Access Information and Empowerment Officer

Due to the volume of applications the new closing date for this vacancy will be Sunday 30^th March 2025.

At Guide Dogs, we believe in a world where everyone can access services and spaces without barriers. As an Access Information and Empowerment Officer, you will be at the forefront of making this a reality by supporting individuals who face discrimination or unfair treatment when trying to access public services.

In this role you will:

·       Empower and Support Our Guide Dog Owners: Use your skills and expertise to assist individuals who have been refused access to services when they are accompanied by their guide dog. You’ll be the crucial link that helps them challenge unfair treatment, offering information, support, and resources.

·       Make Connections: You’ll play a key role in signposting and referring blind and partially sighted people to other organisations when additional support or information is needed, ensuring people have access to a wide range of resources.

·       Be the Voice of Change: Collect, record, and report data on incidents of discrimination, which will feed into national campaigns and media efforts to drive lasting change. Your reports will directly inform our strategy and response to accessibility challenges.

·       Engaging with Service Providers: Providing information to service providers on how they can ensure they are opening their doors to welcome blind and partially sighted people including guide dog owners.

If you’re passionate about empowering people with sight loss, and have lived or learnt experience of sight loss, we’d love to hear from you.

This role can be homebased, with the option to work from your nearest Guide Dogs office with hybrid working arrangements depending on your preference. You’ll be working 21 hours per week, worked Monday to Friday with working pattern to be agreed.

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, 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.  

We anticipate interviews taking place W/C 21^st April 2025 via Microsoft Teams.

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.