Regional Advocacy Co-Ordinator

JOB SUMMARY

 The person appointed to this post will actively promote and support on-going structural set up and systems coordination of 1. a facilitator model of self-advocacy (.5 of the role- approx. 2.5 days) and 2. An approach to Peer Advocacy for those who cannot self-advocate (the other .5 of the role- approx. 2.5 days).

o This work plan will be flexible, kept under review and guided by a Regional Steering Committee to ensure pace of admin coordination allows for most effective practice implementation.

o At times the workplan may shift prioritisation based on service need (i.e. more time may be needed at regional self-advocacy level, other times more focus may be required at peer structure level, etc.). This will be guided by the Regional Steering Committee to support the role.

 They will report to the Head of the Quality Standards, Learning & Development Department in the Southern Region and, as above, the role’s on-going development will be steered by an organisational oversight group (inclusive of clinical and operational representation).

 They will coordinate and support the work of local staff supporters & self-advocates in leading out on local self-advocacy groups and a peer advocacy structure.

 They will encourage, educate and support staff through the advocacy process, they will involve staff and people supported in National/ regional advocacy developments and in rights-based awareness raising initiatives where these are guided by the service.

 They will support advocacy facilitation at a National and Regional level including the raising of trends to the Director of Services and Southern Region Senior Management Team.

 The role will align with the National and Regional Advocacy policies, procedures and strategies; therefore, the person appointed will liaise openly with other Advocacy colleagues at National level to ensure consistent approaches are carried out.

QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

The person appointed will be required to have an understanding and respect for working according to the Mission and Ethos of Corlann South. This requires a personal commitment to the vision, expressed both in words and in style of working.

Duties of Regional Advocacy Coordinator:

Professional Knowledge & Experience

1. Actively promote and support on-going structural design and systems coordination of 1. a facilitator model of self- advocacy & 2. an approach to Peer Advocacy for those who cannot self-advocate across the entirety of the service.

2. Coordinate and support the work of local staff supporters & self/ peer advocates in leading out on local self/ peer advocacy groups, which can illuminate trends to be raised at regional/ national level in terms of continuous quality enhancement.

3. Support Advocacy Links at Regional and National level. Assuring that the service has depth in terms of advocacy representatives to assist national / regional initiatives will be on-going and efforts to include an equal mix of independent and more dependent people will be a strategic focus.

4. Support the running of a people supported Regional Advocacy Council to raise issues for consideration, in terms of areas for continuous improvement, to the Director of Service & Senior Management Team.

5. Support and facilitate the Southern Region’s representatives to participate in the National Advocacy Council, National Advocacy Policy Group Forum and other relevant forums in place or which may emerge.

6. Support a variety of self-advocates and those taking part in Peer structures to engage in National Conferences/Webinars/ newsletters/ opportunities to share good news stories and any other related initiatives arising across the annual period.

7. Rights Promotion:- Support/participate in internal/external rights promotion groups as assigned by the organisation and Head of QSLD. For example, the Rights Review Committee, Family Forums under CQL’s Quality Assurance Model, Producing quality data associated with Advocacy to the Quality & Rights Oversight Committee (senior quality enhancement monitoring group- CQL), supporting inclusion of people supported on recruitment panels, etc. Not exhaustive as forum involvement and rights-based initiatives may organically evolve in synch with systems to support trajectory of policy/ legislation (i.e. they may have a role in a regional ADMCA forum once established, etc.).

• Identify/ Design and provide/ circulate rights-based awareness materials (inclusive of easy reads, updating the accessible library)/ training to assist running of service wide advocacy forums. However, engagement will be guided by the Advocacy Steering Group.

8. Support Training – in Advocacy, Induction, etc.

9. Undertake training opportunities to expand quality of the advocacy coordination role (i.e. communication training to assist teams in capturing people supported voices).

10. Support participation in external advocacy forums as appropriate.

11. Network with other bodies and organisations with an involvement and interest in advocacy to help evolve self & peer advocacy structures, to promote good links and shared learning/expertise (which can be filtered into the promotional aspect of the role).

12. Implement the service’s policies, procedures and practices to ensure the provision of a high quality advocacy service, in the context of a learning organisation.

