CAPS is looking for a new Collective Advocacy worker to focus on the views and wishes of people with mental health issues living in East Lothian or Midlothian as well as a wider role with our Lothian Voices project. The role is to ensure people’s voices are heard by decision-makers locally and nationally as you invite people to draw on their experiences to bring about change, such as improving mental health services.

This post is working with people with mental health issues, amplifying their voices about whatever topics are important to them. The Lothian Voices project runs the People’s Conference every year and contributes to the cross-party group on mental health. This new post will join the existing enthusiastic team of CAPS Collective Advocacy workers, who work across Lothian on eight different mental health related collective advocacy projects.

The role offers autonomy and flexibility. You should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with group members and colleagues. Good local knowledge of East Lothian and Midlothian will be advantageous. Some working from home is possible. This is a great opportunity to work with a dynamic independent advocacy organisation that’s making a real difference to people’s lives. Find out more about CAPS Independent Advocacy at: capsadvocacy.org

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post. This post will be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check.

Collective Advocacy Worker for two projects:

– Much More Than A Label

– Experiences of Psychosis

CAPS is looking for a new enthusiastic person to take on the role of Collective Advocacy worker to facilitate two established collective advocacy projects. These are Much More Than A Label, a group for people with experiences of personality disorder, and Experiences of Psychosis, for people with experiences of psychosis. The role is to ensure people’s voices are heard by decision-makers and assist people to draw on their experiences to bring about change, such as improving mental health services.

You will be led by people in the groups to take forward their identified actions, and make sure their views and wishes are expressed. You will also contribute to developing experience led sessions with group members as part of our Education as Advocacy programme.

The role offers autonomy and flexibility, working as part of our dynamic team of Collective Advocacy workers. You should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with group members and colleagues. Some working from home is possible and regularly attending meetings in and around Edinburgh will be necessary. This is a great opportunity to work with an advocacy organisation that’s making a real difference to people’s lives. Find out more about CAPS Independent Advocacy at: capsadvocacy.org

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post. This post will be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check.

Collective Advocacy Worker for two projects:

• Experience of Trauma
• People from Minority Ethnic backgrounds

CAPS is looking for a new Collective Advocacy worker to lead the work of these two established collective advocacy projects. The role is to ensure people’s voices in both these groups are heard by decision-makers locally. Each group has developed it’s own priorities by drawing on their experiences to bring about change and improve attitudes and services.

This new role will support and join the existing enthusiastic team of CAPS Collective Advocacy workers, who work across Lothian on eight different mental health related collective advocacy projects.

The role offers autonomy and flexibility. You should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with group members and colleagues. Some working from home is possible. This is a great opportunity to work with a dynamic independent advocacy organisation that’s making a real difference to people’s lives. Find out more about CAPS Independent Advocacy at: capsadvocacy.org

Familiarity with the experiences of these groups would be an advantage. There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post. This post will be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check.

CAPS is looking for a new Collective Advocacy worker to focus on the views and wishes of people with mental health issues living in Edinburgh. The role is to ensure people’s voices are heard by decision-makers locally and invite people to draw on their experiences to bring about change, such as improving mental health services.

This post will take the lead on Edinburgh wide mental health collective advocacy, working alongside a new Collective Advocacy for Peer workers and volunteers in Edinburgh. These two new roles will support each other and join the existing enthusiastic team of CAPS Collective Advocacy workers, who work across Lothian on eight different mental health related collective advocacy projects.

The role offers autonomy and flexibility. You should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with group members and colleagues. Good local knowledge of Edinburgh is preferred. Some working from home is possible. This is a great opportunity to work with a dynamic independent advocacy organisation that’s making a real difference to people’s lives. Find out more about CAPS Independent Advocacy at: capsadvocacy.org

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post. This post will be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check.

This is a great opportunity to join CAPS’ friendly, supportive Individual Advocacy team to provide individual advocacy to adults who are affected by drugs or alcohol in East Lothian and Midlothian. This service sits alongside our adult service of Individual Advocacy for people with mental health issues.

The focus of the work is the provision of independent advocacy – making sure that people’s views and wishes are heard. You will make sure people are informed about their options and their rights and assist people who use drugs or alcohol to redress power imbalances in their lives and in their interactions with services. Individual Advocacy is very rewarding work that makes a real difference. Full training will be provided.

This post will be subject to membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. There will be a 6 month probationary period attached to this post. A mix of home and office working is possible but face to face working will be required.

CAPS is delighted to be taking on a new project facilitating Collective Advocacy for veterans across Scotland. We require a proactive collective advocacy worker to gather the voices and views of veterans to help shape the work of the Scottish Veterans Wellbeing Alliance, through a Veterans’ Advisory Group.

