SOUTH LONDON CARES

OUTREACH
OFFICER
6 MONTH FREELANCE CONTRACT, FULL TIME POST
(40 HOURS PER WEEK)
LOCATION: BRIXTON
SALARY: £24,000 (PLUS TRAVEL)

To apply please send a CV and covering letter telling us why you’re right for this
role to Matt Scaysbrook at matt.scaysbrook@southlondoncares.org.uk.

Applications should be received no later than 9am on Wednesday 21st August

2019.

First round interviews will take place over the phone on Wednesday 28th and
Thursday 29th August 2019.
Second round interviews will take place in person on Thursday 4th September
2019.

Please read the full job description below for further information.
THE CHARITY
South London Cares is a community network of young professionals and older neighbours
hanging out and helping one another in our rapidly changing city.

Our objectives are to tackle the growing plight of isolation and loneliness not just amongst
older people but amongst younger Londoners too; to help improve the connection, confidence,
belonging, purpose and power of all participants so that older and younger neighbours alike
can better navigate our rapidly changing world; and to bring people together to bridge social,
generational, digital, cultural and attitudinal divides.

We do this because while our capital is one of the most amazing cities on earth – full of
culture, business and people from all over the world – it can sometimes also feel anonymous,
lonely and isolating. Globalisation, gentrification, digitisation, transience and rapid community
change have made our city a place of extremes – one in which some of the best connected
people live directly alongside some of the most isolated, with particular challenges to do with
loneliness and disconnection.

The result is that many older people (over 65) have deep roots in their communities – from
Brixton to Bermondsey, Camberwell to Clapham – but few connections, while many young
professionals (aged 21-35) can have hundreds of connections across the world but fewer roots
in their communities. This disconnect wastes human potential, perpetuates social division,
entrenches isolation and is ultimately corrosive for our society. In an ever-changing city like
OUR PROGRAMMES
ours, these two groups, living side-by-side but seldom interacting, have so much to gain from
one another in shared time, laughter, new experiences and friendship.

South London Cares seeks to mobilise a new generation of young people in their 20s and 30s
to build relationships and share experiences with older neighbours in a variety of authentic
ways. We speak the language of younger and older people alike – and make interaction on a
personal level mutually accessible, sociable, enjoyable and fun.

As part of the wider ‘Cares Family’ of local branches that includes North London Cares,
Manchester Cares and Liverpool Cares – with additional arms to follow – South London Cares
is built on a strong national model, infrastructure, experience and funding.

But South London Cares is also uniquely ‘south London’. Our programmes centre on the
inspiring past, present and future of our great neighbourhoods – and the history, diversity and
people that make this place so special. So from Peckham to West Norwood, the network helps
older and younger people to feel part of their changing world, rather than left behind by it.
OUR PROGRAMMES
South London Cares runs four core programmes. Our Social Clubs are group activities that
bring younger and older people together in cafes, pubs, parks, community centres and big
businesses to share time, laughter and new experiences. Regular clubs include dance
parties, film nights, choirs, new tech workshops, ‘back to work’ business visits and themed
get-togethers. Activities take place up to seven times a week.

Meanwhile, our Love Your Neighbour programme matches young professionals and older
people to build friendships one-to-one, often in people's homes and community locations, to
improve the life experiences of all parties and to help bring a little of the outside world in for
those who can struggle to get out. Neighbours build relationships on their own terms, enjoy
meals together, and often become long-standing friends.

Our proactive Outreach identifies isolation where it occurs. We place ourselves in GP

surgeries, pharmacies, supermarkets, post offices and betting shops and strike up
conversations with the older people we meet to tell them about out how to get involved. This
work intensifies with our Winter Wellbeing initiative, through which we help neighbours to
stay warm, active and connected through the most isolating time of the year.

Community Fundraising is our fourth key programme. It offers another exciting way for
younger and older people to share time and camaraderie and to contribute to the network
that they value so much. From individual challenges including marathons, long walks and
obstacle courses, to creating engaging digital campaigns, to inviting regular donations and
building corporate and other partnerships, local people support South London Cares in a
variety of ways.