13. Demonstrate knowledge and experience relevant to the role as per the duties & responsibilities, eligibility criteria and post specific requirements of the role.

14. Maximise the use of ICT, demonstrating excellent computer skills particularly Microsoft Office, Outlook etc. for the purpose of developing accessible documentation.

15. Demonstrate the ability to work in line with relevant service led advocacy and rights policies, legislation and operational procedures set at domestic & international level- as benchmarks of quality.

16. Support Residential and Day Service staff/ key workers to run effective house/ person supported self and peer advocacy meetings focused on rights awareness/ building choice making opportunities/ decision making capacity, and any other relevant areas of learning etc. and report back to line management as appropriate with trends emerging to aid continuous improvement. This qualitative/ quantitative data will also funnel into the service’s Quality & Rights Oversight Committee.

17. Design enhanced ways in which more dependent people can engage in self and peer advocacy and person supported meetings at local level- to make their engagement real and meaningful; with emphasis on them developing skills/ capacity and growing their understanding over their lifespans.

18. Support Key Workers/ staff supporters to understand good participative/ co-design practice principles in regard to completing (with the person) relevant Personal Plan documentation: i.e. rights assessments; satisfaction surveys; engaging in the annual review process; and any other record keeping processes which may arise as relevant to rights in line with their current line management structure.

Planning and Managing Resources

1. Support local self & peer advocates to deliver training in Advocacy, organisational induction, Personal Outcomes (person centered planning) Training and other relevant trainings as they arise.

2. Support up-skilling and actual facilitation of person supported self-advocacy representatives within the recruitment panel process.

3. Assist in research, social policy and national/ regional policy design initiatives as they arise, while promoting involvement and inclusion of people supported.

4. Stay up to date on Legislation/ Policy developments which impact upon people’s rights.

5. Attend relevant conferences to continue building awareness of any changes being discussed/ implemented at Policy legislation level & feedback to the organisation at appropriate line management level.

6. Support the implementation of the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity Act) (2015) based on Director of Service/ SMT/ Advocacy Steering Group guidance

7. Demonstrate the ability to plan and organise own workload and that of others in an effective and methodical manner within strict deadlines, ensuring deadlines are met. Demonstrate flexibility to adjust roster to meet priorities of various forums and work duties at regional/ national level is essential. Again, the Regional Steering Group will guide prioritization to aid the Advocacy Coordinator’s workplan.

8. Setting realistic goals and time-scales, taking account of potential problems and competing priorities is a key reflective requirement.

9. Demonstrate a commitment to providing a quality service and going above and beyond baseline standards of quality assurance.

10. Demonstrate awareness, appreciation and respect of the persons supported by the service and their support staff.

11. Embrace the change agenda by demonstrating flexibility, strategic initiative and adaptability in a fluid work environment.

12. Development of Annual Report to SMT and Director of Services as a framework for measuring success of self and peer advocacy structures- this data would align with the Service’s Quality Procedure mapping out a quality data framework for measuring success and identifying areas for improvement.

13. Promote awareness to community-based learning opportunities for people supported, which may raise their competencies and give greater exposure/ education/ experience to enhance informed decision-making capacity.

14. Make decisions and attempt to creatively solve problems in a timely manner before they accumulate. Decision making should employ well rounded and collaborative information gathering from enough sources to offer win-win ideas for consideration with and underpinning evidence base.

15. Navigate the role innovatively within a resource limited environment and seek creative ways to work in partnerships with people supported, their families, staff and communities, etc. to break down inevitable barriers in the current Irish service system (i.e. maneuvering in a context where there is a lack of operationalized pathways to normative societal outlets- housing, education, employment, primary healthcare, etc.). Keeping with a mainstream and normalised/ social model ideology is critical in effectively dispatching this role and promoting rights across the service.

Team Working

1. Demonstrate the ability to work on own initiative as well as part of a team

2. Contribute to a positive team spirit and remain enthusiastic to the rights and quality of life for those supported by the service.

3. Demonstrate a willingness to become involved and help team members if they are under pressure, while acknowledging the hard work they are putting forth. Team inputs may be different based on their position within the person supported journey; therefore, approaches may require case by case supports with regard to advocacy consultation.