Your role is to ensure veteran’s voices are heard by the Alliance and encourage them to draw on their experiences and express their views and wishes, to influence and improve the services available to veterans across Scotland.

This role offers autonomy and flexibility, with sole responsibility for this exciting new project. You should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with veterans and understand their experiences. Good knowledge will be helpful of how serving in the Armed Forces affects people’s lives. Experience of working within different areas of Scotland is also an advantage. Some working from home is possible. Find out more about CAPS Independent Advocacy at: capsadvocacy.org

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post. This post may be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check.

CAPS is looking for a new Collective Advocacy worker to focus on the views and wishes of people with mental health issues living in East Lothian or Midlothian. Your role is to ensure people’s voices are heard by decision-makers locally and invite people to draw on their experiences to bring about change, such as improving mental health services.

As part of our enthusiastic team of Collective Advocacy workers you will also assist in preparing and delivering experience led training and/or awareness raising sessions Lothian wide, as part of CAPS’ Education as Advocacy programme.

The role offers autonomy and flexibility. You should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with group members and colleagues. Good local knowledge of East Lothian and Midlothian is preferred as you will be interacting with people within these communities. Some working from home is possible. This is a great opportunity to work with an expanding organisation that’s making a real difference to people’s lives. Find out more about CAPS Independent Advocacy at: capsadvocacy.org

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post. This post will be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check.

A unique opportunity has arisen to join CAPS Independent Advocacy in a key role which has responsibility for the important functions of Personnel, Health and Safety and IT along with some office administration and finance tasks.

You will be joining a friendly and dynamic team in a growing mental health charity. This role will work alongside the Finance and Administration Manager providing administrative support to all CAPS advocacy staff. You’ll have good attention to detail, be organised and approachable, working mostly unsupervised and using your initiative appropriately to carry out the many administrative aspects of running an efficient charity. You’ll need a good knowledge of data protection and of IT, so you can support the staff team in their digital operations.

This post will be subject to a basic disclosure check. There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post.

A unique opportunity has arisen to join CAPS Independent Advocacy in a key role which has responsibility for the important functions of Finance, Personnel and Administration of a growing mental health charity.

You will be joining a friendly and dynamic team providing administrative support to all CAPS staff e.g. payroll, pensions, contracts etc. You’ll have a passion for figures and detail and the ability to assume responsibility for the many administrative aspects of running an efficient charity. You’ll need a good knowledge of data protection and of IT, so you can support the staff team in their digital operations. This post will manage all financial aspects of the organisation, including management accounting, invoicing, payment of all expenditure and financial record keeping.

This post will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure check. There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post.

CAPS is looking for a new Collective Advocacy worker to facilitate the Oor Mad History collective advocacy project. Building on the successful launch of the recent book, “Oor Mad History: Ten Years On” this role will help the collective advocacy group members to identify their next challenge.

As well as helping the group create a community course around Madness as part of our Education as Advocacyprogramme and developing the 30+ year old archive of the Mental Health User Movement in Lothian, you will be led by people in the group to take forward other identified actions, and make sure their views and wishes are expressed.

You will work collaboratively with the team at Queen Margaret University who are delivering Mad People’s History and Identity and the Mad Studies MSc., connecting with students and encouraging activism as people draw on their experiences and learning to bring about change.

The role offers autonomy and flexibility, working as part of our enthusiastic team of Collective Advocacy workers. You should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with group members and colleagues. Some working from home is possible and regularly attending meetings in and around Edinburgh will be necessary. This is a great opportunity to work with an expanding organisation that’s making a real difference to people’s lives. Find out more about CAPS Independent Advocacy at: capsadvocacy.org

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post. This post will be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check.

CAPS has a substantial new role for a Collective Advocacy worker to facilitate two established collective advocacy projects, including groups for people with experiences of Eating Disorders and for people with experiences of Trauma. Our role is to ensure people’s voices are heard by decision-makers and assist people to draw on their experiences to bring about change, such as improving mental health services.

You will be led by people in the groups to take forward their identified actions, and make sure their views and wishes are expressed. You will also contribute to developing experience led sessions with volunteers as part of our Education as Advocacy programme.

The role offers autonomy and flexibility, working as part of our enthusiastic team of Collective Advocacy workers. You should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with group members and colleagues. Some working from home is possible and regularly attending meetings in and around Edinburgh will be necessary. This is a great opportunity to work with an expanding organisation that’s making a real difference to people’s lives. Find out more about CAPS Independent Advocacy at: capsadvocacy.org

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post. This post will be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check. The closing date for applications is Wednesday 17 August 2022 at 12 noon. Interview date to be confirmed.

If you have any questions about the application process please contact Catherine Street on catherine@capsadvocacy.org or 07971 951 502

This fixed term post is a great opportunity to join CAPS’ friendly, supportive Individual Advocacy team to provide individual advocacy to adults with mental health issues in East Lothian and Midlothian. CAPS also provides advocacy to people who use drugs or alcohol in these areas and this post will specialise in extending both these services to a lower age range of 16 and 17 year olds.

