Support and Development Worker (Adults)

Job title: Support and Development Worker (Adults)

Team: Adult Services Team (25+)

Hours: 21 hours per week, 3 days a week to include Wednesdays

(Core hours 9am-5pm with some flexibility for evenings/weekends) 

Salary: £17,425 pro rata for part-time (£29,041 FTE)

Location: Home-based - Ideally, you will live within an hour's commute of Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Warwickshire and Hertfordshire

Travel: This role will likely require travel to Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Warwickshire and Hertfordshire to cover conferences, events and clinics, as well as occasional wider travel. 

Closing date: Monday 12th October at 11pm

Interviews: Tuesday 20th October 2026 - virtual via Teams


Role overview 

Shine supports a community of over 15,000 members living with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus, including 10,000 adults (25+).  

You will be delivering high-quality support and creating opportunities for adults living with spina bifida and/or hydrocephalus and their carers, supporting Shine members to lead healthy, independent, and fulfilling lives by improving condition management and fostering connections within the Shine community.

This role will focus on adults (25+), you will be primarily working within the Adult Services Team. However, there will be occasions when you will work across age groups to ensure the best outcomes for our members.

The role is home-based, but you will attend clinics in Shropshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Warwickshire and Hertfordshire as required. There would be occasional travel required across wider areas and nationally, including attendance at events, conferences and meetings at our head office in Peterborough. 


Key Responsibilities 

  • Deliver innovative support across your region to improve health, social, and emotional outcomes for members.
  • Attend specialist clinics to engage with members and professionals.
  • Provide information, advice, and guidance to our adult members and carers, including hard-to-reach communities.
  • Support members to access benefits, services, and resources that promote financial stability, health, and independence.
  • Refer members to Shine’s Health team, internal specialists, or external agencies as appropriate.
  • Develop age-specific groups and peer support networks to reduce isolation and encourage social interaction.
  • Recruit and support Shine volunteers.
  • Contribute to regional and national events (face-to-face and virtual) based on member needs and interests.
  • Represent Shine at conferences, provide information, and raise awareness among professionals, external organisations, and the public through presentations and training.
  • Promote Shine membership to individuals with relevant conditions.
  • Maintain accurate records using Shine’s CRM (Salesforce database).
  • Collaborate with colleagues across services, fundraising, and marketing to identify opportunities for sustainability.
  • Maintain an up-to-date directory of contacts and share relevant information internally.
  • Undertake administrative tasks and other duties as required.

 

Other Core Requirements of Working for Shine 

  • Ability to travel across designated areas.
  • Demonstrate flexibility and willingness to work outside core hours when required.
  • Ability to work from home and manage lone working effectively.
  • Self-motivated, with strong initiative and ability to work independently and as part of a dispersed team.
  • Full Enhanced DBS check, UK Right to Work and satisfactory references required. 


Person specification

Essential experience: 

  • Experience supporting adults living with disabilities or their carers
  • At least two years’ recent experience supporting and advising on one or more of the following: 
    • Health and wellbeing
    • Benefits
    • Education and learning
    • Employment
    • Social skills and reducing isolation
    • Social care and housing
  • Experience developing and delivering opportunities to support adults with disabilities towards outcomes that improve their day-to-day life.

Essential Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: 

  • Event planning, advocacy, and multi-disciplinary working.
  • Ability to develop and deliver professional presentations.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  • Strong IT skills (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and database experience.
  • A non-judgemental approach to working with people. 

Desirable qualifications: 

  • Registered Social Worker/ Health Professional, or
  • Demonstrable experience of supporting disabled adults. 

Desirable Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:  

  • Ability to work with our members on a 1-2-1 basis and to facilitate and run group activities and events.
  • Experience supporting adults living with spina bifida/hydrocephalus.
  • Experience working in the third sector (paid or voluntary).
  • Understanding of NHS systems and processes. 
  • Understanding of peer support and its role in enhancing services.
  • Awareness of social media as a tool to reduce isolation and increase engagement. 


Benefits

  • Competitive salary: Review due April 2027
  • Regular working hours and no shift work (some very occasional weekends or evenings)  
  • 3% pension contribution
  • 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with additional discretionary leave between Christmas and New Year
  • Additional annual leave awarded for ‘long service’
  • Opportunity to purchase additional annual leave
  • Broadband allowance for home-based roles
  • Life insurance after 12 months’ employment  
  • Access to our Employee Support Programme and Mental Health First Aiders 
  • Support to learn and develop  


How to apply  

Shine is a Disability Confident employer and will offer guaranteed interviews if a disabled applicant meets the minimum criteria for the job.  

If you would like to discuss the role, please get in touch with Sarah Carrier, National Manager: Adult Services (25+) at sarah.carrier@shinecharity.org.uk to arrange a convenient time for a call.  

To apply, please submit your CV and supporting statement, which should outline your interest and explain how you meet the role criteria, to recruitment@shinecharity.org.uk  

 Please note applications without a supporting statement will not be accepted.

We understand that you may wish to use AI tools to help you with some aspects of your application, but we do expect tailored applications which are personalised to your experiences and not generic applications which are completely AI generated. We encourage candidates to be transparent about AI usage in their applications.  

Closing date:  Monday 12th October at 11pm

Interviews: Tuesday 20th October 2026 - virtual via Teams

Please note: we reserve the right to interview suitable candidates before the closing date, therefore we encourage applications as soon as possible.