About The Role
Unleash your potential - Your Career. Their Independence
Come and join us as a supportive and confident Qualified HabilitationSpecialist and be part of something life‑changing- helping people with sight loss live the life they choose.
As a Qualified Habilitation Specialist at Guide Dogs, you’lldeliver specialist mobility and independence training to children and youngpeople, including those with complex needs, helping them build the skills theyneed to confidently navigate the world. The Qualified Habilitation Specialistwill be an expert in assessing individual needs, designing tailoredhabilitation programmes, and providing practical, person‑centred support in arange of settings. Our Habilitation Specialists play a huge part in ensuringeverything we do enables us to deliver on our purpose and exceed expectations.
This is a full‑time position with travel across Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset areas and may include travel to the Channel Islands.
Key Responsibilities
- To holistically assess the needs and capabilities ofchildren and young people (CYP) with a vision impairment (VI) and produceappropriate person‑centred training programmes and recommendations as required.
- Plan, implement and review habilitation training programmesfor CYP with vision impairment (including those with complex needs).
- Deliver specialist habilitation (mobility and independence)services which support the Guide Dogs strategic objectives and bringindependence and freedom to CYP with a vision impairment, across your region ornationally.
- Write reports, maintain accuraterecords, and monitor CYP’s progress against set training programme goals,adapting these as required to ensure they continue to meet the CYP’s individualneeds and identify any further training requirements.
- Deliver habilitation awareness training to parents / carersand professionals.
- Provide advice, information and training to parents/carers,professionals including school staff and any others supporting CYP with avision impairment to promote and ensure reinforcement of training programmesand to raise their awareness of vision impairment and resources available.
You
You’ll have a person‑centred and collaborative approach toteaching mobility and independence skills, alongside carrying out assessmentsand developing tailored support plans. You’ll enjoy working in a variety ofsettings including home, education and community environments, with a dedicatedfocus on supporting children and young people to develop confidence andindependence, whilst being committed to delivering high‑quality, safe andeffective services. You’ll act with integrity and honesty in everything you do.
Skills and Competencies
- Qualified as a Habilitation Specialist - please refer to theEssential Education/ Qualifications criteria within the attached JobDescription
- Demonstrable post qualifying experience in statutory orvoluntary sector.
- Demonstrable experience of teaching mobility andindependence skills to individuals with a vision impairment in home, educationand/or community settings.
- Demonstrable experience of supporting children and youngpeople (Not necessarily vision impairment related) e.g., Youth Work, in aneducation setting, brownie or scout leader.
- Proven experience of carrying out access and environmentalaudits.
- Proven ability to liaise effectively with otherprofessionals / agencies.
- Demonstrable evidence of effective assessment and planningskills.
Benefits
Wewouldn’t be able to change the lives of people with sight loss without ourpeople. That’s why it’s important for us to provide a variety of benefits thatreward our colleagues in a way that suits them and recognises the hard work andcontribution that they make.
- 26 days annual leave. After three years ofcontinuous employment, this increases to 28 days plus bank holidays.
- Real Living Wage Employer
- Flex pot - equal to a proportion of yourannual salary to use on our wide variety of flexible benefits
- The option to buy and sell annual leave
- Discounts and cash‑back scheme
- Excellent pension scheme (We will match yourpension contributions plus 2% up to a maximum of 9% employer contribution)
- And lots more!
For high volumes of applications, we reserve theright to close adverts earlier than advertised.
About Us
Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
BehindEvery Guide Dog Is Someone Like You - We’re passionate about creating aninclusive workplace that celebrates and values diversity. Bring your whole selfto work regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, maritalor civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, nationality, ethnic ornational origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. We don’t wantyou to ‘fit’ our culture, we want you to enrich it.
Safer Recruitment
GuideDogs follow Safer Recruitment practices to ensure we are safeguarding thevulnerable people we work with. As part of this, we require a full work historywith any gaps accounted for & a minimum of 2 professional referee detailsfully covering the past 5 years. If you are applying for a disclosure role,please note that you will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check and signup to the DBS update service.
At GuideDogs, we believe in fair and equitable hiring practices. A criminal record willnot automatically disqualify an applicant from consideration for a position.Each case will be evaluated individually. We encourage all candidates todisclose relevant information, and we assure you that it will be handledconfidentially and fairly.
Qualified Habilitation Specialist in Southampton employer: Guide Dogs
Guide Dogs is an exceptional employer that fosters a supportive and inclusive work culture in Reading, Berkshire. With a strong commitment to employee growth, we offer numerous opportunities for professional development while working on meaningful campaigns that make a real difference in the lives of those we serve. Join us to be part of a passionate team dedicated to inspiring action and maximising impact through innovative marketing strategies.