The focus of the work is the provision of independent advocacy – making sure that people’s views and wishes are heard. You will make sure people are informed about their options and their rights and assist people with mental health issues to redress power imbalances in their lives. Advocacy is very rewarding work that makes a real difference. Full training will be provided.

This post will be subject to membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. There will be a 4 month probationary period attached to this post. A mix of home and office working is possible but face to face working will be required.

This post is fixed term for 12 months initially, as it is partially funded covering for maternity leave, and may continue thereafter subject to funding constraints.

An exciting career opportunity is waiting for the right person as the Team Leader of CAPS’ growing Children and Young People’s Individual Advocacy team.

You will be joining a friendly and dynamic team as you provide day to day management and support for our growing group of Children’s Individual Advocacy workers. The team provides Individual Advocacy to children and young people experiencing the Children’s Hearings system and children and young people experiencing Eating Disorders. This is an interesting new role and a great opportunity to join an expanding organisation that’s making a real difference to people’s lives.

You will be involved in promoting and developing these two services as well as providing direct individual advocacy when additional cover is required. Excellent communication and organisational skills will be required as well as experience in leading a small team.

Our role is to assist the people we work with to have a stronger voice and ensure their views and wishes are taken into account in the decisions that affect them. You will need a good understanding of the issues that children and young people accessing CAPS’ services might face and a commitment to the Independent Advocacy Principles & Standards.

This post will be subject to membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme and appropriate check. There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post.

This post is an exciting opportunity to take the lead in a new project, specialising in the provision of independent advocacy for adults across Lothian who are experiencing an eating disorder. The post offers autonomy and flexibility including travel across Lothian with some home working if desired. This is an opportunity to use your skills to improve services for people with Eating Disorders.

You will be joining CAPS’ friendly and supportive Individual Advocacy team, who provide independent individual advocacy to adults in East Lothian or Midlothian who are experiencing a mental health issue or who are affected by their drug or alcohol use..

Our role is to assist people to have a stronger voice and ensure their views and wishes are taken into account in the decisions that affect them. You will need good communication skills and an understanding of the issues people with eating disorders face would be advantageous. Full training will be provided

You will provide independent individual advocacy to people in the community across Lothian as well as those being treated in the Regional Eating Disorders Unit in St John’s Hospital. The post will also involve promotion and development of this new area of CAPS’ work.

This post will be subject to membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme and the appropriate check.

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post which is initially funded until 31 March 2024. Extension of the post thereafter will be subject to continued funding from NHS Lothian.

An exciting career opportunity is waiting for the right person as the Team Leader of CAPS’ growing Individual Advocacy team.

You will be joining a friendly and dynamic team as you provide day to day management and support for our growing group of Individual Advocacy workers. This is an exciting new role and a great opportunity to join an expanding organisation that’s making a real difference to people’s lives.

You will line manage a number of the Individual Advocacy Workers as well as providing support and guidance for the team as a whole alongside our Individual Advocacy Manager. You will also be involved in promoting and developing CAPS’ Individual Advocacy service as well as maintaining your own small caseload of direct individual advocacy work. Excellent communication and organisation skills will be required as well as experience in leading a small team.

Our Individual Advocacy team provide independent advocacy to adults living in East Lothian or Midlothian who are experiencing a mental health issue or are affected by drug or alcohol use. Our role is to assist our advocacy partners to have a stronger voice and ensure their views and wishes are taken into account in the decisions that affect them. You will need a good understanding of the issues people accessing CAPS might face and a commitment to Independent Advocacy Principles & Standards.

This post will be subject to membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme and appropriate check.

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post.

NEW POSTS! - Children & Young People’s Individual Advocacy Workers

Eating Disorders worker - 28 hours per week

Eating Disorders/Children’s Hearings worker – 32 hours per week

These two new posts will expand and strengthen CAPS’ Children and Young People’s small friendly team. One post will provide individual advocacy to children and young people in Lothian who are experiencing Eating Disorders, in the community and in hospital. The other will also work with children and young people aged 5 - 18 going through the Children’s Hearings system, in a joint post. See the Job Descriptions for full details.

The focus of the work is the provision of independent advocacy to support children and young people to express their views and wishes and have a stronger voice in issues affecting them. Experience of working with children and young people is required as well as proven skills in communicating with them. Advocacy training will be provided.

This post will be subject to membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme for regulated work with children.

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post. A mix of home and office working is possible.

