Salary: £20,204 to £21,036

Support Workers are a valuable part of what we do.

We are looking for applicants who have worked with people with learning disabilities for at least one year, and had experience of working in a person centred and creative ways to empower people we support to get more of what they want out of life.

Please read through the Job Description and Person Specification below.

If you are interested, then apply here.

Job Description

Job Title: Senior Support Worker (Registered Service)

Reports to: Registered Manager/Deputy Manager

Responsible for: Support Workers

Overall Objectives:

To ensure that support is delivered to service users in accordance with Odyssey’s mission statement, philosophy, policies and procedures; and in line with the aims and objectives of the service; placing particular emphasis on working within processes and systems geared towards a person centred approach to meet individual needs.

Key Responsibilities

Management/Teamwork

To support the manager in providing and ensuring that all staff deliver person centred support in accordance with service users’ individual support plans, which form the basis of our contract with each service user
To supervise and give direction to support workers
To assist the manager in implementing good performance management practices by monitoring and coaching staff through staff recruitment, induction, probation, supervision and performance reviews
To assist the manager to identify the learning and development needs of staff and to ensure that all necessary training is undertaken
To ensure effective communication within the team (via team meetings, handovers, etc.); with service users and their families and friends, in accordance with their individual wishes and preferred methods of communication; and with professionals from other statutory and voluntary organisations, including providing written reports
To assist the manager in managing effective administrative systems and procedures relating to the daily running of the service, including e.g. writing rotas, reports, financial administration, acting as shift leader, etc.
To assist the manager in leading the development of the service objectives and annual local business plan, including quality assurance. To monitor and update programmes of work to ensure targets are met
To assist the manager in ensuring health and safety requirements are maintained
To assist the manager in managing the service budgets
To make effective use of Odyssey’s email and other I.T. systems as appropriate to the post level

Supporting Others

To act as “key worker” to service users
To participate in and support domestic activities within the service, such as personal care, cooking, cleaning, shopping, and home maintenance with a view to enabling service users to gain greater independence

Organisational/Statutory

To at all times carry out responsibilities with due regard to Odyssey’s Equal Opportunities Statement
To accept responsibility for ensuring that Odyssey’s policies, procedures and principles, including those relating to Health and Safety in the workplace, are adhered to at all times
To respect the confidentiality of data stored electronically and by other means in line with the Data Protection Act
To carry out responsibilities with due regard to the non-smoking environment in the services and offices

Continuous Improvement

To participate in and contribute to regular supervision and performance review meetings with line management
To participate in the staff development programme as identified by your training needs analysis

The above list is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post. All members of staff are required to be professional, co-operative and flexible in line with the post, service/department and organisation.

Person Specification

Experience

Three years experience of working in a residential setting
One year’s experience of working with adults with learning disabilities
One year’s experience of working as a shift leader
Use of care planning systemsExperience of devising local business/service plans

Skills/Abilities

You must have the ability to:

learn to use specialist support models
be able to set up and monitor admin and in-house financial systems
work on own initiative with the ability to work under pressure and support staff in stressful situations
communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with staff, residents and associated professionals
physically carry out personal care needs for the client group
effectively supervise and develop staff
apply the principles of partnership working in a person centred way
measure customer satisfaction and develop and improve customer service
review service levels to ensure customer and service user needs are met
apply, review, and evaluate systems and procedures to promote service quality
evaluate training needs and ensure learning points are introduced to improve individual and team performance
be proactive in times of crisis/emergency reviewing/suggesting and implementing change once situation has been resolved
use a range of tools and techniques to reconcile differing arguments and make intelligent business decisions

Planning & Organising Self & Others

Can produce and manage Action Plans and communicate them to staff
Monitors trends and variances across a number of plans using appropriate tools and techniques
Leads on complex projects demonstrating innovative approaches to challenging issues which may have a major impact on the business

Knowledge/Understanding

Knowledge of the welfare benefit system and relevant statutory agencies
An understanding of team work and a commitment to work as part of a team
A demonstrable commitment to the principles of equality, diversity and its practical application and integration in the work environment
Knowledge and understanding of relevant legislation including the Care standard Act 2002 and its implications and the white paper Valuing People

This document sets out the essential requirements necessary for the best candidate for the job. It is the basis for framing job advertisements and in determining shortlists and interview questions. The Person Specification is also based on Odyssey’s Generic Competencies Framework. The Recruitment Panel reserve the right to appoint candidates who may not fully meet the requirements of this Person Specification., subject to applying the objective recruitment procedure, implementing any necessary learning and development and short term support , and confirming competency as a result of successfully completing their probationary period of employment.

Apply for this Job

www.odysseycare.org

Senior Support Worker