Local Public Life Internships for Disabled People
Job Description and Person Specification
Royal College of Nursing – Events and Exhibitions
Intern
Background information
Inclusion Scotland has received funding from The Equality Unit at the
Scottish Government to set up 10 internships in areas of public life this
year. This includes, but is not restricted to Local Government, Health
Boards, Public Bodies and Organisations that influence public sector
employees such as membership organisations. The aim of this project is
to provide quality paid work experience for disabled people to increase
their skills, opportunities and professional networks. Through this
process, host organisations will learn about supporting disabled people
as employees and colleagues, increasing the diversity and experiences
of people organisations that provide services to the public.
Internships are acknowledged as an important route into the world of
work for people pursuing professional careers. Unfortunately, there has
been a history of internships being offered as unpaid opportunities which
benefit mostly wealthy people and those with few barriers to work. Our
internships are paid and open only to disabled people. Previous interns
have told us that coming into this programme openly as a disabled
person meant that they felt relieved that the opportunity was inclusive.
We hope that in the long term our work will help make the world of
employment more inclusive with barriers for disabled people
considerably reduced or completely removed.
Internships will enable interns to develop skills and knowledge that
should improve their employability more generally. Interns will join the
employing organisation, where they will carry out a designated project as
detailed below. Giving you responsibility for the planning, delivery and
evaluation of a piece of work will help you gain a variety of skills and
experiences in work. There may also be some chances to shadow the
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staff team which could give you a better understanding of different work
roles you might wish to pursue in your career beyond the internship. The
exact content of each internship will vary, depending on the needs of the
employer. The roles will be challenging but you will be supported by your
colleagues to successfully carry out the work.
More information can be found in our applicant’s handbook.
Interns will receive support, as necessary, with Access to Work
applications, reasonable adjustments, and any issue that might arise.
While funding is limited, it may be possible to meet additional costs
incurred by interns that cannot covered by other means.
Eligibility
 Have an impairment that means you are a disabled person as defined
by the Equality Act 2010: someone who has a physical or mental
impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his
or her ability to carry out normal every day activities. (This includes
sensory impairments).
 There are no age limitations for our internships.
 Educational requirements will vary depending on the advertised roles,
however we aim to be as flexible as possible. We recognise that there
are barriers that disabled people face in education and employment,
and that you may have life and work experience that prepare you for
the role.
Recruitment process
Shortlisting will take place between Inclusion Scotland and the host
employer. We aim to provide prompt, constructive feedback to
applicants who are unsuccessful, although we hope to offer interview to
as many candidates as we can where practical.
The application form gives you the opportunity to request reasonable
adjustments for interview. It is natural to worry that these may be taken
into consideration when we shortlist, but this is not the case! We like to
know what we can do to help you have a fair and equal chance in your
interview.
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Inclusion Scotland
We are the grant holders for this project. Our role during the internship
includes supporting interns and employers with disability related
adjustments, facilitating peer support, carrying out monitoring and
evaluation, and gathering learning to inform approach to inclusive
employment.
Inclusion Scotland’s mission is ‘to ensure that policy affecting the
everyday lives of disabled people in Scotland is informed by and reflects
their views, so that the full inclusion of disabled people into all aspects of
Scottish society can be achieved’. We work to promote understanding of
the physical, social, economic, cultural and attitudinal barriers that limit
disabled people’s everyday lives and we advocate action for their
removal. We do this by providing information, capacity-building and
carrying out policy work. For further information about us see:
http://www.inclusionscotland.org/ .
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Events and Exhibitions Intern – Royal College of
Nursing
Payment:
Accountable to:
Reports to:
Contract:
Location:
UK Living Wage rate of £8.45 per hour
Royal College of Nursing Scotland
Knowledge and Research Manager
35 hours per week for 13 weeks (3 months) or
part-time over a longer period (a total of 455
hours)
RCN Scotland HQ Office - Edinburgh
Organisation profile
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the world’s largest professional
organisation and trade union for nursing staff, with members in the NHS,
independent and third sectors. RCN Scotland promotes patient and
nursing interests by campaigning on issues that affect members, shaping
national health policies, representing members on practice and
employment issues and providing members with learning and
development opportunities. With over 40,000 members in Scotland, the
RCN is the voice of nursing.
Website https://www.rcn.org.uk/scotland
Internship overview
As an organisation the RCN is keen to promote its work through a variety
of different exhibitions and events. The intern would work alongside RCN
staff establishing the exhibition programme in Scotland, including working
with the RCN Scotland knowledge and research team to make
arrangements for engagement activities for the public health exhibition.
The intern would also work with the RCN Scotland communications team
to deliver one of RCN Scotland’s ‘In the spotlight’ events on a topic
unrelated to public health. The intern will be supported by the Knowledge
and Research Manager and the Parliamentary and Media Officer.
Main duties and tasks
Public Health exhibition A healthful form of work: The history of
public health nursing
 Participate as part of the team making installation arrangements for
the public health exhibition
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 Contribute to the scoping and planning of engagement activities as
part of the team for the public health exhibition including public
events
 Raise awareness of exhibition activities through the use of social
media
 Contribute to the evaluation of exhibition events and prepare
evaluation summaries
 Contribute to the collation and summary of information on exhibition
engagement activities, highlighting key considerations for future
activities
 Contribute to an action plan for future exhibitions
RCN Scotland ‘In the spotlight’
 Deliver as part of the team an ‘In the spotlight’ event
 Raise awareness of the event through use of social media
 Contribute to the scoping of relevant audiences for the ‘In the
spotlight’ event, and develop system to contact audience
 Liaise on costs and catering
 Arrange audio visual equipment where necessary
 Evaluate the event with audience members
 Contribute to the development ways of working and an action plan
to be used as a model for future ‘In the spotlight’ events
Person Specification:
Essential skills and experience:
 Experience in developing productive working relationships
 Organised and methodical approach to work
 Good interpersonal skills, with ability to communicate concisely
 Ability to work on own initiative as well as part of a team
 Excellent communication skills to meet the needs of a variety of
stakeholders
 Ability to use Microsoft Office packages including Word, Outlook,
Excel, email, and internet
 Ability to adapt, plan and prioritise to respond to changing needs
 Ability to maintain a high level of attention to detail and accuracy
 Ability to collate and summarise information, and update records
accurately and efficiently
 Is helpful, courteous and patient
 Self-reliant whilst seeking advice and support when required
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Desirable skills and experience
 Educated to HND level or equivalent
 Ability to use Microsoft PowerPoint
Additional Information
If you would like to discuss this opportunity with the employer prior to
submitting your application, please contact: Sian Kiely, Knowledge and
Research Manager, on [email protected]
Completed applications to be forwarded by 5pm on 28 February 2017
to:
Naomi Waite
Inclusion Scotland
Hayweight House
23 Lauriston Street
Edinburgh
EH3 9DQ
or [email protected]
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