Recruitment Information Pack Right from the Start: early years support for children with autism and their parents Programme Manager Information Officer
Introduction from the Director of Eternal Affairs Thank you so much for taking the time to consider these eciting opportunities to deliver the Right from the Start programme at Ambitious about Autism. The Programme The Right from the Start programme is a new fully funded project to eamine early years support for children with autism and their parents. This national programme will: Build strategic partnerships with leading bodies in the field of autism, health and early education Commission a major piece of research to eamine the needs of parents, carers and early years professionals, taking into account stress points, barriers and potential interventions to understand what works Produce a highly accessible information pack for parents, to walk them through the process from the point at which they feel they need to seek advice about diagnosis Ensure that our research findings and information pack attract the attention of highlevel practitioners and leaders in a position to influence change Eamine eisting government guidelines on autism diagnosis and early years support, leveraging our lobbying power where required to secure commitment to policy improvements Who are we looking for? Are you a great communicator, passionate about helping people? Keen to provide information to parents and carers to help them navigate comple health and education systems? Programme Manager Do you have significant knowledge of early years or health, ideally based on eperience of working in those sectors? Proven project management eperience? Eperience of developing and maintaining strong, positive strategic partnerships and networks? Information Officer Do you have significant eperience of translating research findings into accessible information for the public? Are you adept at sourcing, analysing and evaluating evidence from multiple sources? If you answered yes to the above, and work well in a multi-disciplinary team, then you are likely to have the skills we need and we d love to hear from you. We encourage applications from those who have a diagnosis of autism, and/or other disability and the recruitment process will be adjusted on an individual basis. We are happy to offer these roles on a secondment basis. 2
We are a growing organisation that is located in Muswell Hill on the same site as TreeHouse School. You can take a virtual tour of the building here: http://treehouseschool.org.uk/aboutus/admissions I do hope you ll consider applying to join us as we drive this work forward. If you would like an informal discussion about either role, please do not hesitate to contact me: aworsley@ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk Thanks and best wishes, Alison Worsley Director of Eternal Affairs 3
JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title Programme Manager Team Eternal Affairs (Right from the Start: early years support for children with autism and their parents) Job Band 5 Reporting to Director of Eternal Affairs Hours 35 hours per week worked Monday to Friday Line Manages Information Officer (Right from the Start: early years support for children with autism and their parents) Approved By (ELT MEMBER): Director of Eternal Affairs Date: Sept 2018 Role Purpose: The Programme Manager will be responsible for leading the Right from the Start programme, a fully funded project to eamine early years support for children with autism and their parents. This national programme will: Build strategic partnerships with leading bodies in the field of autism, health and early education Commission a major piece of research to eamine the needs of parents, carers and early years professionals, taking into account stress points, barriers and potential interventions to understand what works Produce a highly accessible information pack for parents, to walk them through the process from the point at which they feel they need to seek advice about diagnosis Ensure that our research findings and information pack attract the attention of highlevel practitioners and leaders in a position to influence change Eamine eisting government guidelines on autism diagnosis and early years support, leveraging our lobbying power where required to secure commitment to policy improvements Key Accountabilities & Dimensions: Develop and lead the Right from the Start project, being accountable for delivery of key outputs and outcomes within agreed timescales and budget. 4
Deliver management reports including impact and outcomes of project related activity to the funder, and to senior staff. Manage the programme budget, income and ependiture in line with contractual, budgetary and financial processing requirements Map, develop and maintain high-level strategic partnerships and networks with individuals and organisations in the fields of autism, health and early education to further the programme outcomes. Manage the Programme s Strategic Reference Group to engage the group in the research findings, design and development of the information pack and dissemination. Manage the relationship and delivery of the contract for the research element of the programme ensuring quality and delivery to agreed timescales. Develop and produce a highly accessible information pack for parents, to walk them through the process from the point at which they feel they need to seek advice about diagnosis through to starting school. Develop and deliver a marketing and communications plan for the information pack and research findings. Manage and deliver engagement activities including events, as per the marketing and communications plan. Develop and deliver an influencing plan for the information pack and research findings, based on the eternal policy environment, to effect policy and practice change. Work collaboratively to utilise epertise of colleagues across the Eternal Affairs Directorate, and other internal stakeholders to meet project outcomes, for eample around marketing, communications and influencing. Manage an Information Officer to support the Right from the Start Programme. Lead the development of costed options for future phases and development of the Right from the Start programme. Undertake other duties, commensurate with the post, as directed by the Director of Eternal Affairs. Management Responsibility Ensure the proper application of Ambitious about Autism s key personnel policies ensuring that relevant reviews take place at individual, team and service level. Strive to improve practice continuously through promoting and monitoring the continuous professional development of your team, empowering and motivating high performers Manage any employee issues within your team with guidance from the people team Maintain and monitor relevant budgets 5
