Young Carer Support Officer in Irvine, Ayrshire

Location: 3x North Ayrshire school clusters (Auchenharvie, St Matthews, Ardrossan)

Permanent: Full Time, 35 hours per week, including some occasional weekend and evening work (plenty notice is given beforehand)

Salary: £24,222 + 5% employer pension contribution

21 HSC are proud to announce that we have been exclusively retained on behalf of Unity to recruit a Carers Gateway Young Carer Officer. Unity is a highly regarded and long-established charity that provides a range of services to support vulnerable and disadvantaged people across the West of Scotland. In North Ayrshire, they have supported unpaid carers for more than 20 years and have been contracted by the local Health and Social Care Partnership to introduce a vastly enhanced service. The new North Ayrshire Carers Gateway model will help more people, in more places and in more ways than ever before.

The purpose of the role is to improve the health and wellbeing of young carers in North Ayrshire. Working in schools and other community settings, they identify young people aged between 5 and 18 who have caring responsibilities and support them to access a range of services and activities. The Officers raise awareness of the challenges faced by young carers amongst education, youth, and health professionals, encouraging earlier identification of carers and a multi-disciplinary approach in supporting them.

A young carer is between the age of five and eighteen years old who provides support to a family member, whose life is affected by alcohol and/or drug misuse, mental or physical illness or disability and who may have emotional and physical responsibilities beyond those normally given to children of their age.

• Responsible for proactive identification of young carers within the locality.
• Responsible for responding to all enquiries and referrals for young carers in the locality, providing carers with both emotional and practical support.
• Responsible for ensuring that all young carers' needs are met by utilising the appropriate Gateway assessment tool to identify and prioritise needs.
• Responsible for providing support activities for young carers, both within and out with the school setting. This includes, but is not limited to, 1:1 support, peer support, group activities and residential trips.
• Responsible for ensuring that all young carers are offered a Young Carers Statement during their initial engagement with the Gateway service and, when this is not progressed, is revisited with the young carer periodically.
• Responsible for liaising with local partner organisations to support young carer identification and the support available to them. This may include, but is not limited to, schools, youth services, Active Schools, HSCP officer and social work teams, third sector organisations and community groups as required.
• Responsible for promoting the Gateway service within the locality. This will include local networking, developing partnerships and working with the Marketing Coordinator to produce plans and resources for raising the Gateway's visibility within the locality.
• Act as an advocate for young carers within educational settings, ensuring the voice of young carers is heard and the challenges they face are widely understood.
• Provide guidance on young carers' rights and entitlements, liaising with the Gateway Welfare & Benefits Officer as required.
• Promote the short breaks service to all identified young carers and support them to make applications as required.
• Access local funding to enhance the services and activities available to young carers.
• Ensure Carers Gateway processes are followed at all times and electronic case management records are updated and reviewed regularly.
• Prepare monthly status reports and undertake other monitoring and evaluation as required.
• Represent young carers at local and national platforms empowering young people to have their say.
• Maintain a sound knowledge of the National and Local Carers Strategy and any changes to benefit entitlements for carers and/or young carers.

• It is essential to have standard grade general level or equivalent in a minimum of four subjects, one of which should be English.
• It is essential to have a driving licence and access to a car for business use.
• It is essential to have previous work experience with unpaid carers, lived experience or relatable voluntary experience.
• It is essential to understand Carers Rights, Benefits and Local Strategy.
• It is essential to have experience of managing a caseload, good note taking and follow up.
• It is desirable to have an SVQ in Social Care or equivalent qualification.

To apply for this role, please click apply and send an up-to-date CV in support of your application in the first instance. For more information about the position available and a detailed job description and person specification, please contact Danielle Frame at 21 HSC. Suitable applicants will be contacted as soon as possible with a view to securing a formal interview with the Senior Management Team. Short-listed applicants will be invited for an initial face-to-face/teams interview with one of our recruitment team.

21 HSC Limited is an equal opportunities employer.