JOB TITLE: Oliver McGowan Tier 1 Facilitating Trainer

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB REFERENCE: LETT1/Dec25

LOCATION: Sussex Countywide

SERVICE:  Lived Experience Training

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 9:00 – Monday 8th December 2025

INTERVIEW DATES: Week beginning 15th December 2025

CONTRACT: 2 years fixed term – extension depending on funding availability

HOURS PER WEEK: 30 hours per week

BASED: Mix of home working, remote working in communities, and office working as required

SALARY: £31,416 per annum (FTE) — actual salary £25,472 per annum for 30 hours per week (Band 4,
Scale Point 21)

HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT: Starting 27 days pro rata per annum, plus 3 extra days at Christmas and the
usual statutory holidays.

Lived  Experience  Training  is  a  project  which  supports  autistic  trainers  and  trainers  with  learning
disabilities to design and deliver autism training with the aim of improving services and communities
for autistic people and people with learning disabilities as well as empowering our trainers to improve
their confidence and work skills.

LINE MANAGED BY:  Senior Lived Experience Training Team Leader

RESPONSIBLE FOR: Under the supervision of James Parmenter, Senior Lived Experience Training Team
Leader the post holder will facilitate the delivery of Oliver McGowan Training Tier 1 training sessions and
support other Lived Experience Training sessions when required.

For an informal chat, please call James Parmenter on 07787 250627.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) and the successful applicant will
be required to undergo an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Impact Initiatives is a registered charity, no. 276669. Company registered in
England, No.1402692. Registered office: 69 Ship St, Brighton, BN1 1AE.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS OF IMPACT INITIATIVES

Impact Initiatives was founded in 1978 to resolve the social issues that Brighton and Hove communities
were facing at the time.  Our founders were a diverse collection of individuals who cared enough about
community issues to come together and take action against the injustices they saw on their doorstop.
Over the years Impact has grown and evolved as an organisation but what has never changed, is that we
continue to provide a voice, hope and change for the people who need it most.

Today our services work tirelessly to support, champion and inspire children, young people, adults with
disabilities and older people.  Ultimately, we believe that everybody should have the opportunity to be the
best they can be.  Our vision is for Sussex people of all ages to reach their potential, living healthy and
fulfilling lives.

Impact’s model of having a Central Team - who provide expertise in finance, HR, IT and facilities, health
and safety, and business development - ensures each of our specialist teams can focus on excellence in
individual service delivery and development.   We employ around 100 staff who are supported by a team
of volunteers and currently work with over 10,000 people each year.

ABOUT LIVED EXPERIENCE TRAINING

The Lived Experience Training project has been operating since 2014 following research by local
autism self-advocacy groups which found a need among mental health professionals expressed for
autism training delivered from a first-person perspective. The project has 2 key aims:

1)  To improve services, communities and general support for the autistic community. We serve
this aim by providing excellent training developed from a combination of our trainers’ lived
experience and up to date research.

2)  To support our trainers develop confidence and work skills which will benefit them in seeking
further work by providing in a flexible, inclusive working environment which celebrates their
skills and experience.

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism programme is named
after Oliver McGowan, a young autistic man with learning disabilities who tragically died in a hospital in
2016 following repeated failures of staff to take account of his needs. The training was developed
following the Health and Care Act 2022, which introduced a requirement for all CQC registered services
to ensure that their employees receive learning disability and autism training. The training recognises
and places a focus on ensuring the voices of trainers with lived experience of autism and learning
disabilities.

The post holder will support trainers with lived experience of autism and learning disabilities to deliver
Oliver McGowan Tier 1 Training sessions and Lived Experience Training sessions.

Page 2 of 5

MAIN TASKS

Service Development and Delivery -

•  To attend and complete Oliver McGowan Tier 1 Facilitator Trainer training

•  To support trainers with lived experience of autism and learning disabilities to attend and

engage with Oliver McGowan Tier 1 Facilitator Trainer training sessions

•  To facilitate Oliver McGowan Tier 1 Facilitator Training on Learning Disability and Autism

across the Sussex area

•  To support trainers with lived experience of autism and learning disabilities to prepare for

Oliver McGowan Tier 1 Training sessions

•  To support trainers with lived experience of autism and learning disabilities to deliver Oliver

McGowan Tier 1 Training sessions

•  To support the project administration by ensuring prompt collection and returning of

registers and feedback forms on completion of sessions

•  To liaise with the Team Leader and other facilitating trainer to help monitor the progress

and developing or changing support needs of trainers with lived experience

•  To support trainers with lived experience to ‘debrief’ following training sessions in a timely
manner. Aiding them to discuss and address any issues arising from recently delivered
sessions to support their continued wellbeing and participation in the project.

People

•  To provide regular and consistent support for a team of trainers with lived experience of

learning disabilities and/or autism.  This is to include:

o  trainers to access technology to facilitate their roles as trainers,
o  supporting trainers to complete Oliver McGowan (OM) Trainer training
o  supporting trainers to prepare to deliver OM Training
o  supporting trainers to deliver OM Training
o  providing appropriate support to trainers to claim pay and expenses as necessary

•  To support with the recruitment of OM Trainers when necessary

•  To ensure that OM Trainers receive support to participate in the project which reflects their

varying and diverse strengths and reasonable adjustment needs

•  To support trainers as necessary to access training, support with additional work skills and

confidence including interview practice and work coaching where appropriate

•  To support trainers to ensure that they have a voice in Lived Experience Training

•  To support trainers to attend their training sessions by helping them to physically access a

venue where appropriate

Page 3 of 5

Customers and Publicity

•  To support publicising of the project via social and print media and professional networks

Project Administration

•  To support the team leader and project administrator to ensure that feedback and registers

for Oliver McGowan Tier 1 courses are submitted in a timely and accurate manner

•  To support the project administrator to track and record hours completed by expert co-

trainers for payroll

Page 4 of 5

Person Specification

Qualifications, knowledge and experience

Requirement

Good standard of education – equivalent of 5 GCSEs including Maths and English

Essential

A relevant training qualification (level 3) or teaching qualification such as Diploma
in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS), Multi-professional support of
learning and assessment in practice or an equivalent.

Desirable

Experience of successful delivery of training in health and social care or similar
environment and ability to persuade and influence learners’ attitudes at a range
of levels and supporting others to develop quality practice

Experience of building rapport and working collaboratively with people with a
learning disability and autistic people. This could be demonstrated through
formal and informal experiences.

An up to date working knowledge of the fields of autism and learning disability and
familiarity with current issues.

Knowledge of health and social care sectors and current and emerging trends
that constitute best practice in delivering health and social care support.

Understanding of legislation relevant to Oliver McGowan training including: the
Mental Capacity Act 2005, Human Rights Act 1998, the Autism Act 2009, The
Equality Act 2010, UK legal valid consent laws and DNACPR case law

Essential

Essential

Essential

Essential

Desirable

Skills and values

Requirement

An understanding of the value of the skills, experiences and views of autistic
people and people with learning disabilities, a commitment to supporting the
empowerment of individuals from these communities and the centering of their
voices in training sessions about them.

Excellent communication and presentation skills including the ability to develop
and deliver presentations collaboratively with others

A passion for teamwork and supporting the development of others

Able to competently use Microsoft packages: Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel;
and Teams and Zoom

Ability to work in a self-directed manner as part of a distance-managed team,
utilising initiative and good organisational skills to prioritise and manage
workload.

Essential

Essential

Essential

Essential

Essential

Drivers licence or demonstrable ability to travel regularly to potentially difficult to
reach venues across Sussex

Essential

Page 5 of 5