Employee Access Assistant/ Driver

Are you looking to apply your administrative skills in a role that truly makes a difference? We have an exciting opportunity for an Employee Access Assistant and Driver based near Stevenage, although the role benefits from hybrid working, networking and local travel in a professional setting.

In this role, you’ll support a visually impaired Guide Dogs Employee and Guide Dog owner, helping them perform their duties effectively through a mix of remote and in-person support. In-person support will be required once or twice a week locally in Stevenage involving tasks such as providing sighted guidance to navigate unfamiliar environments, helping with access to systems on a laptop, or describing the layout of rooms at events.

Your Microsoft Office expertise will be put to great use as you assist with a variety of administrative tasks, including document formatting, PowerPoint presentations, and note-taking. Your eye for detail will ensure that all documents are clear, accessible, and well-organised.

You’ll also help with travel arrangements as and when required, including collecting the employee and their guide dog from home and going to a train station or providing a lift from their home to various Guide Dogs sites. A full, clean driving license and access to a vehicle are essential, equipment to allow the guide dog in the car will be provided and travel expenses are covered. You’ll provide sighted guidance, ensuring the employee can navigate unfamiliar environments with confidence. As the employee is a Guide Dog owner, being comfortable with dogs and helping with their care, such as exercise, will be part of the role as well.

Your excellent communication skills and person-centred approach will be key in building a close, trusting relationship with the employee. Flexibility will also be crucial, as you’ll need to adapt to changing tasks and demands.

This role requires the ability to work under pressure and take initiative, managing your workload efficiently. Whether assisting with travel, preparing documents, or providing sighted guidance, your proactive attitude and organisational skills will be key to your success.

You will be fully trained in tasks such as sighted guiding and how to work confidently around a Guide Dog, ensuring that you feel supported and equipped, even if you haven’t had experience in this space before. We are committed to making sure you feel comfortable and encouraged in this unique role.

The role is 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Occasional flexibility will be required to work outside of core hours, including weekends and overnight stays.

No two people with sight loss are the same, and none of our people are either. So, we are proud to offer a range of person-centred benefits that can support each member of staff in ways that really mean something to them – and show them how much they mean to us. We offer a flexible benefits package, discounts and cashback scheme, a generous holiday allowance and matched contributory pension scheme to care for our people.

How to apply 

Further details on the full role are attached below. When you are ready to apply, submit an online application form via this page.

If you require any accessibility support to apply or would like an informal conversation about the role, our friendly recruitment team is ready and waiting to help. Call them on 0118 3540345 or drop an email to [email protected].

As part of your application ensure you provide evidence and examples of how your skills & experience meet the criteria as set out in the attached job description and candidate pack. You will also be asked to complete a few job-specific questions as part of this application process, so please be prepared to write your answers to these questions. 

If you want to know more about the teams who work at Guide Dogs, you can find it on our Careers Page

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Guide Dogs welcomes applications from all sections of the community and actively encourages diversity to maximise achievements, creativity and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or nationality. 

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are proud, whenever possible, to offer an interview to all candidates that meet our selection criteria, and who indicate they wish their application to be considered under our Disability Confident interview commitment. For more details, visit our careers site.

If you are successful you will need to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK via our digital ID checking supplier; in addition, we cannot offer visa sponsorship at this time.

Safeguarding

Guide Dogs is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk of harm with whom we work. We expect all our employees and volunteers to fully share this commitment.

At Guide Dogs, we believe in fair and equitable hiring practices. A criminal record will not automatically disqualify an applicant from consideration for a position. Each case will be evaluated individually, taking into account the nature of the offense, its relevance to the role, and the time that has passed since the incident. We encourage all candidates to disclose relevant information, and we assure you that it will be handled confidentially and fairly.

Guide Dogs follow Safer Recruitment practices to ensure we are safeguarding the vulnerable people we work with. As part of this, we require a full work history with any gaps accounted for & a minimum of 2 professional referee details fully covering the past 5 years. If you are applying for a disclosure role, please note that you will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check and sign up to the DBS update service.

For high volumes of applications, we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than advertised.