Vacancy – Care Leavers Ambassador – Closing Date Sunday April 6th

Shared Lives Plus is the UK membership charity for more than 6,000 Shared Lives carers, 150 Shared Lives schemes and a growing network of local Homeshare organisations. Our vision is a kinder, stronger society built on sharing our lives and our homes. We help build communities where everyone lives a full life, regardless of the support they need. We do this by turning Shared Lives and Homeshare into thriving, mainstream options, with all the right structures in place to support and guide those who want to share their lives and homes.

We want to be an inclusive place where a diverse mix of talented people want to come and contribute their unique strengths and perspectives. We are focused on equality and believe that all the fascinating characteristics that make us different, make us more able to deliver our life-changing work with passion and creativity.

The care leavers programme is working with about 30 Shared Lives schemes across England, Wales and Scotland to support the growth and development of Shared Lives as an option for care experienced people as they become adults.

By bringing the voices and ideas of people with lived experience, the programme aims to influence national and local policy and open up Shared Lives for more young people.  Learning is shared through a community of practice and from this guidance and other resources are created to help others create change.

• Someone living in Shared Lives
• Who has left care in the last 5 years
• And who would be happy to share their experience of moving from care, into Shared Lives.

The Ambassador role for the Care Leavers programme can include the following duties:

Helping people understand:

• what Shared Lives means to you
• to tell your story
• to shape understanding of your lived experience of moving from care, into Shared Lives.

This could include:

• Taking part in meetings with people that work at Shared Lives Plus
• Working with us to help develop and deliver training for people that work in social care
• Taking part in online groups that discuss, plan and make decisions about the Care Leavers programme
• Speaking to people that work in Shared Lives schemes and councils to share your experience, with support from Shared Lives Plus
• Sharing your story in writing, with support from Shared Lives Plus

To do this job you must be a person who:

• Is happy to share details about their life experiences and their Shared Lives arrangement
• Is a good listener
• Likes meeting new people, and will join in and speak up for others
• Likes learning new skills
• Likes working as part of a team
• Is reliable
• Is friendly and open

You should also:

• Have an understanding of Shared Lives, and the values underpinning our work and the sector.
• Have an understanding of how Shared Lives arrangements work.
• Help people understand disabilities better, as some can be hidden.

Download and fill in the application form at the bottom of this page.

Send the completed form back so it gets to us by Sunday April 6th.

You can email the form to us at: recruitment@sharedlivesplus.org.uk

Or mail it to us at:

Shared Lives Plus Recruitment
Eleanor Rathbone House
Connect Business Village
24 Derby Road
Liverpool
L5 9PR

You can find out more about what it means to work at Shared Lives Plus via this link Working for Shared Lives Plus – Shared Lives Plus