Community Alarm Care and Response Officer

We’re recruiting a Care and Response Officer to join our Community Alarm Service at Milton Keynes City Council. This is a rewarding frontline role supporting elderly and vulnerable residents to live safely and independently in their own homes.

Our Community Alarm Service provides emergency helplines for people who need reassurance and rapid support. The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, monitoring alarms and responding to emergencies across Milton Keynes.

In this role, you’ll respond to emergency calls, carry out welfare checks, assist with non-injurious falls, provide basic first aid and work closely with NHS and partner services. You’ll also support hospital discharge and help prevent avoidable readmissions, reducing pressure on ambulance services and hospitals.

Our mission is to promote independence, helping people remain in their own homes for longer, living better and feeling reassured. This role makes a real difference by improving safety, wellbeing and quality of life for people in our city.

This is a shift-based role delivering a 24/7 service.

• Rotating shift pattern of four days on, four days off
• Day shifts: 7am–7pm
• Night shifts: 7pm–7am
• Each shift includes a 1-hour break
• Shifts are worked in blocks of days or nights

A 10% shift allowance is paid in addition to basic salary.

This is a Site-Based role, and you’ll be expected to work from the designated workplace. This role does not include any working from home.

Interviews for this role will be held on the 23 June.

At Milton Keynes City Council, we aim to make a difference every day. We’re dedicated, respectful and collaborative. We act as one council, and we work hard to create cleaner, safer and healthier communities while tackling inequalities and supporting people to thrive.

We take pride in our supportive work culture and try to go that extra mile when it comes to investing in our colleagues.

• Respond promptly to emergency calls from service users with a range of needs, assessing situations and escalating appropriately.
• Provide a mobile response including welfare checks, assistance with non-injurious falls, basic first aid and reassurance.
• Install, programme, maintain and collect telecare and telehealth equipment (technology that supports people to live safely at home), following health and safety procedures.
• Operate the Community Alarm call-handling system, working to recognised call response standards.
• Maintain accurate and timely records using manual and computerised systems, sharing information appropriately and securely.
• Work flexibly across the service, supporting colleagues to ensure continuity of a twenty‐four‐hour response.

• Full manual UK Driving Licence as the role involves travelling independently across Milton Keynes to respond to emergencies, including during night shifts.
• Understands the needs of vulnerable adults and takes an empowering, respectful approach to care.
• Can remain calm and make sound decisions in complex or crisis situations.
• Communicates clearly and confidently, adapting your approach to different people and circumstances.
• Has a strong commitment to confidentiality and accurate information sharing.
• Is flexible and willing to work across mobile response and call-handling duties as part of a rota.

Takes a values‐led approach, aligned to being dedicated, respectful and part of the pre-employment checks, should you be offered the role, we’ll carry out an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, (unless you are currently registered with the DBS Update Service).

In addition to your salary, we offer a range of benefits including:

• Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28 days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32 days after five years. In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.
• Excellent pension – everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.
• A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support and a childcare subsidy.
• Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.
• Salary sacrifice car scheme - eligible employees can access low‐cost leasing of electric and low‐emission vehicles.
• Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.

Our roles are either designated ‘site based’ or ‘home based’. ‘Site based’ roles can include up to two days a week working from home whilst ‘home based’ roles are based at home four days a week. Of course, managers designate which category roles are in based on the needs of the service and the circumstances.

Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live.

We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference.

We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and lived experiences. Milton Keynes City Council is committed to building an inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity of our community. We actively encourage applications from candidates who bring a range of perspectives, particularly those from underrepresented groups.

We are proud to have signed up to the Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard (SC-WRES), a continuous improvement programme designed to help social care organisations achieve anti-racist workplaces. Our commitment means we are actively working to identify and address inequalities, improve representation in leadership, and ensure fair treatment and opportunity for all colleagues in Adult Services.

We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it’s time for a new role.