Advice & Advocacy Officer

**Role title: Advice & Advocacy Officer**
**Reporting to**: Project Manager
**Weekly Hours**:21hrs - 3days **(onsite and home visits)**
**Annual Salary**:£24,000 - £26,000 Pro-rata, 5% Pension

**Benefits**: 5% Pension, Parking, Personal Development & more.
**Contract Type**:1 year with possible extension

**Background**:
Everything we do is laser focused on transforming lives, from dependence to independence. We do this through our 3 strands: Purpose, People & Performance.
We are all about personal development and keen to recruit the right people to join our team, someone with a passion to transform lives, growing themselves and others from good to great.

We’ve defined our culture and looking to embed our model, heart of a Charity, mindset of a Business. Furthermore, to drive in our 5 steps approach, clearly demonstrating our members journey from dependence to independence.

**Purpose of the Role**:
The Advice and Advocacy Officer’s main role is providing confidential and impartial generalist advice as well as emotional support - bringing hope that there is life after sight loss. There are many tools to support this role, as well as effective liaison and partnership working across a wide range of stakeholders, including but not limited to, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Social Care, Eye Clinic Liaison Officers (ECLO), Croydon Sensory Impairment Team, TFL, education and the voluntary and private sectors.

**Objectives of the role**:

- To review and act on referrals from the Member Laison Officer (MLO) and external partners swiftly, and where possible, refer and signpost to relevant organisations and providing the best next steps.
- To host one to one sessions weekly as well as bring in individuals with knowledge and expertise, providing workshops and sessions that improves members lives.
- To advocate for members and/or their families as required to optimise empowerment and growth both at Croydon Vision and in the community.
- To work with staff and members to ensure CV develops a robust health and safety system and processes, providing a safe, legal and efficient operation for members.

**Specific Duties & Responsibilities**:
**Community and Outreach**
- In line with our Outreach Services, to visit members in their homes where attendance at Croydon Vision is not possible with the view of optimising their independence and autonomy inside and outside their homes.
- To meet regularly with CV members who participate in activities, offer information, advice, and support to those who need it, having one-to-one meetings as required.
- To encourage members’ curiosity and life-long learning, and to proactively plan
- To build and maintain a strong working relationship with Sensory Impairment Team(s), Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO), Opticians and GP Surgeries, and to ensure CV are seen as part of the network of support available to residents who are newly diagnosed with sight loss.
- To work with other voluntary organisations, to offer information, advice, advocacy and signposting to residents, family or friends of people who have sight loss, ensuring that all contact of Advice & Advocacy (A&A) given is recorded.
- To promote and bring awareness of sight loss to local organisations through meetings, workshops, and working together with colleagues.
- To fully participate in Croydon Vision’s (CV’s) goal of increasing membership and meeting needs by joining community events to further promote the service and CV as a whole.
- To be an advocate for members actively pursuit of the right levels of service based on current legislation and also pursuing appeals/complaint procedures always with a constructive mind-set.

**Education & Empowerment**
- To provide support and practical advice to residents or new members, guiding them on how to live with sight loss and, where possible, slow the deterioration of sight loss. This includes a holistic focus on health and well-being (including eye health and how to make the most of their sight).
- To help members to retain or regain their independence through access to ‘Living with Sight Loss’ courses and workshops and liaising with the Tech Trainer about specialist equipment. These sessions will include raising awareness on empowerment through supported advocacy as a path to ultimate self-advocacy.
- To provide content for the website on specific areas of interest, to support Visually Impaired (VI) members to remain independent. This will be part of a holistic goal to improve communication skills both verbally and in writing.

**Administration & General responsibilities**
- To manage and maintain an up-to-date record of A&A on Sales Force, making sure there is consistency in measuring and evaluating service impact through case studies, graphical analysis and identifying needs. To use initial assessments to measure impact through a carefully crafted journey.
- To provide articles for Croydon Vision’s Newsletter and website, when requested.
- To develop a general workin