Supporting a person to attend meetings/appointments with GPs, the jobcentre/ benefit office, colleges and/or housing organisations
• Enabling a person to express their dissatisfaction with services; supporting the person to make a complaint
• Supporting a parent/guardian to have a voice when dealing with children’s social care services
• Supporting a person to understand the range of services available to them, in order for them to live happily and as independently as possible

Key tasks

• To triage eligible and non-eligible referrals and making necessary contact to referrer/advocacy people where further clarification is needed.
• Manage a client caseload and ensure accurate case management and record keeping
• Remain independent from all other services, ensuring you are representing the person using the service only
• Carry out advocacy duties in line with the QPM (Quality Performance Mark)
• Provide a person led and outcome focused advocacy service for the people we support
• Communicate with the person via phone, face to face, or virtually to explore what issues they would like support with
• Research and find out information for the person and help them to understand any information
• Support people to self-advocate (to articulate their own views wherever possible) or to speak on behalf of the person when requested to
• Promote the rights, equality, diversity and needs of the person by ensuring they are respected and valued as individuals
• Ensure that people have access to information that is presented in an appropriate manner for their individual needs, e.g. Easy Read documents
• Promote self-advocacy through partnership working, encouraging the person to have maximum involvement in their case, where appropriate
• Triaging referrals to the service and having discussions with partners and professionals where necessary
• Work as a member of the team, attend bi-monthly team meetings, peer group meetings, and contribute towards service planning and developments for advocacy and the wider organisation
• Mentor and supervise volunteers and students to support clients through casework and peer advocacy groups
• Be flexible to support work across all service areas to meet referral, geographical and organisational demands
• Undertake duties in line with safeguarding and GDPR principles
• Produce reports for the Advocacy Managers, SLT and, others as required

Please note that if you click to apply, you will be sent an application form to complete and return. Closing date 06 Novembner 2026. Note that the role may close earlier if a sufficient number of applications are received and so it is advisable that you send in your application form as soon as possible.

We welcome new candidates to apply and join our growing team. Previous applicants, whilst appreciated, are kindly advised not to reapply.

Shortlisting is completed anonymously. People applying for the roles will be assessed against the essential criteria for the post. Only people who can clearly demonstrate how they meet our person specification criteria in their application will be short-listed.

About Advocacy Focus

Our charity’s vision is that advocacy is available to all who may need it in our community. We want every person we support to know that they have power and control over every decision in their lives. Our team, which includes employees, volunteers and trustees, are all dedicated to supporting the well-being of people in our local communities.

Well-being starts with our people and Advocacy Focus have, for the second year running, won the coveted 'Top Employer' award in MIND’s Workplace Wellbeing Index. The health and wellbeing of our people is our key focus. A positive workplace experience for our team, will lead to a positive advocacy journey for the people we support.

Support

Support is available to people with disabilities when applying for roles. For more information on reasonable adjustments please contact our People Team.

Advocacy Focus is committed to fighting any forms of discrimination. We want to be the employer of choice for people, regardless of a person’s background or characteristics. We know that not everyone is the same and that people will need different support to untap their talents. We are working hard to make sure that our team fully understands the needs of our communities in the areas we work. At the moment we are really keen to hear from men, members of the LGBTQ+ community, people with a physical or mental disability and people from an ethnic minority background.

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Pay: £25,464.00 per year

Expected hours: 22.0 per week

Benefits:

• Additional leave
• Casual dress
• Company events
• Company pension
• Enhanced maternity leave
• Enhanced paternity leave
• Flexitime
• Health & wellbeing programme
• Life insurance
• Private medical insurance
• Referral programme

Experience:

• Community Work: 1 year (required)
• Health and Social Care: 1 year (required)

Work Location: In person