Job Description

Location: Wandsworth & Richmond
Contract type: Field based
Hours: Part Time (28 Hours)
Salary: £21,165.60 plus £2400 London Allowance (based on 28 hours)

Make sure every voice is heard. Help people know their rights.
At Rethink Mental Illness, we’re here to make sure people severely affected by mental illness have the power, clarity and confidence to shape their own lives. As a Single Discipline Advocate – RPR, you’ll stand alongside people who have been deprived of their liberty, ensuring their wishes, rights and wellbeing remain at the centre of every decision made about them.
This is meaningful, person led work where no two days are the same — and where your skills can transform someone’s experience of care, dignity and independence.

What you’ll be doing
As an experienced or qualified advocate, you will:
Champion people’s rights
• Represent individuals who are deprived of their liberty and ensure they understand what this means for them.
• Communicate their wishes, feelings and past preferences — especially when they cannot express these themselves.
• Challenge capacity assessments or decisions when they are not in the person’s best interest.
Deliver high quality RPR advocacy
• Provide instructed or non instructed advocacy using a person led, rights based approach.
• Use your knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act, DoLS and related frameworks to guide your work.
• Trigger authorisation reviews or refer to the Court of Protection where necessary.
Manage your own caseload
• Plan and deliver visits across the Wandsworth & Richmond area, including homes, hospitals, secure units and care settings.
• Maintain accurate, timely case notes and report writing to a high standard.
• Record safeguarding concerns, incidents or complaints in line with policy.
Build strong relationships
• Work collaboratively with health and social care professionals, carers and other partners.
• Support volunteers, trainee advocates or students through shadowing opportunities.
• Provide educational sessions and awareness raising talks to staff and community groups.

Who we’re looking for
You’ll be a great fit if you:
• Have completed Level 2, Level 3 or Level 4 Advocacy qualifications (or are committed to achieving Level 4 within agreed timescales).
• Have experience delivering advocacy in a paid or voluntary capacity, with confidence managing a varied caseload.
• Understand (or can quickly learn) legislation such as DoLS, the Mental Capacity Act and related statutory frameworks.
• Are skilled at communicating with people who have diverse communication needs.
• Can work independently, plan your time well and travel across the local area.
• Are committed to equality, empowerment and person led practice.
• Share the Rethink values of Passion, Openness, Expertise, Understanding, Hope and Equity, and embody our CARES behaviours — Connect, Accountable, Respect, Evolve and Success.

Why work with us?
When you join Rethink, you’ll be supported by a knowledgeable, welcoming team who are committed to learning and development. You will benefit from:
• Regular 1:1 supervision and reflective practice
• Ongoing training, CPD and support gaining specialist modules
• Opportunities to mentor or support trainee advocates
• Being part of a highly respected advocacy service with strong local partnerships
• The chance to make a genuine difference every single day

Ready to stand up for people’s rights?
If you’re passionate about empowering people and championing their voice, we’d love you to join our advocacy team.
Apply today — and help us ensure every person has someone by their side, and on their side.

Why Work With Rethink Mental Illness?
At Rethink Mental Illness, we believe that when you feel supported, you can make the biggest difference. That’s why we offer a range of benefits to help you thrive:
• Inclusive Culture: Join staff networks that champion diversity and inclusion.
• Wellbeing Support: Access our Wellbeing Hub, Employee Assistance Programme, and the Unmind mental health app.
• Recognition & Rewards: Enjoy discounts, cashback offers, and celebrate achievements through our PULSE platform.
• Flexible Working & Generous Leave: Starting at 25 days annual leave (plus bank holidays and your birthday off), with options to buy or sell extra days.
• Learning & Development: Grow your career with structured onboarding and training opportunities.
• Financial & Family Support: Contributory pension scheme, enhanced family leave, and travel benefits like season ticket loans and cycle-to-work schemes.
• Referral Bonus: Earn up to £300 for introducing someone to our team.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion
Diversity is important to us, and we appreciate difference through difference, inclusiveness and belonging. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world, our society and the diverse communities we’re working with. By including everyone, we are able to draw on the unique experiences and expertise of our people to help shape and enrich our workplace and improve our services. One way we are doing is through our valued staff networks which play a critical and highly valued role in keeping us focused on creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged employer.  We recognise and support staff networks and support groups for our ethnically diverse and LGBTQIA+ colleagues. We are also proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status and are a signatory to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter.
We aim for our workforce to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve; for those who work for us to feel heard, valued and feel they belong; and for our work to help tackle wider mental health inequalities. We therefore actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including applicants with lived experience of mental illness, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and any other gender identity not expressed here (LGBTQIA+); people who are neurodiverse, have a health condition, or a disability or hidden disability and people from an ethnically diverse background - regardless of your age, religious or spiritual belief, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, political view or socio-economic status.

Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation
We have an ambition of become a truly anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider - and in our efforts to influence policy and wider societal factors impacting on mental health set out in our anti-racist statement . We have designed a multi-year anti-racist programme of work contained in our Race Equality Action Plan which demonstrates our intention to hold ourselves accountable and be judged on our progress on becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.