Community Support Adviser

Community Support Adviser | Central Lancashire | 21 hours per week over three days including Wednesday, with flexibility across Monday to Friday | £15,235 to £16,470 per annum| Permanent

A dementia diagnosis can bring questions and uncertainty, both for the person diagnosed and the people close to them. Having someone who listens, understands what matters and helps people find the right support can make a real difference. At Alzheimer's Society, we believe no one should face dementia alone.

As a Community Support Adviser, you will support people affected by dementia across Preston, South Ribble and Chorley. You will manage your own caseload, taking time to understand what matters to each person and helping them access information, practical guidance and emotional support. Your support will include telephone conversations and home visits.

This is a community focused role, with around half of your working time spent out in the local community. You will visit people in their homes, spend time at memory clinics, support Dementia Cafés and Singing for the Brain groups, attend local events and outreach activities, and deliver presentations and awareness sessions. The rest of your time may include telephone support, managing your caseload and administration from home.

You will also work closely with the local Memory Assessment Service, usually spending a day at a memory clinic around once a fortnight to support people following their appointments. Clinic arrangements can vary, so flexibility will be important.

You will need to travel regularly across Preston, South Ribble and Chorley to people's homes, clinics and community venues, so you will need a reliable way to get around independently. You may be covering some rural locations with limited public transport is limited. A driving licence and access to a car is therefore essential. Being based within Central Lancashire, or close enough to travel across the area regularly, will be important. Travel costs for journeys you make for work across these areas will be covered.

The role is 21 hours per week across three days, including Wednesday, with flexibility around the other two working days across Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.

Could this be you?

You do not need a background in dementia, health or social care to apply. We are looking for people who can listen, build trust, communicate well and use good judgement when supporting others.

You may have developed these skills through paid work, volunteering, lived experience or other settings. This could be customer service, retail, hospitality, education, housing, community work, health or social care, or something completely different.

We will support you to develop your understanding of dementia, our services and the systems you will use. You do not need to know everything from day one.

The skills you will bring

We are looking for someone who can:

• Listen carefully and respond with empathy, taking time to understand someone's circumstances, what matters to them and what support could be helpful.
• Build positive relationships and handle sensitive conversations with care, communicating warmly and respectfully, listening without judgement and adapting your approach to different people and situations.
• Use good judgement when working independently, maintaining appropriate professional boundaries, recognising when something concerns you and knowing when to seek advice or support.
• Communicate with groups and represent Alzheimer's Society in the community, whether at an event, local group, awareness session or presentation. You do not need to be an experienced presenter, but you should be comfortable talking with different groups of people.
• Organise your workload and priorities, keeping track of the people you are supporting, following up on agreed actions and adapting when circumstances or plans change.
• Use IT and learn new systems to manage your day to day work and keep clear, accurate and confidential records. Training and support will be provided.

You will join an established Central Lancashire team of around 10 people, with colleagues bringing different strengths and backgrounds. You will spend time working independently, but you will have your team and line manager to share knowledge with and turn to for support.

If this sounds like a role where you could use your skills to make a difference for people affected by dementia, we would love to hear from you.

This role is known internally as Dementia Adviser.

Dementia is the UK's biggest killer. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.

At Alzheimer's Society, we're the UK's leading dementia charity and the only one to tackle all aspects of dementia by giving help and hope to people living with dementia today and in the future. We give vital support to people facing the most frightening times of their lives, while also funding groundbreaking research and campaigning to make dementia the priority it should be.

Together with our supporters, we're working towards a world where dementia no longer devastates lives.

Our values make sure that our focus is clear for the challenges and opportunities ahead and remind us of what we all stand for.

Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We need to ensure the voices around our table better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We strongly encourage individuals to apply who have a disability, impairment or health condition or individuals who identify as Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic background, as these groups are currently under-represented at Alzheimer's Society.  

We want everyone we work with, as a colleague, volunteer, supporter, or someone we support, to feel included and that they belong at Alzheimer's Society. 

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy here along with our internal employee forum and Employee Lived Experience network groups help us promote inclusion and belonging, becoming an engaged and inclusive organisation for all our people. 

Our hiring process

During your recruitment process we want to make sure that you bring your whole self and can be at your best. We are working hard to ensure our recruitment process is as inclusive as possible, so please do inform us of your experience and anything you think we could do better by completing our candidate survey when you apply.  Please also contact Alzheimer's Society Talent Acquisition Team via [email protected] for application support or any adjustments you might need.

To ensure fairness and consistency to select the best candidate for this role, all our applications are anonymised up until an interview has been confirmed. We recognise the benefits of AI, but if you're considering using it to submit your application, we encourage you to reflect on the value it truly adds. AI tools often lack the personal touch and authenticity that set candidates apart. We want to hear your unique perspective, experiences, and skills, so we encourage you to showcase them in your own voice.

We try to avoid closing roles early where possible, however if we receive a high volume of applications, we may close earlier than the advertised closing date. Should this occur, we will aim to provide you with at least 48 hours' notice.

We are committed to safer recruitment and ensuring the welfare of those we work with, due to the nature of some of our roles, we might need to carry out a Criminal Record Check at the relevant level. You can read more information via our Website.

Giving back to you

Our employees work hard every day to make a true difference in people's lives. We are proud to support them with a range of benefits, recognition and many options for working agilely, all contributing to a strong work life balance. We also have various learning programmes to support you in your development and help you grow to realise your potential and shape a career with Alzheimer's Society. 

You can also visit our Working for Us pages, which give you more information about what it's like to be an employee at the Society.

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