Dementia Adviser / Education team vacancy
About the role
Dementia Advisers (DAs) support people with a diagnosis of dementia, their carers and families. As a DA you’ll take a holistic approach to support, encouraging person-centred care and providing timely and accurate information and advice. DAs signpost and refer to the right support at the right time across a wide range of services. By enabling clients to access support that they and their family need you will play a vital role in enabling them to live as well as possible for as long as possible in their own homes and remain active in the community.
DAs are primarily home-based; you’ll be taking referrals within a geographical area and from GP surgeries. As a self-motivated initiative taker, you’ll need to be largely self-managing, happy to work alone. In particular, you need to be comfortable working with clients and carers face-to-face via video conferencing, telephone and also visiting clients in their own homes. You will have the freedom to manage your own caseload, working within the service framework and under the guidance of a Locality Manager and the Head of Service.
Dementia Education Team Some DAs have time allocated to support a ‘workstream’ to drive service development and to enhance our wider support offer.
Four DAs support the Dementia Education ‘workstream’. Over the last two years they have developed ‘Experts by Experience’ groups made up of service users that have helped us develop and deliver educational sessions for people with a diagnosis, and their families. These have been piloted and refined and we now deliver regular sessions throughout Oxfordshire and we are keen to increase the number of sessions we can deliver.
If you are interested in helping people understand more about dementia and have good facilitation and presentation skills there is an opportunity to join the Dementia Education Team, spending up to 50% of your time supporting the delivery of our education sessions.
This is an opportunity to become a part of an innovative and dedicated team who support people on their dementia journey from the point of diagnosis until end of life or a move to a care home.
Location
We are recruiting throughout the county however we are particularly interested in strengthening our team in the following areas:
- North Oxfordshire – particularly in the Chipping Norton and Bicester areas
- South East Oxfordshire – particularly in the Wantage area
Hours Remuneration and Benefits
- Salary £13.11 ph (£23,806 pa pro rata), increasing to £13.64ph (£24,825pa pro rata) on completion of probation period
- 21-28 hours per week. We have 2 part time vacancies, hours to be mutually agreed
- 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays, increasing to 6 weeks after 5 years’ service
- Flexible working arrangements
- Charity sick pay, increasing with length of service
- Pension scheme
- Health cash plan for staff member and up to 4 residing dependants under 24
- 24 hour Employee Assistance Program
- Free car parking at Head office
- Cycle to work scheme
I think the most important part of our role is to give information, advice and support in a person-centred way. And by that I mean it’s about valuing people living with dementia and their family carers. It’s about treating them as individuals. It’s about seeing things from their perspective and it’s about promoting a positive social environment.
Rose – Dementia Adviser for South Oxfordshire
Listen to 'a day in the life' of a Dementia Adviser
About you
Ideally we are looking for someone with experience and lots of skills. However, for the right person we can offer a training and development programme, with mentoring support from an experienced DA, a structured induction, and a pathway to a level three qualification (as per the Regulated Qualifications Framework).
We are looking for someone able to see beyond the diagnosis, to show empathy and enable clients to navigate the pathways of dementia care and help them to live well with dementia.
We need someone who is comfortable working with older people and with experience of supporting people in a caring or cared for role, preferably caring for people living with dementia.
We are looking for someone with the ability to listen and understand a client’s needs, good problem-solving skills, and a positive attitude to learning.
You will need to be highly organised, able to communicate with a wide variety of people and able to show empathy and provide support to those facing challenging circumstances.
DAs are asked to take on additional responsibilities to support service development, and we are also interested in hearing from candidates who have complimentary skills or experience in providing education and awareness sessions, fund raising, and in supporting social media and websites.
About us
Dementia Oxfordshire is a service provided by Age UK Oxfordshire and is jointly funded by the County Council and NHS. We have three locality teams and a specialist Young Onset Dementia team. Including our back office support staff, we have a total of 30 team members. Our caseload increases year on year and we have recently received some additional funding that is allowing us to expand our team.
You will be joining a committed and tight-knit team who are proud of the service they provide, and always looking for ways to improve it. We work hard to collaborate with other parts of the dementia support system in Oxfordshire and have strong links with GP practices and the memory clinics.
What we stand for: Enabling older people across the county to love later life
Age UK Oxfordshire is an independent local charity. We have over 160 dedicated staff and over 235 volunteers helping us to deliver services and activities for older people in Oxfordshire.
Our mission:
We work within communities to support older people to stay independent and live life to the full
Our vision:
We are working for a world where those we serve are loving life
Our values:
- Caring
- Listening and amplifying people’s voices
- Enabling and empowering by working alongside people to identify solutions
- Passionate for better
- Collaborative
We encourage applications from all candidates to support a more diverse workforce. We are committed to challenging all forms of discrimination and celebrating and promoting diversity throughout our work.
See why our Dementia Advisers feel so passionate about their work
Interview details
Interviews will follow a two stage process, a short intial interview for us to learn more about you and you to learn more about us, followed by a formal interview with the Head of Service and two Locality Managers.
All interviews will be held virtually using Microsoft Teams, if you are unsure about using teams please ask our HR team to help you
At the initial interview you will be asked to complete two short tasks and two members of the team will discuss the role with you
The final interview will follow a traditional interview approach where you will answer a series of questions from a 3 person panel. If you cannot be available on the interview dates please contact us before the closing date to discuss options.
How to apply
Dementia Oxfordshire is a service delivered by Age UK Oxfordshire and they coordinate the application process.
To apply click on the button below.
If you have any questions please email sarahlawrence@ageukoxfordshire.org.uk
Informal Discussions: The Head of Service for Dementia Oxfordshire or a Dementia Adviser would be happy to chat with you about the role
Peter Johnson (Dementia Oxfordshire – Head of Service): peterjohnson@ageukoxfordshire.org.uk
Jane Probets (Dementia Oxfordshire – Locality Manager/Dementia Adviser) janeprobets@dementiaoxfordshire.org.uk
We have scheduled interviews in the New Year as detailed below.
Closing date: 9am Monday 10th March 2025
Initial Interview: Wednesday 19th March 2025
Final Interview: Monday 24th March 2025
