Day Opportunities Community Support Workers in Shrewsbury

As Shropshire Council, we are proud of our achievements and have proven to be a resilient local authority in response to the many challenges we overcome, particularly over recent years. We will continue this momentum with ambition and a focus on delivering our four key priorities outlined within the Shropshire Plan: Healthy People, Healthy Environment, Healthy Economy, and Healthy Organisation. We are committed to achieving this by aligning everything we do to our vision 'Shropshire - living the best life'; to tell everyone that Shropshire Council is a great place to be.

We will enable a skilled, happy, healthy, diverse, inclusive, empowered, and proud workforce that influences and leads change, addressing any inequalities. As a member of the Day Opportunities services within Care & Wellbeing - ASC, you will support the achievement of these key priorities, making a real difference to the lives of people in Shropshire.

The Day Opportunities Community Support Workers posts will be responsible for a group of locality-based, community-focused, and digitally confident services that are person-centred and strengths-based - enabling care and support that promotes independence and inclusion.

In addition to ensuring the ways we support the people we currently work with are person-centred and strengths-based, you will work with others to create an offer that young people looking for their next opportunity will want to be part of and choose to join us.

You will contribute to ensuring that services are delivered in accordance with, and underpin, the following:

• the priorities and strategic objectives of People Directorate and the Council
• the vision and values of People Directorate and the Council
• the Council's commitment to openness and transparency
• responsiveness to changes in legislation; national, regional, and local priorities
• creation of an environment that enables our vision for Day Opportunities to be successfully delivered.

Overview of your role:

Day Opportunities play an important role in the provision of social care. In your role, you will support the Locality Leads and their teams to ensure that those who choose to be part of our services, along with their families and carers, are able to live their best lives. You will ensure that we support people with the aspiration of finding and using their individual gifts and skills to achieve their goals and maintain independence and inclusion at every opportunity.

Who will your manager be and what will you be responsible for?

Reporting to the Locality Lead at Aquamira, who is in turn responsible for your health and safety, training, and development. You are expected to lead and/or contribute to a range of projects and build relations with both internal and external partners to achieve specified outcomes but will not have direct authority over those involved. You will be responsible for preparing responses in line with Shropshire Council's corporate processes and national/regulatory/statutory processes (e.g. complaints, MP enquiries, Information Governance requests, customer enquiries, media enquiries, HR staff investigations etc.). These responses should be in line with the quality and timescale expectations set out within Shropshire Council's published procedures and/or case allocation emails and discussions. You will also be responsible for completing all mandatory corporate and role-specific training within expected timescales.

What will you be doing?

• Work within the philosophy of the Adults with Learning Disability Service to create a supportive atmosphere within their day services, where people attending our services have the opportunity to achieve maximum independence across the services and various locations.
• Respect the dignity of each person attending our services by working in a manner which promotes his/her individuality by ensuring that the client has adequate information about choices and facilities available.
• Actively support and encourage people to use their advocacy and self-help skills at every opportunity, supporting the individual where necessary by developing the client's awareness of legal and civil rights.
• Respect confidentiality at all times.
• Comply with safe systems of work in accordance with the Directorate's Health, Safety and Welfare policies and procedures and local ones.
• Contribute to the maintenance of records, files, and reports as appropriate in line with our policies and procedures.
• Support and contribute to the implementation of programmes for individuals or groups.
• Provide support of a practical and personal nature to the client, where appropriate.
• Undertake the role of key-worker for individuals.
• Liaise with parents/carers and other professionals/agencies e.g. Community Nurses, Social Workers, and Physiotherapists on behalf of the people attending our services.
• Gain knowledge of service provision and resources within and external to the county.
• Be available for supervision with the Locality Leads in accordance with departmental procedure and use supervision constructively.
• Gain awareness of Adults Services Policies and Procedures relating to the whole range of duties.
• Develop an awareness of issues related to equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice in carrying out your duties.
• Take an active part in identifying training, development, and continuing personal and vocational development opportunities.
• The post-holder may be required to undertake other duties not specifically mentioned in this job description (e.g. driving duties after receiving specialised training).
• Monitor standards of support where required, providing relevant advice or feedback to the staff team members, reporting any difficulties to the Locality Lead.

The post holder will:

• Be responsible to the Locality Leads, Day Opportunities, who are in turn responsible for the post holder's health and safety, training, and development.
• Work in partnership with the Day Opportunities Commissioning & Transformation/Operational & Transformation Team Managers to embed and implement our programme of transformation and new ways of working.
• Promote a culture within Day Opportunities services that reflects its vision - particularly in how we put the people who choose our services at the heart of everything we do, working with purpose and ambition.
• Promote and uphold the privacy, dignity, rights, health, and wellbeing of people who always use care and support services.
• Work as one team in contributing to the development of services and to a range of projects as defined by the Day Opportunities Locality Leads - building relations with both internal and external partners to ensure services are firmly embedded as a key asset within local communities.
• Communicate in an open and effective way to promote the health, safety, and wellbeing of people who use our services.
• Strive to improve the quality of care and support through continuing professional development.
• Ensure that your work ethics demonstrate that our services are ambitious, aspirational, high-quality, and designed to be attractive to everyone who uses, or may choose to use, them, e.g. young adults leaving school and looking for their next opportunity to develop.
• Work together with your colleagues and Locality Leads to ensure the effective implementation of programmes of transformation, ensuring that services are of the highest quality, are designed in a person-centred and strengths-based way, and ensure value for money.
• Adopt a customer-focused approach when delivering your service, ensuring engagement with service users and maintenance of an appropriate personal profile.
• Act as an advocate for your service and work collaboratively with colleagues across the whole Council to meet the needs of the people of Shropshire.
• Meet individual, service, and personal development targets agreed through the Personal Development Review Process, learn from experience, and are committed to continuous improvement individually and as an employee of the Council.
• Work with colleagues to meet your team's key performance indicators, support a culture of team working, and ensure the team functions successfully in support of the Council's corporate and service objectives.
• Meet the behaviours and competencies adopted by the Council in the way in which they achieve their objectives and carry out their work.
• Promote and engage with the Council's responsibility to safeguard the welfare of children, young people, and adults, and protect their right to be safe from harm.

The above duties are an illustrative outline and are not an exhaustive list.

Conditions of Service:

The post is Fixed Term for 20 hours per week, hours to be agreed but will be worked between our normal office hours which are 8.30-4pm Monday - Thursday and 8.30-3.30pm on a Friday with the option of a minimum lunch break of 30 minutes unpaid if required. Occasional evening/weekend work may be required. The post is subject to the Council's annualised hours scheme as implemented within the specific work area.

Annual leave entitlement is a pro-rata flat rate scheme of 207 hours (28 days) annual leave plus bank holidays, with five days extra awarded to those staff with five years local government service giving an entitlement of 244 hours (33 days). Two days of an employee's allowance (pro-rata for part-time staff) must be taken at Christmas for any potential Christmas closures. Employees who work in a building/service which is required to open over the Christmas period, the two days leave (pro-rata) can be carried over into your next leave year but must be used by the end of March.

The appointment is subject to one month's notice in writing on either side. The appointment is subject to six months' satisfactory probationary service during which time the notice period will be one week on either side. Smoking is not allowed in Council buildings, in Council vehicles, or in any Council place of work. It is a condition of your appointment that you provide a suitable vehicle for the performance of your duties and that this is readily available for use during normal working hours. You are entitled to claim for reimbursement of the costs of travel on council business at the rate of 45 pence per mile.

Pre-employment checks:

• Satisfactory employment references
• Medical report
• Evidence of the qualifications required for the post/listed on your application form