Lead Social Prescriber

Are you passionate about people and want to make a difference in people's lives? Are you interested in empowering people to take charge of their health and wellbeing? Would you like to become a part of an innovative approach to healthcare? Are you capable of leading and motivating a team?

We are seeking a proactive and caring individual who has experience of leading a team, who has excellent interpersonal and communication skills. You will be flexible, self‑motivated and well organised and able to demonstrate compassion, understanding and empathy to others. You should be able to demonstrate experience of leading a team and ideally have experience of working in Primary Care as a Social Prescribing Link worker. You should also be able to demonstrate experience of addressing the wider determinants of health.

Main duties of the job

• To lead and take overall responsibility for the Personalised Care Team within the Primary Care Network by providing experienced SPLW leadership and guidance.
• Whilst acting as the Lead Social Prescribing Link Worker you will hold additional responsibilities as day‑to‑day line manager for all SPLWs and Care Coordinators within the team providing day‑to‑day management and support as required.
• Enabling yourself and the team to provide personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to take control of their wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes.
• Develop trusting relationships by giving people time and focus on “what matters to me”.
• Taking a holistic approach, based on the persons priorities and the wider determinants of health.
• Co‑produce a personalised support plan to improve health and wellbeing, introducing or reconnecting people to community groups and statutory services.
• Work together with all local partners to collectively ensure that local VCSE organisations and community groups are sustainable and that community assets are nurtured, by making them aware of small grants or micro‑commissioning if available, including providing support to set up new community groups and services, where gaps are identified in local provision.

About us

Cheltenham Peripheral Primary Care Network has always been innovative and led the way with roles to support Personalised Care and has an established team of Social Prescribing Link Workers, and Care Coordinators, who all work collaboratively across the Network. As part of a multidisciplinary team the Primary Care Network supports 53,000 patients across 5 Practices. These five practices are located on the edge of Cheltenham covering Charlton Kings, Leckhampton, Bishops Cleeve and Winchcombe. We are looking to recruit the right person to lead the team to develop the next chapter in Personalised Care.

Job responsibilities

• Maintain professional skills and competencies to promote and support the team to achieve service priorities.
• Lead the personalised care team, supporting HR processes to include timesheets, appraisals, holiday requests and one‑to‑one meetings.
• Coordinate the team to ensure that care is delivered in a safe, effective and personalised manner.
• Ensure all new referrals are triaged, coordinated and allocated to members of the team with appropriate competencies.
• Actively participate and represent the team at multidisciplinary meetings within the locality and Primary Care network level as determined by the Deputy Clinical Director.
• Monitor and track referral information relevant to the Personalised Care team; provide the PCN Management team with performance information.
• Identify and support training needs of the Personalised Care Team, supporting and facilitating ongoing development of the team.
• Inform and guide non-clinical and clinical staff within the Network on what services are available within the community and how and when patients can access them.
• Assist with the recruitment and selection of new staff, as and when required, as well as implementing appropriate induction and training pathways.

Personal Attributes & abilities

• Ability to listen, empathise with people and provide person‑centred support in a non‑judgemental way.
• Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity.
• Commitment to reducing health inequalities and proactively working to reach people from all communities.
• Able to support people in a way that inspires trust and confidence, motivating others to reach their potential.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with people, their families, carers, community groups, partner agencies and stakeholders.
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals.
• Have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health professionals/agencies, when what the person needs is beyond the scope of the link worker role.
• Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks.
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues.
• Commitment to collaborative working with all local agencies.
• Demonstrates personal accountability, emotional resilience and works well under pressure.
• Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure.
• High level of written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative.

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3, Advanced level or equivalent qualifications or working towards this level.
• Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal development.
• GCSE grade A to C in English and Maths.
• Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience.

Skills and Knowledge

• Recruitment of staff and wider HR processes.
• Demonstrable Supervision and Leadership skills.
• Responsible for staff appraisals.
• Data management and use of Excel spreadsheets to support analysis and presentation of management data.
• Support staff with One‑to‑One meetings.
• Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact.
• Knowledge of community development approaches.
• Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans.
• Knowledge of motivational coaching and interview skills.
• Knowledge of VCSE and community services in the locality.
• Awareness of GDPR.
• Awareness of Safeguarding Children & Adults.
• Knowledge of the personalised care approach.
• Knowledge of Excel spreadsheets.
• Knowledge of Primary Care Contracts.

Experience

• Experience of developing and coaching a team.
• Experience of Social Prescribing in a Primary Care Network.
• Experience of working directly in a community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public.
• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work).
• Experience of working with the VCSE sector (in a paid or unpaid capacity), including with volunteers and small community groups.
• Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations.
• Experience of leading a team in a Primary Care Network.
• Experience of data collection and providing monitoring information to assess the impact of services.
• Experience of supporting people with their mental health, either in a paid, unpaid or informal capacity.
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team.

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.