Roma Support Group

Ref: RoM 38

Re: Roma Aspiration Project Worker

28/07/2016

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the above post. Enclosed is a pack containing:

1.  Background Information (for the RSG’s latest Annual Report, please see our website)

2.  Job Description

3.  Person Specification

4.  Application Form

5.  Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

6.  Rehabilitation of Offenders Form

Please email your completed application form to:

clearly stating the Job Title and Reference Number of the post you are applying for.

Alternatively you can send it by post to:

Recruitment Panel, Roma Support Group, P.O. Box 23610, London E7 0XB

Please note that the deadline for completed applications is Wednesday, 31st August 2016 at 5 pm. Applications received later will not be considered. I would also like to stress that we do not accept CVs.

Interviews will be held at the Roma Support Group’s office in Canning Town (London) on Wednesday, 14th September 2016.

If you do not hear from us, please assume that your application has not been successful. Unfortunately, we cannot reply to those applicants, who have not been shortlisted.

I wish you every success with your application and thank you for your interest in the Roma Support Group.

Sylvia Ingmire

(CEO)

Job Description

Title: Roma Aspiration Project Worker

Location: L.B. Newham, London

Responsible To: Roma Support Group’s CEO

Purpose of Job: You will be supporting young Roma refugees and migrants

between the ages of 7 – 18 years. You will be required to deliver education advocacy and run after-school activities in East London which will enhance their confidence, wellbeing and raise their aspirations.

Job Reference: RoM 38

Hours: 21 hours per week

Salary: £16,543 per annum (NJC Scale 6) inc. LW

This post is funded by BBC Children in Need for 20 months.

Context of the Job

The Roma Support Group (RSG) is a registered Charity and a Company Limited by Guarantee. The organisation was established in 1998 in order to improve the quality of life of Roma refugees and migrants in London. At present the organisation delivers the following projects and services: a/ General advice for Roma families; b/ Roma Community Advocacy Project; c/ Aspiration Project for young Roma; d/ Early Years Project; e/ Roma Arts Development Project (e.g. ‘Bridging Sounds Roma Youth Orchestra’); f/ Karate classes; g/ Policy & Information Project; h/ Roma Support & Engagement Programme; i/ Promoting understanding of Roma culture through publishing and disseminating resources, organising conferences and seminars.

The need and demand for our work is reflected in our casework statistics. At present we provide assistance to over 860 Roma refugees and migrant families from Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Romania, Lithuania, Balkan countries, etc. Our centres are located around high concentrations of Roma people in the London Boroughs of Newham and Hammersmith & Fulham.

Roma refugees and migrants are amongst the most discriminated and socially excluded minorities in the UK. They have the lowest educational attainment and are one of the most vulnerable to poverty groups in Britain.

Job Outline

The Aspiration Project enables Roma children and young people, age 7 – 18 years to access and succeed in mainstream education, explore opportunities in further education and training, develop new skills, and increase their confidence and life aspirations.

The Roma Aspiration Project Worker will be responsible for delivering one-to-one advocacy in the field of education and develop our programme of afterschool activities for Roma children and youth.

S/he will consult children and young people, while involving them in the management and delivery of the Project’s actives and will network and co-operate with other local agencies (statutory and voluntary) in delivering activities.

Main Duties and Key Responsibilities

The Roma Aspiration Project Worker will be expected to work as a member of the RSG’s team under the overall supervision of the CEO. S/he will be expected to perform many of the duties outlined below independently and working on his/ her own initiative.

1.  Supporting Roma Children and Young People (“beneficiaries”):

·  Providing one-to-one education advocacy for beneficiaries, age 7 - 18 from East London boroughs, mainly: Newham, Waltham Forest and Redbridge;

·  Supporting beneficiaries with registration and transition to primary, secondary schools, colleges and vocational training;

·  Supporting beneficiaries by offering them motivational support and referring them to mainstream training providers so they can continue to develop their skills and fulfil their potentials;

·  Addressing truancy, challenging behaviour and school exclusion of beneficiaries, as well as supporting them by registering permanently excluded children in alternative education;

