£29,751 per annum, plus 3% pension contribution
35 hours per week
Permanent
Closing date: 10am on 6th December 2017
The role
This is an exciting and rewarding post which manages each student’s journey at Share, from initial enquiry and assessment of needs, through to moving on, ensuring that students’ individual and collective voices are heard. You’ll be an influential member of the leadership team and take strategic responsibility to ensure person centred services for disabled adults are delivered to a high standard, across Share. You’ll work alongside other members of the team to deliver pastoral and safeguarding support to our students, and provide guidance to staff and volunteers on students’ wellbeing and communication needs.You’ll deliver our outreach programme, represent us in various fora and events, and liaise regularly with social services regarding new referrals and circle of support meetings, advocating for students where needed.
About us
At Share, we’re passionate about supporting disabled people to set their own goals for learning and life, and then helping them to achieve their aspirations and reach their potential. We help people to live how they want to, enjoying social networks and meaningful activity within the community.
We focus on 4 key areas:
- Health and wellbeing
- Independence, choice, and control
- Work, paid or voluntary
- Community, leisure, and social inclusion
We’re a pan-disability organisation, but the majority of our students are adults with learning disabilities and/or autism. We offer a range of training, employment, personal development, and leisure opportunities, as well as operating two social enterprises that offer our students the chance to work in a supported environment.
Principal Responsibilities
- To take strategic responsibility for the Wellbeing and Independent Living Team, ensuring Share is designing and implementing person-centred services that support disabled adults to lead happy and fulfilled livesTo actively reach out to Social Services departments and health agencies across South West London, encouraging the referral of clients who can benefit from Share, and playing a significant role in enabling Share to meet its recruitment targets
- To meet all potential and new students and discuss their goals, involving families, carers or others as appropriate, assessing whether Share can wholly or partially help them to meet those goals, and referring to other agencies as necessary
- To ensure that Share has up to date information on the range of activities available and also on other agencies, so we can refer people appropriately
- To represent Share, and on occasion the wider voluntary sector at key strategy groups, networking meetings and at in-house and external events, ensuring that good working links are developed and maintained with social workers, advocates, service brokers, and others who work with disabled people
- To line manage the My Life Manager, ensuring that the Outcome Star remains integral to all of our assessment, planning, monitoring and evaluation of student progress. To line manage the Healthy Living Co-ordinator, ensuring health and wellbeing is embedded in what we do. To line manage two Lunch Time Activities Leaders, ensuring lunchtimes at Share are positive and fun experiences for our students
- To work within a coaching framework to establish student needs, regularly review them, and support each student in developing their individual learning plan and reaching their goals
- To liaise with families, advocates, and others when it is in the interest of the student and to plan and facilitate regular student progress reviews, involving others who students see as important in their lives
- To work alongside other members of the team, to provide guidance, safeguarding and pastoral support that will further the wellbeing of the student
- To ensure that all staff engaged with individual students have the appropriate information and resources needed to fully support that student in a way that is person-centred and meets their communication needs
- To work with senior managers to strategically develop person centred services at Share, by being an influential member of the leadership team
- To oversee the Student Voice group and other representative student groups, ensuring the front line workers delivering these services are meeting key objectives
- To attend meetings as required
- To work at all times in a way that values diversity and focuses on ability
- To carry out any other duties that may be reasonably required
Person Specification
Essential Experience:
- At least 3 years working with disabled people, including those with learning difficulties and autism, and ideally in an educational or social care setting
- Working in an empowering way with people from diverse communities
- Assessing people’s needs within a person-centred framework and encouraging innovative approaches to meeting diverse needs
- Liaising with a range of individuals and agencies on behalf of service users
- Monitoring and evaluating programmes and/or interventions
- Line management of staff
- Writing progress reports, including periodic statistical reports
- Maintaining client records on a database system
Essential Skills and personal qualities:
- Great listening and facilitation skills, with exceptional levels of warmth and empathy
- The ability to empower and inspire others – both clients and colleagues
- You’ll be someone in whom people trust, and you’ll inspire confidence in clients, carers, colleagues and others.
- The ability to help people with diverse needs to identify their own solutions - a background in advocacy would be an advantage
- Great organisational skills, resilience and the ability to juggle a varied and complex workload
- Competence in day to day administration and a passion for order and completion of tasks
- Strong ICT skills, and proven competence in using database/CRM systems
- Excellent research skills, with the ability to identify appropriate resources for our students
- The ability to work well as a member of a team, drawing on others’ strengths to further the progress of our students
- The ability to make presentations to small groups
Essential Knowledge:
- Up to date understanding of social policy relating to disabled people – including young people
- Modern thinking around best practice in working with autistic people, and an understanding of the different models being used in schools and colleges
- An understanding of what helps and what hinders disabled people seeking to improve their wellbeing, move into independent living and gain employment
- An understanding of the functions and structure of relevant health and social services departments
- The history of disabled people and the oppression to which they’ve been subjected
Essential Values:
- A deep sense of justice and commitment to equality for all
- A belief that everyone has something to offer others.
You can download a PDF of the Job Description and Person Specification here.
How to apply
Please complete our application form and equal opportunities form and email both to hradmin@sharecommunity.org.uk before the closing date of 10am on Wednesday 6th December. Interviews will take place on Wednesday 13th December.
If you would like to visit Share for a showaround before applying, you are very welcome. Please get in touch with Leanne on 0207 801 9825 to arrange your visit.
We will endeavour to acknowledge receipt of your application form by email. You will be required to provide proof of qualifications and ID at the interview.
We welcome applications from everyone. We focus on ability and believe people work best when they feel valued, safe and happy. We do all that we can to make sure that Share is friendly and welcoming to everyone.
This job is subject to two satisfactory references, evidence of qualifications, an enhanced Disclosure and Barring check and providing evidence of right to work in the UK.
If you have a disability and would like to discuss other ways of submitting your application, please call Leanne on 0207 801 9825.
We are very much looking forward to receiving your application.