Mental Health Senior Support Worker, Driver -West Yorkshire in Liversedge

Full Time 37.5 hours per week

Main duties of the job

• Essential requirements of a Senior Support Worker
• Full UK Driving Licence
• Flexibility - Your role will involve working shifts including weekends and Bank Holidays
• Must be able to attend training throughout employment which will be held on weekdays.
• Good written skills and the ability to write basic reports and record information accurately.
• Basic IT skills (Your role will involve some computer work, completing forms, using an online care system, and writing emails)
• Good verbal communication skills and the ability to listen to others.
• An ability to maintain a professional working boundary.
• Ability to remain calm in emergencies, supporting others during difficult situations.

Desirable Criteria of a Senior Support Worker

• NVQ Level 3 qualification or equivalent in Care or willingness to work towards this
• Previous experience of working with young people who have mental health needs.

About us

Care in Mind provide residential services for young people aged 16-30 years old. The young people we care for often require a high level of support to assist with difficulties they may have from self-harming, behaviour, and emotional difficulties. Our aim is to support the young people using a therapeutic approach to help them achieve their individual goals, in preparation for transition to adult life.

Company Benefits

• An additional day off each year for your birthday.
• Enhanced company sick pay.
• Enhanced company pension.
• Enhanced maternity/paternity leave.
• Paid time off for fertility treatment.
• Life Assurance (2 x annual salary).
• Electric Car salary sacrifice scheme.
• Healthcare CashPlan with costs provided towards dental and optical care and a range of other healthcare treatments and benefits.
• Employee Assistance Programme/24-hour Counselling Service.
• Free eye tests and various other benefits.
• Excellent Learning and Development opportunities (Level 3 in Adult Health & Social Care and support with completion of the Care Certificate).
• Paid Training, Induction and DBS check.
• We are a Mindful & Disability Confident Employer.
• We are a supporter of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.
• We are a Menopause Friendly Organisation.
• Long service awards.
• Social events including a Christmas party.
• Blue Light Card to access further shopping discounts.
• Refer a Friend Scheme (Up to £500 per referral).
• Free onsite parking.

Job responsibilities

At Care in Mind our homes are always a hub of activity and energy where the young people can feel safe, and our staff enjoy coming to work. Your role will involve working with our young people to promote independence through support with education, household tasks and general life skills. You will also update online care records and complete medication administration. In addition, you will be responsible for the general upkeep and tidiness of the home ensuring the young people live in a homely environment.

At our home in Liversedge, West Yorkshire you will be working with young people who have a variety of mental health diagnosis including personality disorder, those who have difficult relationships with food and those who use self-harm as a strategy to cope with their emotions. As such, you will be required to be patient and resilient as the support you will be providing to our young people will include supporting them to improve their relationship with food and managing incidents of self-harm.

When our young people are preparing for moving on positively from the home into the community, you will be supporting this transition through things such as: supporting them to self-administer their own medication, re-engaging with education, accessing public transport and appointments independently. The young people enjoy in house activities such as arts/crafts, baking, cooking, board games and quiz/movie/theme nights. They also like going out in the community, on day trips to the beach or similar, shopping, eating out, bowling, walks, concerts and the cinema.

The home is a 5-bed service and is an Edwardian building with lovely spacious rooms including plenty of communal areas where young people and staff can work together. Alongside the house there is a fabulous back garden and large decking area, which are perfect for when the summer months bring the sunny weather to Yorkshire. You will be working with an established, experienced and diverse staff team who all have a passion for supporting the young people to achieve their goals and help them move on to full independence.

The role will include some fewer fun aspects such as incident management, de-escalation of challenging behaviours, completing several online records, report writing, audits, and medication management. Previous experience of working with young people who have mental health needs is essential and ideally you will have worked as a Support Worker in a similar environment. You will receive full training and ongoing support & mentoring from our friendly residential and clinical team. The job is highly rewarding and is an excellent development opportunity if you would like to gain supervisory experience and move into a future management role of which we will support the right candidates to do. The job is highly rewarding and a great start to developing your career working with young people or enhancing your previous experience of mental health with the opportunity for excellent career development.

Person Specification

• Qualifications
• Level 3 diploma qualification in care or equivalent or willingness to work towards this.

• Experience
• Passed your probation with CiM
• Previous experience of supervising a team or individuals within a team

• Skills
• Good written communication skills and the ability to write basic reports and record information accurately
• IT skills and the ability to write emails and use Microsoft office
• Ability to liaise in a professional manner with external agencies
• Understanding of the issues around confidentiality
• Understanding of safeguarding
• Form and maintain professional working boundaries between staff and service users.
• Ability to remain calm in emergencies, supporting others during difficult situations.
• Aware and basic understanding of the Legislation and Guidance relevant to young people in residential care.
• To have a full clean manual driving license, to drive the service car

• Other
• Able to work shifts (including weekends, bank holidays where required to complete any necessary training)
• Good verbal communication skills and the ability to listen to others

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£28,138.50 to £30,205.50 a year. Dependent on Experience