·  Supporting those beneficiaries, who are subject to anti-Roma racism and bullying in schools and the neighbourhood;

·  Facilitating access of beneficiaries to welfare education provisions, such as free school meals, etc;

·  Referring beneficiaries to afterschool activities organised by the RSG and/ or other local community centres;

·  Outreaching and assessing the needs of beneficiaries, who have multiple needs (e.g. disability, mental health, SEN, NEET, involved in the justice system, drug misuse) in order to establish and mobilise a network of support including Education Welfare Officers, Child Protection Officers, Probation Officers, Social Services, health professionals, Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), drug/ alcohol related agencies;

·  Making internal and external referrals of particularly vulnerable beneficiaries to specialist services and establishing mechanisms to follow their progress;

·  Mediating and liaising with Roma parents in relation to the education of their children, i.e. helping them with school appeals; reading/ translating school reports; informing about other specialist support; etc;

·  Running and co-ordinating after-school activities of beneficiaries’ choice in East London (Newham) (e.g.: homework club, visual art sessions, dance/ music, drama), as well as organising seasonal group activities and educational outings;

·  Setting up regular meetings with beneficiaries via the Youth Forum to support them to develop, run and manage the Project and its individual activities;

·  Implementing a follow up strategy for all beneficiaries, who drop out from our activities, ensuring that they have the support which they require;

·  Being responsible for carrying out a Risk Assessment before every new activity and ensuring it is reviewed and agreed by the line manager;

·  Being responsible for carrying out Health and Safety checks of venues where the activities take place;

·  Ensuring that every beneficiary has a regularly updated emergency details form and that all this information is appropriately kept and accessible when needed.

2.  Recruiting and Training Volunteers:

·  Recruiting volunteers for the Project and encouraging volunteering amongst our former beneficiaries;

·  Ensuring that all volunteers have Disclosure and Barring Service checks before they start their work with children, (this responsibility will be shared with the line manager).

3.  Other Project – Related Duties:

·  Reviewing the Project’s work plan, targets and aims;

·  Being responsible for administrative aspects of the Project including finding venues for activities and liaising with Centre Managers;

·  Establishing and systematically implementing the monitoring/ evaluation of the Project, ensuring that all information regarding individual beneficiaries is kept confidential;

·  Writing reports to funders, Management Committee, Project Steering Group, our website and the Roma Support Group’s Annual Report when necessary;

·  Being responsible for establishing, running and administrating the Project Steering Group, which will meet four times per year and whose aim is to oversee the development of the Project;

·  Networking with other statutory and non-statutory organisations in order to: a) advocate for the beneficiaries; b) develop the Project; c) promote an understanding of Roma children and youth amongst external professionals;

·  Taking part in training and courses, which will be relevant to your work (e.g. Child Protection, First Aid, etc).

4.  General Responsibilities:

·  Being administratively self-sufficient in terms of writing your letters, leaflets, reports, etc;

·  Working some unsociable hours (after-school hours);

·  Traveling regularly to venues based in L. B. Newham and other parts of East London;

·  Attending the Roma Support Group’s staff meetings, supervisions, AGMs, Policy Days, etc;

·  Carrying out the responsibilities of the post with full regard to the Roma Support Group’s Equal Opportunities Policy, Outreach Policy, Confidentiality Policy, Health and Safety Policy, financial procedures and other procedural guidelines;

·  Assisting with all aspects of running the office whenever necessary;

·  Occasionally working outside of normal hours, especially if you organise or participate in an event. Extra hours worked will be compensated by time off in lieu (TOIL);

·  Other duties as required.

Additional Information

·  Because you will be working with vulnerable children and young people, you will undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check before you commence your work.

·  The RSG is a small voluntary organisation and everyone is expected to work together as a team, contributing to shared tasks as well as taking responsibility for their own area of work.

Terms and Conditions

1.  Salary: £16,543 per annum (NJC Scale 6) inc. LW

2.  Hours of Work:

·  21 hours per week excluding lunch breaks;

·  Hours of work will be fixed but with some flexibility and will exclude

lunch breaks;

·  You may have to work occasionally outside of normal hours due to the vagaries

of the job. Extra hours will be compensated by time off in lieu (TOIL). You must inform the line manager prior to undertaking any overtime for which you wish to be compensated by time off in lieu.