4. Act as a member of the Rights Review Committee as required and support any other organisational forums which may request participation (i.e. as mentioned above in pt 7 professional knowledge & experience).

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

1. Have a working knowledge of communication tools (Assistive Technologies for people with intellectual disabilities / IT formats to support their inclusion) and be open to learning more to assist in extrapolating the voice of people supported across self and peer advocacy structures.

2. Support and present to all levels of expertise within the service to embed advocacy and rights promotion at all levels of the organisation.

3. Effective communication skills including the ability to present information in a clear, concise and easy to understand manner are critical.

4. Strong written communication and record keeping skills are required.

5. Strong interpersonal skills including the ability to build and maintain relationships with a variety of stakeholders are essential, while ensuring dignity and respect in all actions.

6. Understanding the importance of independence and inter-dependence in terms of relational autonomy and building social roles, capitol & networks that can enable conceptualisation of rights.

7. Demonstrate the ability to influence people, events and drive change in line with service strategy and in synch with the will and preferences of those availing of our services.

8. To be conscious of health and safety matters in the workplace and in particular, to comply with the employees’ obligations as set out in the Safety, Health & Welfare at Work Act 2005. To this effect, it is essential to keep up to date in mandatory training (i.e. safeguarding, children’s First, Fire Safety & Manual Handling), service designated training and any other additional needs based training which may arise to enable direct facilitation of persons supported to meetings (i.e. epilepsy, medication management, etc.).

Confidentiality

In the course of the employment the appointee may have access to or hear information concerning the medical or personal affairs of service users and/or staff, or other health service business. Such records and information are strictly confidential and unless acting on the instructions of an authorised officer, on no account must information concerning service users, staff, or other health service business be divulged or discussed except in the performance of normal duty. In addition, records must never be left in such a manner that unauthorised persons can obtain access to them and must be kept in safe custody when no longer required.

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post, which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Essential

Qualifications/Education

 Relevant third level qualification of at least level 6 on the National Qualifications Framework maintained by Qualifications and Quality Ireland (QQI) in Advocacy/Rights, Health, Social Care or similar.

 Have a minimum of 5 years’ experience in a direct support role in the intellectual disability (ID) sector and also have experience facilitating group activities, engagement / co-design initiatives or advocacy related forums.

 Presenting / Training skills (Design, Delivery & Monitoring Quality)

 A thorough knowledge, appreciation and experience of working with people with an intellectual disability from the lens of a supported self-directed living/ self-advocacy perspective & peer advocacy lens (i.e. inclusion of advocacy in the person’s circle of support assisting their voice & involvement in all aspects of their life, decision making, etc).

 Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary/ Interdisciplinary environment

 Must be computer literate including proficiency in Microsoft Office (excel, word, TEAMS and publisher) and knowledge and proficiency of using information systems for the purpose of developing easy to read documents/policies etc.

 Working knowledge of ID sector policies and legislation applicable to the role.

 Ability to lead and drive change and experience planning, leading, coordinating and monitoring projects

 Strong understanding of quality assurance standards in the ID sector & normalised ways of improvement (quality enhancement)

 Strong understanding of risk and in particular positive risk taking to build experiences, exposure, education (to aid capacity building)

 Strong awareness of person-centred planning systems to enable discovery toward designing an individualised service.

 Understanding of contemporary theories underpinning a social & Human Rights Based model (i.e. social role valorisation, neurodiversity, etc.). Within this it is important to know the backdrop on how service provision arose and how aspects have changed to progress onward from institutionalisation, medicalisation, segregation, etc.

AND

 Must have the requisite knowledge and ability (including a high standard of suitability and professional ability) for the proper discharge of the duties of the office

Experience

 Have a minimum of 5 years’ experience working in the context of disability services (i.e.at least 5 years experience in a direct support role & have experience facilitating group activities, engagement / co-design initiatives or advocacy related forums.

 A strong desire to work with person with an intellectual disability. An attitude to drive a person centred approach to peer and group / self-advocacy from the frame of a social model/ human rights based approach.

 Presenting/ Training skill set/ delivery experience

 Robust & Varied Experience leading initiatives with persons supported and staff.

 Track record of representing the organisation at relevant committees

 Experience of designing service wide structures/ systems to operationalise a strategy and embed same into all workings of the organisation.