Adviser (Trade Union and Professional Body)

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Job description

Adviser
RCN Cardiff Gate Office
Fixed Term Contracts or Secondments for up to 12 months available for a range of hours from 21 to 35 hours per week

At the Royal College of Nursing we're an optimistic organisation. And we've got good reason to be. We all share the same voice when it comes to changing the shape of the health policies of the future. And as the largest trade union of nursing staff and students in the UK - with over 465,000 members - all we can see are the infinite possibilities for a brighter future. Join us and you will too.

We're accredited with Investors in People Gold Standard. Our people are our greatest asset, and we want people who can contribute to our purpose in line with our values.

As an Adviser you'd be making a real difference to RCN members. Every day of the week, from 8.30am to 8.30pm, our Advisers provide telephone and written support on a wide range of work-related topics. This is an opportunity to work for an organisation that has been making a difference to the nursing community for over a hundred years.

The role is highly varied and would particularly suit those from a trade union, HR, legal, advisory or nursing background. You'd receive comprehensive training to enable you to help our members understand their rights and responsibilities at work, allowing them to get the best from their careers and workplace relationships. As well as advising members directly, there are lots of opportunities to get involved in a range of activities such as focus groups or projects, which shape us as an advice centre.

To get a feel for the breadth of our work take a look at the advice team's "get help" section at

As well as receiving full training to equip you to provide support and guidance across a range of professional and employment related topics, you'll be using state of the art technology to communicate with our members. As Adviser, you'll be part of a supportive team and will benefit from a programme of ongoing coaching and development. You'll also have opportunities to help shape the advice centre.

You will develop professionally and personally; many advisers have found the role has prepared them to move on to new positions within the RCN.

To join us you'll need to have proven customer service skills and excel at verbal and written communication. You'll be confident with IT and, crucially, a quick learner, as this is a dynamic environment so you'll need to be able to keep up.

You'll be naturally curious and enjoy learning. We're looking for people whose education and experience have equipped them with the ability to empathise, whilst assessing situations with clarity and efficiency. This role is challenging, you'll need resilience to be able to help those in difficulty, and stamina to be able to work to a very high standard consistently.

A knowledge of the professional and workplace issues facing nurses, and a good understanding of contact centre ways of working is useful, but not essential if you have the right attitude and skills for this role.

To succeed at the Royal College of Nursing all you need to do is think bigger, better and brighter. And with an attitude like that, anything's possible.
What we offer you

We expect you to look after our members. And we expect you to be rewarded for it. Our pay is highly competitive with annual leave up to 32 days. We offer an impressive range of benefits, a broad range of learning development opportunities and an award-winning health and wellbeing programme.

Balancing work and life commitments is important to us as an organisation. We are a diverse organisation and understand everyone has different needs. Many of our employees enjoy flexible working enabling them to deliver results whilst having a good work life balance. We offer generous maternity, adoption, paternity, and shared parental leave packages.

As a result of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic most of our staff are currently working from home. When this ends, we'll start trialling blended office and home working to empower our people to do their best work recognising that, to give our best, we must be able to balance the demands of work and home.

Our advisers are currently working from home, but we are looking to return to our offices later this year. You will be required to work in the office a couple of days per week upon commencement for approximately 6 weeks in order to undertake training.

The adviser role involves shifts, but because we know that work life balance is important, the rota is published at least four weeks ahead. Currently advisers work up to one weekend in four. This is on a set rotation, so you can always plan for when your weekends to work could fall.

Our selection process

Please submit a supporting statement demonstrating how you meet the criteria for this role. You may not be shortlisted if you don't. Please state in your supporting statement what your preference of hours would be. All applications will be based on merit.

We want your experience applying for a job with us to be the best it can be. We're having to be more flexible about how we hold interviews and assessments, most of which are held by video call. If you foresee any problems with accessing a computer, webcam, or internet connection for this, please do let us know in your supporting statement.

Contact details

For more information or for an informal discussion about the role please contact Julia Hayward, Team Manager on .

For more information on the Recruitment & Selection process, please contact .

Opening Date: 16 November 2021
Closing Date: 11.59pm on 04 January 2022

If we receive many applications after a week of advertising, this vacancy may close earlier.

Assessment Centre Dates: w/c 17 January 2022
Interview Dates: 27 & 28 January 2021