Independent Professional Advocate

Overview

Job Role: Independent Professional Advocate

Salary: £27,956 per annum

Hours: 24 hours per week (£18,133 pro rata)

Town/City: Bridgend

Contract Type: Part time, fixed term

Closing Date: 31.10.2025

We're looking for a dedicated Independent Professional Advocate to support adults with learning disabilities, helping them understand their rights, express their wishes, and make informed decisions.

In this role, you'll work with people who may be vulnerable, marginalised, or facing difficult decisions - supporting them to speak up, be heard, and stay in control of their own lives.

You'll need to be empathetic, a great listener, and a confident communicator.

People First Bridgend's Background

People First Bridgend is a small, charitable incorporated organisation founded in 2016.

We are part of the world-wide People First self-advocacy movement. People First aims to give people with learning disabilities greater voice and control so that they may lead a rich, full life.

What we do

We advocate for people with learning disabilities and autism. Our activities include:

• Self-advocacy and Peer-support Groups
• Independent Professional Advocacy
• Awareness Training

We work with other People First groups in the region, and we are a member of All Wales People First, which gives local groups a voice with Welsh Government.

We have strong links with our local authority and play a key role in ensuring people with learning disabilities have a voice in their plans.

About the Independent Professional Advocate post

This role will provide professional, one-to-one advocacy to adults with learning disabilities experiencing barriers to communication and understanding. This will include statutory advocacy issues relating to the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) 2014 Act.

Responsibilities

• To support and enable beneficiaries who have difficulty representing their own interests, exercising their rights, or expressing their views, to explore and make informed choices.
• To utilise non-instructed advocacy approaches with beneficiaries whose communication skills and/or mental capacity affects their ability to make choices and express concerns.
• To support people to overcome barriers to participating fully and equally in assessment, care and support planning and reviews, and safeguarding processes where there is no appropriate support available.
• To advocate without conflict of interest or personal agenda, ensuring that beneficiaries' views are accurately conveyed, irrespective of the opinions of the advocate or others.
• To produce and maintain case records to Advocacy QPM documentation standards.
• To liaise with the Operations Manager and Advocacy Coordinator and other advocates to coordinate work, prioritise referrals and produce service monitoring reports that inform service need and capacity.

How to apply

If you are interested, please visit our website to download a job pack:

Please return completed applications, or any queries you have about the role to

The application closing date is midnight on 31st October 2025

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