“If it wasn’t for South London Cares I

wouldn’t be connected to so many people,
activities and organisations - it's made me
very happy.”
Rita (82)
 THE ROLE
You will work closely with our Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator and with the wider team, to
develop and deepen our Winter Wellbeing project in Southwark and Lambeth. Your people and
organisational skills will be crucial in reaching, connecting and supporting hundreds of older
people across our boroughs. Working primarily on our Winter Wellbeing project, your role will be
vital in ensuring people over 65 are neither left alone nor left behind during the coldest and most
isolating months. It's a challenging role but one which, over your six-months with us, will help you to
hone your project management and outreach skills. And you will make a big impact and contribution
to South London Cares, and to our older neighbours in Lambeth and Southwark.

You will be introducing yourself to older neighbours in various circumstances – from the most
active, outgoing fun-loving 90-somethings to people with huge and complex challenges, navigating
complicated situations. You will need to diligently and warmly articulate South London Cares’
vision and the aims and objectives of our Winter Wellbeing Project so that all participants –
including older neighbours, health agencies, councils and other partners – understand the role we
play.And you will need to support those neighbours to get the support they need whether
that's through referring them to our programmes or referring them to other services and
partner organisations in the boroughs we work in.

This is a special post in a special charity. We are a young and rapidly developing organisation
with the benefits of the security, support and platform provided by major backers including Nesta and
the Big Lottery, international corporations and our partner councils.

When you join our team, you will work predominantly from our private office in a vibrant, shared
office complex in the heart of Brixton. But you will also regularly be out in the community, meeting
older neighbours joining the network for the first time, door knocking, attending community events,
delivering warm items, liasing with social services and other community partner organisations.

We therefore need someone who understands and is motivated by the demographics and social
challenges of our home boroughs and the issues we work on – and in particular who is passionate
about people and can clearly promote our vision for building friendships across traditional
divides in order to tackle isolation and loneliness in Southwark and Lambeth.

We are looking for someone who can talk to and relate to people from all backgrounds: someone
equally comfortable discussing illness and isolation with a 95-year-old housebound older neighbour
to speaking about work to an employee from social services.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Working directly with our Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator, and also with our other
Programme Coordinators, Head of Programmes, Development team, Director of Programmes
and Chief Executive, you will: 


Reach out to older people using pro-active outreach methods such as door-knocking,
attending community events, or chatting to people in supermarkets and GP surgeries,
acting in accordance with the South London Cares' Winter Wellbeing plan;
Regularly communicate with older people identified through Winter Wellbeing as needing
specific support – in person, on the phone, through letters and via email;
Receive and field calls to the Winter Wellbeing phone line during working hours;
Source, order and organise the delivery of appropriate warm items for distribution to older
neighbours in need;
Liaise with social services and local partner organisations to create the best referrals;
Liaise with South London Cares' Love Your Neighbour and Social Clubs Coordinators to
direct people into our year-round programmes appropriately;
Process interventions, including referrals to other organisations and services, and keep
records up to date.

ADDITIONAL AD HOC RESPONSIBILITIES

Contacting potential partners to set up Outreach events, visits and talks;

Helping to organise and manage Winter Wellbeing volunteer sessions;
Helping to organise and manage South London Cares' Winter Wellbeing events;
Attending events to promote the Winter Wellbeing project on an ad hoc basis;
Helping to design effective and inclusive outreach posters and flyers along with our team;
Administrative and communications support across our core programmes;
Supporting the delivery team ad hoc to run social clubs or visit older neighbours on our
Love Your Neighbour programme.
 REQUIRED QUALITIES & SKILLS
You are warm, approachable, empathetic and resilient;
You are a confident and effective communicator, able to build trust and relationships with
people from all backgrounds;
You have high quality written and administrative skills, and are meticulous and efficient in
organisation and record-keeping;
You are professionally agile and able to adapt to the needs of a fast-moving project;
You are able to obtain a clear DBS certification (provided).

If that sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you.

ROLE FEATURES

26 days' annual leave plus bank holidays

Staff counselling service
Travel covered

We seek to live our values in everything we do. We are actively seeking

candidates from diverse backgrounds who represent the communities we
work in.