Autism Central offers families and carers of autistic people high-quality and easily accessible autism education, training and support through peer educators, alongside a dedicated website. Peer educators are autistic people, and parents and carers of autistic people, who have been trained to support other families. Bristol Autism Support is delivering Autism Central in the South West NHS England Region.
About Bristol Autism Support (BAS)
Bristol Autism Support is a small but ambitious registered charity, number 1186287, that since 2012, has provided a lifeline of support and information for parents and carers of autistic children, either diagnosed or undiagnosed, in and around Bristol. What began as a small pub meetup group has quickly grown and the charity has supported over 3000 families over the past 10 years.
Our goal is to improve outcomes for autistic children by providing their parent/carer with information, support, signposting to other organisations and connecting them with other parents/carers. By supporting parents/carers, we help them to become better at supporting their autistic children.
Positions Currently Available
- 1 x Social Media & Marketing Manager, 10 hours per week at £15 per hour
- 1 x Hub Coordinator, 10 hours per week at £15 per hour
- 3-5 x Wrap Around Coordinators, 8-24 hours per week at £25 per hour
- 10 x Peer Educators, 3 hours per term plus training at £15 per hour. Also see National Peer Education Programme.
Working at BAS
At BAS, we understand that everyone is different, and we support our team to ensure that they have the right tools and resources to do their role. The team is currently a mix of part-time employees, contract workers and volunteers, most of whom are also service users with valuable skills and unique needs. We have an office base at Knowle West Media Centre in Bristol but many of our team work flexibly from home.
Our Mission & Values
Our mission is to provide high quality, face to face and virtual support and the latest correct, useful, and crucial information, at the right time, to parents and carers of autistic children in Bristol and the South West. We provide a haven and a community for families in order to reduce isolation and improve mental and physical well-being.
Our values reflect the way we work and the way we interact with each other, our service users and their children.
- Caring: we care deeply about how the issues facing parents / carers of autistic children impact on mental and physical health
- Community-minded: we know that providing our service users with a strong, social community can support and promote good mental and physical health
- Confidential: we never share information given to us by parents / carers or professionals with anyone
- Independent: we are an autonomous, independent organisation. We are not affiliated with any other charity, organisation or public body.
- Local: based in Bristol, we have personal knowledge of available support and the specific issues faced by parents / carers in our area
- Welcoming: we believe the need for support is self-defined; a diagnosis of autism is not necessary to access support from BAS
- Non-discriminating: our support is available to everyone regardless of regardless of race, religion, gender or gender identity, sexuality, disability, age or any other distinction
- Non-judgmental: we do not judge anyone for their views or actions with regards to autism or the care of their autistic child
- Fair: we do not allow negative discussions about health or education professionals or public bodies, as opinion is very subjective and potentially unfair to those professionals
- Flexible: we aim to provide a wide range of support options from our future home base and other locations in order to meet the needs of as many parents / carers as possible
How to apply
All applicants must be over 18 with the right to work in the UK.
To apply you will need to submit a CV and Application Form to info@bristolautismsupport.org
Deadline for Hub Coordinator, Wrap Around Coordinators and Social Media Manager applications is 5pm Wednesday 3rd May 2023.
Interviews will take place w/c 8th May with start dates as soon as possible.
Applications for Peer Educators will be a rolling programme so no deadline for these roles. Applicants may apply for more than one role and we will consider appointing individuals in a combination of roles if appropriate.
We can offer a range of working arrangements for this role so please specify what you are looking for within your application.
If you require any reasonable adjustments to enable you to apply or for an informal discussion about the role or the charity, please get in touch by emailing info@bristolautismsupport.org.
NO AGENCIES PLEASE – we prefer to fill our roles without the help of recruitment agencies, thank you for respecting this.
Contract type:
12 Months Fixed Term with a view to making permanent subject to funding