Role Description and Criteria

Needs Action Group

Welcome to Needs Action Group, we are proud to offer you an exciting and rewarding role, where you can help others to discover the support available to them.

Qualifications:

This role does not require specific qualifications, however we do require individuals to have past experience in finding available services for individuals with disabilities and specific needs, as well as having a personal life experience in accessing the said services.

Key responsibilities:

In this role, you will be responsible for the following:

· Paying attention to the circumstances of an individual and the type of service they are looking for,

· Finding and maintaining your knowledge about an individual’s specific disability (this may mean carrying out disability-specific research before proceeding to support an individual),

· Communicating effectively with the individuals and clarifying all necessary information before looking for services,

· Directing an individual to a specific service or organisation, ensuring that it is relevant to their problems and obstacles they currently have (those that have specifically been disclosed),

· Delivering your findings in a way that the individual can access and understand, ensuring that their communication needs are considered and met where possible. Evidence and reasoning must also be provided when recommending a specific service (this can include personal experiences, feedback from others, or Google and other ratings),

· Attend regular meetings with the founder and assistant leader.

Two-tier Recruitment

Our volunteer recruitment is on a two-tier basis. Tier One members will have all of the responsibilities stated above, their meeting attendance will be mandatory and they may also require to take on managerial responsibilities when necessary.

Tier Two members will not be required to attend all meetings, but will be welcome to do so if they wish or feel comfortable/confident enough. They may be asked about personal experiences of a service, which could be beneficial to our clients. However, case loads will be reduced for these members and an enhanced level of support from Needs Action Group will also be available to them.

Please note: our role is to find services and direct individuals; we do not make referrals or communicate with service providers on behalf of our clients.

It is the responsibility of each client to contact the services we recommend to them. However, if an organisation appears to be unsuitable for a client, it is our responsibility to find an alternative organisation and continue doing so for as long as the client requests it.

All Tier One members of Needs Action Group must be prepared to take on managerial responsibilities, as there may always be the need of keeping the group or specific actions under a strict control.

All opinions of other members must be professional and skill-based only, although safety of members will always be prioritised and abuse between members will not be tolerated.

We have full disability awareness and do not discriminate against individuals who lack a specific skill due to circumstances out of their control.

As this group is aimed to be run by individuals with disabilities and specific needs, we do not expect excellence in IT or other complex skills. However, all members will be required to create a Google account with our logo in their profile, as well as their name and group name in the email. An example may include “louis.needsactiongroup@gmail.com”. Your Google accounts will be used to communicate with service users and other members, as well as to participate in Google meetings that may be organized by the founder. We ask you to do this in order to refrain from sharing your personal details with service users and other members. However, we do not prohibit personal contact between members, as long as it does not affect the functionality of the group.

Mandatory Tier One member criteria:

In order to be successful in applying to be a Tier One member of Needs Action Group, you must be:

· Aged eighteen or over,

· Living in the UK for seven years or longer,

· Be aware of statutory and voluntary services and organisations relating to a specific disability,

· Have a clear understanding of disability and specific needs,

· Have the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out relevant research when looking for specific services for specific individuals,

· Must have a clear understanding of data protection and privacy and must be able to follow GDPR and other regulations in using personal data for contact and assistance purposes. This includes having full awareness of the fact that no personal data should be shared outside of Needs Action Group, as our service is entirely voluntary and confidential.

Tier Two member criteria

In order to be successful in applying to become a Tier Two member of Needs Action Group, you must be:

· Aged 18 or over,

· Living in the UK for one year or longer,

· Must have additional needs/disabilities or be looking after someone with additional needs/disabilities,

· Must have a clear reason for reduced responsibility and increased support levels (this may include but is not limited to suffering from daily seizures, dizzy or fainting spells, or high vulnerability to severe heart problems or breathing difficulties).

Needs Action Group

founder.needsactiongroup@gmail.com

01217512162

We are not in any way linked or associated with the services we recommend to you, all recommendations are made for signposting purposes and it is your responsibility to access the services we direct you to.

You must be 18 years old or over to access our support or to be a member of Needs Action Group.

Privacy, security and data protection

We do not ask our clients to share any sensitive information or personal data other than contact details for contact and assistance purposes. Our service is impartial and is not linked to an organisation or any legal entity. We therefore do not take legal responsibility for our clients, including any safeguarding or wellbeing concerns.