Justin Parker

Experience

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  Central Office of Industrial Tribunals

  Jul 1994 - Apr 1995

  Tribunal Clerk

  Working in the Central London Tribunal Hearing Centre, I gained considerable knowledge of employment law, and individual rights in the workplace. My main role was liaising between the tribunal panel & employee/employer representatives to ensure the smooth running of hearings of employment cases.

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  BRIGHTON UNEMPLOYED CENTRE FAMILIES PROJECT

  Apr 1997 - Feb 1999

  Welfare Rights Advisor

  Delivering information, advice & guidance on a wide range of welfare rights issues including welfare benefits, housing, access to services, and debt advice. Working as part of a team to design new methods of service delivery to meet demand.

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  Impact Initiatives

  Mar 1999 - Mar 2003

  Vocational Worker

  Delivering vocational guidance & practical assistance to people in recovery from mental health issues to help them to return to work.LSC, ESF & Jobcentre Plus funded programmes. Design & delivery of group-work & training courses.Complex caseload management.Employer liaison in relation to paid employment & voluntary work.Establishing & facilitating a service user led forum.

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  Independent Travel

  Apr 2003 - Mar 2004

  Freelance traveller

  Spent a year travelling independently around South America.Learning to speak Spanish.Studying pre-Inca civilisations in Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina & Chile.Also visited Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam & Laos.

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  Self Employed

  Feb 2006 - Mar 2007

  Freelance SME on Welfare to Work & Back to Work training

  Provided consultancy as a Subject matter expert (SME) to a leading UK E-learning company on project content for a large DWP project for the University for Industry (UfI) - the organisation behind the 'Learndirect' brand.

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  Southdown Housing Association

  Mar 2007 - Sept 2013

  Peer Support Manager

  Setting up an innovative peer support pilot project to prevent repeat homelessness through tenancy sustainment.Branding the new project as 'Peer2Peer'.Writing project policies and procedures.Successful partnership working.Recruiting & training ex-clients as peer support volunteers.Managing team of volunteers to provide effective support to 72 clients.Closely involving clients in co- design & co-production of service.Problem-solving to deliver outcomes.Project nominated for Peer Support National Awards 2011. Show less

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  UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON STUDENTS UNION

  Sept 2013 - Dec 2014

  Bright 'n' Green Project Manager
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  Money Advice & Community Support (MACS)

  Jul 2014 - Apr 2015

  Money Advice Outreach Worker

  Providing a specialist debt and welfare benefits casework outreach service from venues across the City of Brighton & Hove.Empowering & supporting clients to resolve their own debt, benefit and money management issues. Advising clients on sustainable budgeting and money management.Assisting with applications to increase income from other sources.Acting and negotiating on clients’ behalf with third parties.

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  YMCA DownsLink Group

  May 2015 - Nov 2018

  Young Person's Housing Advisor

  Advising young people (18 to 25 years) who were homeless, or threatened with homelessness, on their housing rights & options.Running a housing drop-in service.Delivering training on how to manage a tenancy.

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  Brighton Housing Trust

  Nov 2018 - now

  Housing Legal Advisor

  Working under a Legal Aid contract to advise clients on their tenancy rights & legal remedies.Representing clients in the County Court to defend possession proceedings, under a Court Duty scheme.Advising on local authority duties regarding homeless applications, & challenging local authority decisions.