Speech And Language Advisor

Location: Home-based - with travel to locations as necessary in the Midlands area (Telford & Wrekin, Dudley, Coventry, Leicester)

Salary: £40,839-£42,906 per annum, Full Time Equivalent / £32,671.20-£34,324.80 per annum, pro rata (28 hours per week, 0.8 Full Time Equivalent)

We welcome applications for job sharing and working less than 0.8 / 4 days per week

Contract: Fixed term until March 2025

Start date: As soon as possible

We are Speech and Language UK (formerly I CAN) – we want every child to face the future with confidence. For 1.9 million children in the UK learning to talk and understand words feels like an impossible hurdle. We want to reach children earlier to make sure every child has the skills to face the future. We design innovative tools and training for staff in schools and settings, give families the confidence and skills to help their child and put pressure on politicians to prioritise support for children. This is an exciting time to join our organisation as we will be delivering a brand-new project in four local authority areas across the Midlands. We are seeking a Speech and Language Advisor who will work in the Midlands area with Family Hub, Early Years and community partners in driving forward the change agenda for speech, language and communication in the Early Years. You will work with stakeholders to embed lasting change and develop sustainable, borough-wide solutions to support children’s early Speech and Language development.

This is an amazing opportunity to work closely with some forward-thinking local areas, who are looking to create a model of best practice to support young children and families to give them the best outcomes in learning and life.

We’re keen to recruit a Speech and Language Advisor who will:

• Introduce strategies and interventions to promote family-based early language development and support partners to deliver and embed these strategies.

• Provide regular updates and reports to the nominated project lead.

• Undertake project evaluation to inform future recommendations for sustainability to Local Authority and Family Hub leaders.

We are keen to hear from you if you are an experienced Early Years Practitioner/Speech and Language Therapist with an extensive track record in early years and experience of project delivery. Project support will be provided in-house by Speech and Language UK and you will be managed by Speech and Language UK’s Lead Speech and Language Advisor.

The successful candidate will be within easy reach of Telford & Wrekin, Dudley, Coventry and/ or Leicester and be prepared to travel between all four Local Authorities. We welcome applications for job-sharing and will consider your application even if you are only able to work in one of the locations detailed above.

Your CV should be accompanied by a personal statement of no more than 2 sides of A4 detailing:

• The locations you are able to travel to and the number of days per week you are applying for

• Your knowledge and qualifications to undertake the role, including any relevant professional registration (e.g. with the HCPC for Speech and Language Therapists) and your passion for our cause

• Your experience of delivering, monitoring and evaluating projects

• Your experience of working with Early Years settings • Your experience of developing/delivering quality training both in person and online

• Your experience of improving outcomes for children with Speech and Language challenges

• Your extensive knowledge and understanding of early years practice and communication and Language/Speech and Language challenges

Does this sound like you? We would love to hear from you if that is the case.

To apply, please submit your up-to-date CV and a covering letter addressing how you meet the criteria above to jobs@speechandlanguage.org.uk by 5pm on 5 March 2024.

Interviews will take place on 11 March 2024.

If you would like an informal discussion about the role please contact Susan Richards, Lead Speech and Language Advisor: susan.richards@speechandlanguage.org.uk

Please note that we will not close applications before this time and date as we recognise that candidates put in a lot of time and effort into making an application and we want to give each of you the time and space to put in an application you feel proud of.

Please note that we will not shortlist candidates who do not submit both a CV and a covering letter. Speech and Language is passionate about promoting equality, valuing diversity and working inclusively. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons particularly Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and LGBTQ+ applicants, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.

We are committed to safer recruitment practices and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is subject to an enhanced Criminal Records check.