This maternity cover post is a great opportunity to join CAPS’ Children and Young People’s small friendly team to provide individual advocacy to children and young people who are going through the Children’s Hearings system. CAPS is the main provider of advocacy for this issue to children and young people aged 5-18 in East Lothian and Midlothian. CAPS is also the alternate provider for this work in Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders, so travel to work in these areas will also be expected.

The focus of the work is the provision of independent advocacy to support children and young people to express their views and wishes when going through the Children’s Hearings process. Experience of working with children and young people is required as well as proven skills in communicating with them. Advocacy training will be provided.

This post will be subject to membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme for regulated work with children.

There will be a 4-month probationary period attached to this post. A mix of home and office working is possible.

This post is fixed term for 12 months initially to cover maternity leave and may continue thereafter subject to expansion of the CAPS’ Children’s team.

CAPS has a substantial new role for a Collective Advocacy worker to facilitate several collective advocacy projects, including groups for people with experiences of personality disorder and for people with experiences of psychosis. Our role is to ensure people’s voices are heard by decision-makers and assist people to draw on their experiences to bring about change, such as improving mental health services.

You will be led by people in the groups to take forward their identified actions, and make sure their views and wishes are expressed. You will also contribute to developing experience led sessions with volunteers as part of our Education as Advocacy programme.

The role offers autonomy and flexibility, working as part of our enthusiastic team of Collective Advocacy workers. You should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with group members and colleagues. Some working from home is possible and regularly attending meetings in and around Edinburgh will be necessary. This is a great opportunity to work with an expanding organisation that’s making a real difference to people’s lives. Find out more about CAPS Independent Advocacy at: capsadvocacy.org

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this post. This post will be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check.

This post is an exciting opportunity to join CAPS’ Children and Young People’s Team which provides individual advocacy to children and young people who are going through the Children’s Hearings system. CAPS is the main provider of advocacy for this issue to children and young people aged 5-18 in East Lothian and Midlothian. CAPS is also the alternate provider for this work in Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders, so some work in these areas will also be expected.

The focus of the work is the provision of independent advocacy to support children and young people to express their views and wishes when going through the Children’s Hearings process. Experience of working with children and young people is required as well as excellent skills in communicating with them.

This post is fixed term for 12 months and will continue thereafter subject to continued funding by Scottish Government.

CAPS is looking for a new worker to facilitate the successful “Seen But Not Heard” collective advocacy project for people with experience of eating disorders.

You will facilitate the collective advocacy group to take forward their identified actions, being led by them and working to make sure their views and wishes are expressed. Current tasks the group are involved in are experience led research; delivering the Understanding Eating Disorders learning session via video conferencing and providing bespoke input to students at local universities to inform their future work roles in mental health services.

Working autonomously, as part of a team of Collective Advocacy workers, you should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with the group members and colleagues. Applications are welcomed from people with their own lived experience of an eating disorder.

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this 12 month post. This post will be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check. Currently all our staff are working from home and carrying out their work remotely.

CAPS has a new role for someone with their own lived experience of mental health issues to work with the people who volunteer with us in our collective advocacy projects.

The role includes recruiting new volunteers, matching people with relevant volunteer opportunities in CAPS and providing learning and development opportunities to enhance people’s experience of being involved in Collective Advocacy.

This post will facilitate the Peer Forum which is a new collective advocacy group for people who work or volunteer in peer roles in Edinburgh. You will assist people in the group to take forward ideas and initiatives that are important to them.

Working autonomously, as part of a team of Collective Advocacy workers, you should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with the group members, volunteers and colleagues.

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this permanent post. This post will be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check. Currently all our staff are working from home and carrying out their work remotely.

CAPS is offering an exciting opportunity for someone to join us to facilitate a new collective advocacy project for people from the LGBTQI+ community with mental health experiences.

This role involves promoting the new project and encouraging people to participate, and then assisting the group to take forward the actions they identify as important to bring about changes to services and or policy. Having direct experience of the issues faced by this community group is essential.

Working autonomously, alongside other Collective Advocacy workers, you should be friendly, enthusiastic and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with the group members and colleagues.

There will be a 6-month probationary period attached to this permanent post. This post will be subject to membership of the PVG Scheme and appropriate check. Currently all our staff are working from home and carrying out their work remotely.

CAPS is looking for a new worker to facilitate two collective advocacy projects:

– Much More Than a Label for people with experiences of personality disorder

– Experiences of Psychosis

You will facilitate both these groups to take forward their identified actions, being led by them and working to make sure their views and wishes are expressed. Both groups will offer online video sessions based on their own experiences. These are open to workers from statutory and community organisations as well as to anyone with similar experiences. The Much More Than a Label group are producing a booklet about experiences of living with a personality disorder.

Working autonomously, as part of a team of Collective Advocacy workers, you should be friendly and approachable, with the ability to form trusting relationships with the group members and colleagues.

You can find out more about CAPS on our website capsadvocacy.org