3. Location:

You will be based at the main office in Canning Town (L. B. Newham) but you will regularly attend and supervise the Project’s activities, which will be based in other venues in East London.

4. Annual Leave:

The allowance for the annual leave for a full time worker (working 35 hours per week) is 24 working days per year plus public holidays that fall upon the days that the worker would normally work. As you will work 21 hours per week, your annual holiday entitlement is 14.5 days per year.

5. Probation Period:

All appointments are subject to a six-month probationary period.

6. Notice Period:

The notice period required to be given by either side is not less than 4 weeks and it must be done in writing.

PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

Job Title: Roma Aspiration Project Worker

Experience & Knowledge / Essential / Desirable / Assessed by:
Application/ Interview
At least 2 years of experience of supporting and advocating vulnerable children and young people with complex and sensitive issues / √ / Application & Interview
Knowledge of the British education system and latest legislation related to education / √ / Application & Interview
Knowledge and empathy with issues affecting Roma refugee and migrant children and young people / √ / Application & Interview
Knowledge of legislation related to refugee and migrant children and young people / √ / Application & Interview
Knowledge, awareness and
understanding of Roma culture / √ / Application & Interview
Experience of working closely with other agencies and developing appropriate support services / √ / Application & Interview
Experience of monitoring, collecting and analysing data and project evaluation / √ / Application & Interview
Experience in volunteers’ supervision / √ / Application & Interview
Skills & Abilities
Ability to establish a trust
relationship with vulnerable children and young people / √ / Application & Interview
Ability to communicate complex information clearly to children, young people and their parents / √ / Application & Interview
Listening to others and working in a non-judgmental way / √ / Application & Interview
Ability to communicate cross culturally and in a variety of settings / √ / Application & Interview
Fluency in Romany, Polish or other East European languages / √ / Application & Interview
Demonstrate good verbal and written communication skills in English, relevant to writing reports and presenting information / √ / Application & Interview
Ability to cope with and resolve stressful situations and deal with conflicting demands and priorities / √ / Application & Interview
Ability to follow procedures; keep clear and concise case records and to be administratively self-serving / √ / Application & Interview
Ability to support and motivate volunteers / √ / Application & Interview
Ability to design and produce publicity materials / √ / Application & Interview
Qualifications
To be educated to degree level or equivalent and demonstrate considerable experience and ability in the skills listed above / √ / Application & Interview
Knowledge of common IT packages and proficiency in their use / √ / Application & Interview
Teaching qualifications in any of the following: Art, Music, Drama, Media and other relevant training, i.e., Conflict Resolution, Drug Misuse, Anger Management, Child Protection, First Aid. / √ / Application & Interview
Other
Willingness to work flexibly, which may require evenings or weekends for which time off in lieu will be given / √ / Application & Interview
Willingness to attend meetings and training as required / √ / Application & Interview
Commitment to and understanding of Equal Opportunities and confidentiality in all aspects of work / √ / Application & Interview
Being a good team worker, demonstrating loyalty and commitment to the organisation and team members / √ / Application & Interview
Clean Driving License / √ / Application & Interview
Relevant Personal Characteristics
Motivation, drive and imagination
/ √ / Application & Interview
Flexible approach and ability to work creatively in more or less structured situations / √ / Application & Interview
Using tact and professionalism in dealing with people / √ / Application & Interview
A sense of humour! / √ / Application & Interview

APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT

Please use font 12 to answer all questions and return the form by emailing it to:

or posting to:

The Recruitment Panel, Roma Support Group, P.O. Box 23610, London, E7 0XB

Post Applied For (Ref No): RoM 38

How did you find out about the post? ……………………………………….

______

1. PERSONAL DETAILS

Surname:

First Name(s):

Address:

Post Code:

Email:

Tel. No (Home):

Mobile:

2. REFERENCES

Please give the details of two referees, (not relatives), the first of which should be your present or most recent employer. Please note that referees may be approached prior to interview, so please indicate if this is a problem.