Senior Practitioner in Ferndown

Location: Ferndown, Dorset

Hours: 37.5 contracted hours per week (Monday to Sunday – split between on shift and office hours and may include days, evenings, weekends and bank holidays and sleep-ins)

Salary: £29,769.39 per annum (£15.23 p/h)

We regret to inform you that Advance is unable to accept any sponsorship requirements.

About the Role

Would you like to work somewhere where you get to make a real difference every day? As a Senior Practitioner you will work alongside your Support Manager to provide an excellent support service for the customers around Dorset. You will support by leading, developing, monitoring, and evaluating support practice in line with Advance policies and procedures, best practice, contractual and regulatory standards. You will be passionate about ensuring the service delivered is person-centred and supports people to develop their confidence, skills and independence in their own home and in the local community.

The role of Senior Practitioner will include:

• Overseeing the support given by the support workers and supporting, coaching, guiding and providing practice leadership for the team.
• Supporting and observing support workers in their role and ensuring best practice.
• Ability to coach team members to deal with behaviours that challenge, to act as a role model for best practice and encourage a reflective culture.
• Ability to work effectively across a range of teams, including peer group and Multi-Disciplinary, and Specialist Health Teams.
• Supporting the review and update of support plans and documents relating to customers.
• Work in partnership with the Operations Manager, Support Manager and Support Workers to develop and implement plans which promote people’s communication and support them with making choices and decisions.
• Take an active role in the training, coaching and development of staff on all aspects of Mental Health and person-centered delivery including the organisation of community of practice groups, training events and workshops.
• Be alert to and proactive in safeguarding the health, safety, and welfare of customers, yourself and colleagues based in the scheme and/or assigned area.
• Attend meetings where appropriate to discuss customers' progress and plan for future transitions.

About the candidate

We would love to hear from you if you are passionate about improving the lives of local, vulnerable people, and we will consider your application even if you don’t have previous experience working in care or support. What matters to us is your ability and determination to support people with learning disabilities, and the values you can bring to Advance.

The successful candidate will ideally have experience of working with people with learning disabilities, Mental Health Support; however, training can be given to the right applicant. If you think the role of Senior Practitioner sounds right for you, you will need these qualities:

• Are flexible, reliable and proactive.
• Are supportive of the customers’ goals to live the lifestyle of their choosing.
• Are willing to learn new skills.
• Work with a person-centred approach.
• Have good IT knowledge.
• Have good communication skills.
• Able to complete good quality support records.
• Good at working on your own and within a team.

Although not essential, a driving licence and access to own vehicle are desirable for this role.

Contact and Organisation Information

For more information about the role please contact Tracy Cartwright-Terry on 07860409106 or Email: Tracy.Cartwright-Terry@advanceuk.org between Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm.

About the organisation:

Advance is a national, not-for-profit provider of housing and support services for people with disabilities and mental health conditions. Our vision is to transform lives; providing the best quality housing and support services so that people can live the lives they choose, achieve their personal goals, feel valued and know their voices are heard.

We recognise that our people are our greatest asset and we’re passionate about making Advance a great place to work. We invest in our staff, providing the training and support you need to succeed in your role, gain industry-recognised qualifications and realise your career aspirations.

We are an equal opportunities employer who values its staff and the difference they make to their customers. There is no place for racism or discrimination of any kind in Advance. As an organisation, we will not tolerate it. We are firmly committed to recruiting the best colleagues regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation and to supporting customers from similarly diverse backgrounds.

All newly appointed staff receive an induction, during which they will learn about our PRIDE values, our expectations of how they should treat our customers and our commitments in relation to how they will be treated as a member of staff.

Benefits

• Paid holiday (from 25 days up to 30 days with long service in addition to bank holidays, pro rata for part time hours).
• Sector specific training is provided as part of induction plus opportunities for professional development.
• Access to Perks at Work where you can obtain great discounts on cinema tickets, shopping vouchers and much more.
• Long service awards payable in 5 year increments.
• Golden Hello/refer a friend receive up to £500.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme.
• Free DBS (Disclosures and Barring Service).
• Excellent opportunities to progress your career within Advance.
• Enrolment in a pension scheme with matched contributions above the statutory minimum (if you work enough hours to meet the threshold for enrolment).

Advance is regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing and the Care Quality Commission and we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the people we support. You will be required to provide evidence of right to work. An enhanced DBS disclosure will be required for this role, the cost of which will be covered by Advance.

Safeguarding

At Advance, Safeguarding is embedded in our organisational culture — it’s reflected in our values, our behaviours, and the way we work together. We believe that creating a safe environment is not just about compliance, but about cultivating trust, openness, and accountability at every level.

As the organisation’s Safeguarding Lead, Ryan Brummitt, Executive Director of Support, oversees our safeguarding arrangements and ensures that concerns are acted upon quickly, sensitively and in line with national legislation and local safeguarding procedures.

We believe that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Whether you are a customer, family member, colleague or partner organisation, if you have any concerns about the welfare or safety of someone we support — or of any member of our team — please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Together, we can ensure that Advance remains a safe, supportive and inclusive organisation for all. We value diversity and therefore welcome applications from everyone interested in working at Advance. We are a Disability Confident Leader.

Advance Housing & Support Ltd reserves the right to close this job once sufficient applications have been received.