Advocacy and Support Officer

As an Advocacy and Support Officer, you will provide one-to-one support to people facing immediate crises or longer-term challenges. You ll work closely with individuals often in their own homes or community settings to help them navigate complex systems and build more stable, independent lives.

In the main people we support are Irish or of Irish descent including the Traveller Community, particularly those who find it difficult to access mainstream services. However, our services are open to all.

You will be delivering advocacy and representative services in order for people to secure welfare benefits, better housing conditions, enabling people to access the financial benefits they are entitled to. This will include supporting people experiencing mental and physical health issues, substance misuse, facing legal issues, those who require debt management, threatened with eviction, domestic abuse, and bereavement.

Additionally, as part of this role, you will be working across the whole service in supporting our focus on early intervention and prevention.

As part of the wider ICCM team you will help to inform and actively support community-based advocacy, awareness, and public campaigns to increase knowledge and education of the community on how to access help, and the availability of support which is open to people as needs develop.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide individual advocacy and outreach support to vulnerable adults facing health, housing, legal, and social challenges
• Carry out initial assessments and develop care/support plans
• Deliver advice on benefits, housing, finances, and access to services
• Accompany clients to appointments and act as their representative with agencies
• Make appropriate referrals and work in partnership with statutory and voluntary organisations
• Maintain accurate records and input into the case management system
• Contribute to community outreach and education campaigns
• Attend training, team meetings, and supervision sessions
• Support and mentor volunteers and students involved in client work
• Represent ICCM at forums and network events to highlight the needs of the Irish and Traveller communities
• Fully embrace ICCM s values in all your work
• To promote the work of ICCM as requested by your line manager.
• To work as an accountable member of the staff team, working within the Charity's policies and procedures
• It is the nature of the work at ICCM that staff are expected to work in a flexible way, when the occasion arises, when tasks not specifically covered in their job have to be undertaken for the benefit of our beneficiaries.