Residential Care Officer - The Alison Unit

An exciting opportunity has arisen for staff to join the team at Alison House. Alison provides accommodation in the form of nine semi-independent, self-contained flats all based on one site at 21 Calder Gardens, Edinburgh. Alison House primarily supports care experienced young people as they take the first step towards independent living. We provide 24 hour responsive care and support to our young people.

Through individualised care planning and the GIRFEC framework we support our young people in all aspects of their wellbeing. We support our young people by assisting them with independent living skills, self-care skills, education and employment opportunities, improving health outcomes and supporting them to transition from children's services. This is in alignment with Edinburgh's Promise for children to feel loved, safe and respected.

Our team takes a multi-disciplinary approach and you will be working alongside a range of other professionals to meet the needs of each young person. The role of Residential Childcare Officer (RCO) is key for supporting, caring and upholding the rights of children and young people and the ethos of CEC.

This is an exciting time to join Alison as we develop our service and build on strong models of care, namely relationship-based practice, using a trauma informed & responsive approach and Edinburgh's Promise. We are seeking child-centred, resilient and motivated individuals to positively role model and who can make a difference in the lives of young people.

The successful candidates will have experience of supporting young people, have a commitment to promoting children's rights and advocating for them. The candidate should have good communication and interpersonal skills, be reliable and adaptable with a clear focus on improving the outcomes for vulnerable young people.

You should have or be working towards completing SVQ Level 3/HNC or equivalent in Child Care/Social care or related area, or other relevant qualification at SCQF Level 7, or above. There is also a requirement to register with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) within 6 months of employment & under the relevant category.

This post is considered Regulated Work with Vulnerable Children and/or Protected Adults, under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. Preferred candidates will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update check prior to a formal offer of employment being made by the City of Edinburgh Council.

Where an individual has spent a continuous period of 3 months or more out with the UK in the last 5 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required. You will be required to provide this check. An unconditional offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of both these pre-employment checks being deemed satisfactory.

We’re committed to creating a workplace culture where all our people feel valued, included and able to be their best at work, and we recognise the benefits that a diverse workforce with different values, beliefs, experience, and backgrounds brings to us as an organisation.

As part of our goal to improve our organisational culture and create a great place to work together for the people of Edinburgh, we want to make sure that we’re bringing the best people into our roles, not just in their skills and experience but also in their approach to work. To help achieve this, we’re changing the way we interview and assess candidates by moving from a competency-based interview approach to a behavioural and technical (skills for the job) based approach.

This new way of interviewing will allow us to assess how you think and how you would bring Our Behaviours of Respect, Integrity and Flexibility into your ways of working.

You can find out more on Our Behaviours web page.

The City of Edinburgh Council salary range typically reflects the initial starting salary and annually increases until it reaches the top of the range. Happy to talk flexible working.