PERSON SPECIFICATION Role and Band Competencies Essential Education Levels & Qualifications Educated to degree level or with equivalent written and analytical skills Specific Knowledge, Eperience & Technical Skills Proven evidence of planning, delivery and evaluation of comple programmes or projects involving a wide range of stakeholders and multiple deadlines. Proven evidence of developing and maintaining positive strategic relationships and partnerships Epert knowledge, eperience and understanding of the early education sector, and/or health sector. Knowledge and understanding of issues relating to disabled children and their families, including a willingness to understand autism. Eperience of researching, analysing and presenting comple information to a wide range of audiences, including parents and carers and funders. Ecellent oral and written communication skills Eperience of effective first line management or supervision including performance management. Up to date knowledge and understanding of safeguarding, health and safety, data protection and equality legislation. Practical IT skills including use of social media, knowledge of Microsoft Office and other platforms Personal Attributes We encourage applications from candidates with a disability, including those on the Autistic Spectrum Ambitious about Autism is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and epects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Good appreciation of health and safety in the workplace, data protection principles and equal opportunities. Commitment to own and team members personal development Work fleibly with ability to travel to meetings and events in London (and within England with notice) and manage own time to best effect. 6
JOB DESCRIPTION Job Title Information Officer (Right Team Eternal Affairs from the Start: early years support for children with autism and their parents) Job Band 4 Reporting to Programme Manager (Right from the Start) Hours 35 hours per week worked Monday to Friday Line Manages N/A Approved By (ELT MEMBER): Director of Eternal Affairs Date: Sept 2018 Role Purpose: The Information Officer will work on the Right from the Start programme, a fully funded project to eamine early years support for children with autism and their parents. This national programme will: Build strategic partnerships with leading bodies in the field of autism, health and early education Commission a major piece of research to eamine the needs of parents, carers and early years professionals, taking into account stress points, barriers and potential interventions to understand what works Produce a highly accessible information pack for parents, to walk them through the process from the point at which they feel they need to seek advice about diagnosis Ensure that our research findings and information pack attract the attention of highlevel practitioners and leaders in a position to influence change Eamine eisting government guidelines on autism diagnosis and early years support, leveraging our lobbying power where required to secure commitment to policy improvements The Information Officer will produce a sign-posting tool for parents and carers providing a pathway from initial concerns, through diagnosis, assessments, choosing the right education for their child and preparing them for school (or other setting). This information will need to be accessible and presented in a variety of ways from a hard copy pack to webpages and infographics. Key Accountabilities & Dimensions: Produce a highly accessible digital and print sign-posting tool for parents and carers, providing a pathway from autism diagnosis in the early years to preparing for school. Develop the sign-posting tool in collaboration with beneficiaries and individuals and organisations working in early education, health and autism. 7
Run focus groups and other methods of testing and evaluating the pack to further iterate the content and presentation of information. Lead on selecting, managing and sourcing information resources, both hard copy and electronic, to meet the aims of the project Classify, collate and store information, for easy access and retrieval in line with good information management principles and data protection requirements. Run effective enquiry and current awareness or 'alerting' services and develop communications strategies for sharing these internally and eternally. Write and edit reports, publications and website content maintaining a high level of accuracy, attention to detail and suitability for the intended audience Deliver information through oral presentations at events as appropriate. Effectively work as a team with colleagues across the Eternal Affairs Directorate, drawing on their epertise to develop the format of the toolkit and a content and dissemination strategy. Undertake other duties, commensurate with the post, as directed by the Director of Eternal Affairs. 8
PERSON SPECIFICATION Role and Band Competencies Education Levels & Qualifications Educated to degree level or with equivalent written and analytical skills Specific Knowledge, Eperience & Technical Skills Significant eperience of translating research and comple information in simple and accessible way for members of the public Demonstrable ability to identify appropriate sources and evaluate evidence to provide up-to-date, accurate, evidence-based information Ability to pull together information quickly from a variety of sources Knowledge and understanding of research/practice in the early education sector, and/or health sector. Knowledge and understanding of issues relating to disabled children and their families, and a willingness to understand autism. Ecellent oral, presentation and written communication skills Ecellent attention to detail and accuracy Ecellent organisation and time management skills Highly effective team player, with an ability to work in a wider multidisciplinary team Ability to engage with a wide range of people including directly with members of the public. Practical IT skills including use of social media, knowledge of Microsoft Office and other platforms Personal Attributes We encourage applications from candidates with a disability, including those on the Autistic Spectrum Ambitious about Autism is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and epects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Good appreciation of health and safety in the workplace, data protection principles and equal opportunities. Commitment to own personal development Essential 9
Work fleibly with ability to travel to meetings and events in London (and within England with notice) and manage own time to best effect. 10