Recruiting Support Worker to join our Young Peoples service in Ashford, Dover and Folkstone!
£20,563 per annum, 40 hours per week, 25 days Annual Leave, Pension schemes, Staff discounts, healthcare and more.
Look Ahead’s Young People’s service in Kent is commissioned and funded by Kent County Council to provide supported accommodation and floating support to children and young people aged between 16-24 who are in care or deemed as a ‘child in need’ or children and young people leaving care. Young people are important to us. We support young people to realise their potential, enhance their life chances and to make the most of opportunities available to them.
We are looking for people who have a passion for working with young people, who understand the complexity of working with vulnerable young people and people who aren’t afraid of rolling their sleeves up and getting in the thick of it!
If this is you, then we’d love to hear from you!
This role requires working on a rota basis – shifts include 8.00 – 4.00, 11.00 – 7.00, 1.00 – 9.00 and including weekends.
Job Overview:
Support Workers will provide support to customers to help them develop the life skills they require to enhance their life chances. They will work with customers to promote social inclusion and alongside other members of the team to promote independent living, encouraging customers to maximise their skills and choices.
Key Responsibilities:
- Building supportive, trusting relationships with customers
- Managing a caseload as well as administrative responsibilities
- Supporting key customers to set personalised SMART goals in the form of a Support Plan
- Conducting regular key work sessions that are innovative and engaging in order to achieve Support Plan goals
- Ensuring ongoing assessment and management of risks associated with customers within an attitude of ‘positive risk taking’
- Proactively manage risk and safety both in and outside of their physical living environment
- Providing support with daily living activities, including practical assistance where skills are not yet developed, to ensure that customers enjoy a high quality of accommodation
- Proactive development of links with local statutory and voluntary organisations to provide a range of engagement opportunities for customers in the community
- Involving customers in the design, development and delivery of the service
- Empowering customers to ensure they receive the service and benefits they are entitled to
- Encouraging and enabling tenants to pay their rent and ensure that rent accounts are managed effectively
- Housing management tasks which include managing the voids process
- Engaging in learning and development activity to increase knowledge and skills
- Ensure that all safeguarding cases are managed in line with safeguarding protocols and are reported to Contract Manager/Head of Operations, as appropriate
- Ensure Look Ahead Health and Safety policies are always adhered to and to uphold all health and safety responsibilities within relevant policies and local protocols
- Ensure that all other Look Ahead policies and procedures are adhered to
- Engage positively in reflective practice sessions with colleagues.
- Carry out other management duties commensurate with the designated role level, as may be deemed reasonable by Look Ahead, including the management of other teams within the designated patch, or an alternative patch, if such a need arises
This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead.
Person Specification:
- Enjoys social interaction and the company of others, joins in local activities to encourage customer involvement
- Approachable and open behaviour
- Prefers working as part of a group or team
- Able to use own initiative and problem solve
- Is fundamentally calm and resilient, does not let emotion adversely affect them or obscure their judgement
- Has a practical and logical mind and is naturally well organised
- Flexible
- Open to feedback and self development
- Thrives on change and enjoys dynamic diverse environments
- Is confident with high levels of self-esteem
- Is respectful, articulate and sensitive in style of communication
- Is essentially customer–focused
- Is motivated towards excellence and improvement of personal performance with a can do attitude
- Ability to cope positively with challenging and diverse behaviours
Skills, Knowledge and Experience:
Desirable:
- Car Driver
- NVQ Level 2 or equivalent
- Experience of working alongside social services and other statutory agencies
If your application for this role is unsuccessful, but we feel that you would be suitable for another role, we may contact you to discuss alternative opportunities. If this occurs you would not need to submit another application for the alternative role.
We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.
Look Ahead is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment.
We are committed to diversity and inclusion at work and are accredited with the Inclusive Employers Standard 2020. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.
