POST: 

Autism Service Coordinator

LOCATION:

The office is in Barnet – this project is covering hackney & City. There can also be some hybrid working  

SALARY:

up to £27,000 depending on experience

HOURS:

Full time: 37.5hours, fixed term until 30/4/25

Reports to:

Hub Service Manager

Direct Reports: None

Start date:          ASAP

 About 

My client has been providing services since 1997, when we started as a small playgroup set up by parents dismayed at the lack of provision for their autistic children. Since then they have grown into a major deliverer of services and support in London and the West Midlands with a turnover of around £2.6m per year. The mission is to support autistic people to live happy and fulfilling lives. They want to change society’s attitude to autism whilst also providing essential services and enriching opportunities to autistic people. They are a values-driven organisation which employs values-driven people who want to make a difference. You will play a vital part in ensuring that we can resource and sustain this amazing work.  

The Services

All of our services across children and adults and parent/carers, mirror the wider organisational mission of providing safe, fun and meaningful support that enables personal development for autistic people. We provide this support by ensuring our staff are skilfully trained, meet the highest safeguarding expectations and are encouraged to develop and upskill throughout their career.  

The Role

Building on initial consultations with autistic people that have previously take place in Hackney that identified that an autism hub could provide valuable advice, information and support, like a ‘one-stop shop’; trialling and piloting services to test what could work best. This includes both face to face, online and virtual delivery options. The findings from this project will be pulled together in a report to make local suggestions for the future.

This role is integral in many of the areas of the project including; the research, networking, coproduction, project delivery and the evaluation.  

Main Responsibilities:

• Design and set up and deliver services that are informed by research, coproduction and the needs of the community including: advice, information and support to autistic people in Hackney and their carers (like a ‘onestop shop’).
• Work with the Project Lead and Coproduction lead to identify gaps in services and needs for the boroughs.
• With the Project lead identify suitable locations for the hub/ service delivery.
• With Project lead, contribute ideas, suggestions and resources for the digital components of the project.
• With the project lead and other service managers within RfA utilise additional resource as required from RfA’s staff/ volunteer team to ensure effective project delivery e.g. with behaviour team and family support team to deliver workshops, with play team to develop social activities, etc based on the emerging and identified need.
• With the Project Lead, consider when designing services and reviewing the offer how to make mainstream services in Hackney & City more accessible to autistic people.
• An interim offer of advice and guidance must be promoted and set up in first 6 weeks.
• Ensure effective signposting and integration with attributes and resources within the local area. For example, Hackney and City’s thriving voluntary and charity sector in addition to the statutory services available.
• Services, resources and support are to be delivered both virtually/ online, digitally and in person.
• Ensure the service supports the celebration of diversity and supports social cohesion locally, including an Antiracist Commitment and specifically autism acceptance.
• Explore delivery options using peer support workers and/ or apprenticeships.
• In person and online delivery options could include social groups, workshops for parents, advice sessions + behaviour/ drop in sessions for YP/ adults/ Parents and Carers and 121's if required.
• Maintain clear records of attendance and engagement at all service delivery points.
• Capture robust evaluations, impact and feedback from all service delivery points.

There are strong expectations from Hackney & City that coproduction and consultation with autistic people, parents and carers contribute to the research, design, delivery and future of an Autism Hub in the area. There is a Coproduction Advisor supporting this role and this project. Between that person and this role the additional elements/ expectations for the project include:

• recruiting the coproduction board, establishing agreedupon working principles, delivering coproduction sessions, and embedding coproduction principles into every aspect of the project. 
• Enable autistic people to have a base (online or in person) from which to coproduce and guide the study and the final report.
• Establish 3 coproduction ‘teams’ comprising of: an adults’ group, a Young Persons group and a parent/carers group.
• Coproduction groups need a minimum of 10 residents, ideally with this number growing.
• A minimum of 4 engagement sessions per user group need to take place throughout the project life (11 months).
• Work closely with the Project Lead and Coordinator to ensure information flows both ways: coproduction conversations are meaningful and contribute to the aim of the project and opinions and views influence service delivery and the final report.
• Maintain clear records of attendance and engagement at all coproduction sessions.
• Manage the budget for the coproduction work that takes place – those participating in coproduction will receive a financial contribution for their time.
• Manage the coproduction groups at the end of the project to ensure positive closure and ‘goodbyes’.

Desired skills/ experience

• The ability to deliver the above
• Good knowledge of autism personally and or professionally
• Previous experience in the field of autism/ neurodiversity

Experience as a support worker,