Payment: £540 (equivalent to £22.50 per hour for 24 hours work to be completed within 3 months)
Location: Home-based
Contact: Rai Waddingham – chair@hearing-voices.org
* Distribution of hours to be flexible and agreed with HVN Chair, based around preferences of freelancer and needs of project. Whilst this is a short-term contract, there may be scope for extension by mutual agreement – subject to funding.
Expressions of interest (see below): send to chair@hearing-voices.org by: 5pm, 14th August 2020
Interviews: w/c 17 & 24 August (online, by mutual arrangement)
Background:
The English National Hearing Voices Network is a small national charity that aims to help create spaces for people of all ages and backgrounds to talk freely about voice-hearing, visions and similar sensory experiences. We do our best to help raise awareness of the range of these experiences, different ways of managing any distressing aspects and promoting more positive responses in healthcare settings and wider society.
Whilst we work on a shoe-string budget, funded mainly by membership fees, one of our most important roles is helping to connect people with their local Hearing Voices Groups and sharing information. However, during a global pandemic when most groups are unable to meet face to face and only a minority have been able to move online, we recognise the need to be more active in supporting groups to respond to the challenges ahead.
Thanks to the NSUN Covid-19 fund, we have some additional resources to help us support Hearing Voices Groups in England to respond to these unprecedented challenges. We’re creating resource packs (online and print), hosting online gatherings and are keen to connect more closely with groups that would like our support and help them get online and/or connect with their members in a different way.
The Role
We are seeking a motivated freelance development worker to help us connect with and support local Hearing Voices Groups in this challenging time.
We are seeking someone who can:
- Map current Hearing Voices Group provision within England – updating our existing records, as far as possible.
- Connect with group facilitators, identify needs and provide HVN with some recommendations of how these needs could be met.
- Provide specific elements of the support recommended – subject to skills, experience and time constraints in agreement with HVN Chair. This may include, for example, hosting a meeting for group facilitators or creating a tips sheet around facilitating online groups.
- Keep accurate records (including information about groups contacted, work completed, and issues identified).
- Work remotely (online and telephone)
Being realistic
This is a small time-limited project. Whilst there may be funds to extend its scope, it is important that the person undertaking this is able to negotiate realistic expectations with HVN Chair before, and during, the contract.
We do not expect the person to solely responsible for providing support and guidance to local groups – we have an experienced board of trustees and volunteers to draw upon. However, we do expect the freelancer to be able to identify which aspects of the support needs identified they can realistically undertake within their contract – and to negotiate this with the HVN chair.
We are a small charity with limited resources – so we would particularly value someone with a network-oriented approach … seeing possibilities for creating mutually supportive opportunities for facilitators and groups, building capacity rather than defaulting to ‘providing-for’.
Your responsibilities as a freelancer
As a freelancer you will be responsible for your own Tax, NI contributions, liaising with the DWP and/or any relevant insurance. You will be expected to have the equipment necessary to undertake the role – invoicing only those additional costs agreed in advance with HVN Chair (e.g. phone costs). If you have any queries about this, please let us know.
Key skills and competences
Knowledge:
- Excellent understanding of the principles and practices of HVN-style Hearing Voices Groups across different settings (E)
- Clear understanding of peer support and the role of facilitators within peer support groups (E)
- Awareness of some of the different challenges and opportunities facilitators may encounter when moving a physical peer support group to an online space (D)
Experience:
- Experience of participating in mutual support groups as a facilitator and/or member (E)
- Current or recent engagement in the Hearing Voices Movement, e.g. Intervoice, HVN or Hearing Voices Groups (D)
- Experience of facilitating HVN-style Hearing Voices Groups (D)
- Experience of hearing voices, seeing visions or related experiences (D)
- Experience of participating in online groups/seminars/meetings/events, ideally as a host/facilitator/chair (D)
- Experience of writing information or guidance for other people (D)
Skills & Abilities:
- Excellent interpersonal skills (E)
- Able to communicate with a range of people in different settings, through phone, email and online meetings (E)
- Project management skills, including ability to prioritise own workload (E)
- Flexibility and problem solving (E)
- Good computer literacy skills, relevant to the role (E)
- Able to keep accurate records (E)
- Able to work independently (E)
- Able to facilitate meetings, encouraging respectful spaces where different views can be heard (D)
Commitment to:
- Hearing Voices Network values
- Anti-discriminatory practice
- Confidentiality
Interested?
To express your interest in this role, please send your CV and personal statement to chair@hearing-voices.org by 5pm on Friday 14th August 2020.
We will use the information contained in your expression of interest to shortlist potential freelancers, so please take care to make sure your personal statement addresses your suitability for this piece of work.
We will contact those shortlisted on Monday 17 August to arrange an online interview with trustees at a mutually convenient time (w/c 17 or 24 August 2020).
