Short Breaks Link Workers

Contract Type: There are various positions available for Short Breaks Link Workers. Permanent (annualised hours) contracts to work up to 18.5 hours per week, with an option for additional hours in school holidays. Plus casual (usually to cover sickness/emergency requests and annual leave). Working Hours: Various - predominantly at weekends and evenings. The hours can be flexible from week to week (where this also meets service needs) as part of an annualised hours contract, with options for term-time or school holidays only and other working arrangements., An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our Short Breaks Link Work Team. Our team supports children and young people with disabilities and complex health needs to access their community, develop friendships and gain independence. The Short Breaks service is all about enabling young people to live their very best lives, exploring their potential and giving them the very best opportunity to have a meaningful and beneficial break. It's also about ensuring families and full time carers are able to find the time for themselves, which can include doing their housework, shopping, or just having a rest! As part of the Short Breaks Link Work team you will have the opportunity to access a wealth of training in order to develop your skills and work as part of a supportive team to deliver the best services possible to the young people we support. We want you to recognise the potential in all the young people we work with; to enable, rather than limit them - so we expect link workers to plan person centred sessions with our young people, rather than for. This gives you the unique opportunity to explore the local community and support them to try new things - like climbing, board-gaming, or even eating a new healthy snack for the first time. The role offers the opportunity to become an important part of young people's lives and enable them to achieve their aspirations. As their allocated link worker, you will support young people on a regular basis aiming to achieve identified outcomes and developing independence, by planning and taking part in a variety of fun and exciting activities. Working with young people with a variety of disabilities such as Autism, Learning Disabilities, Physical Disabilities and complex health needs, successful candidates will be supported to develop their knowledge to become all round experienced support workers. The role supports Children and Young People who live within the Nottingham City area and the post holder will offer direct support and care both in the young person's home (where appropriate) but mainly in their community. This support will be on a 1:1 basis; however, our more complex children and young people may require 2:1 support (based on their assessed needs).

Some of our young people may require personal care, or support with their mobility needs for example, and it's important that this is managed with their dignity in mind. Compassion, patience and understanding is a must. There may also at times be challenging situations on link work sessions, as we do support some young people who can display behaviour that challenges, so the ability to think fast and react appropriately - and sensitively - is also essential. We are a Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered service and we currently hold a GOOD rating. Candidates should ideally have their own mode of transport, or be able to use public transport for the efficient performance of duties in line with service requirements.,

• Knowledge and/or experience of supporting children and young people (ideally in similar roles and 1:1 situations), and those individuals who can demonstrate challenging behaviour. They must have a proactive 'can do' approach and the ability to think creatively when planning Link Work Sessions and have experience of identifying and supporting others to deliver positive outcomes for children and young people.
• Candidates should be physically able to carry out all the duties of the role; i.e. supporting complex needs, challenging behaviours and delivering active sessions and be able to work weekends and where needed, evenings.
• The ability and knowledge of recognising signs of abuse, and how to respond promptly to incidents that may have child protection implications and referring appropriately to case holders.
• Sensitivity to a diverse range of service users and evidence of responding to their different needs, along with the ability to remain calm and think clearly under pressure whilst remaining focussed on the task.
A DBS enhanced check for a regulated activity is required for this post., Disability Confident About Disability Confident A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

Salary: Starting Salary is £31,586 (Level one) rising through increments to £34,314 (Level four) per annum (pro rata for part-time) Location: Team base is at Loxley House, Station street Nottingham, NG2 3NG. Role is community based within the Nottingham City boundary. We've got an exciting opportunity available for talented individuals to join our workforce - perhaps this is the opportunity you've been looking for? Read on to find out more… Working for Nottingham City Council has great benefits. As well as competitive pay, great leave entitlement and access to a generous pension scheme, we strive to create an innovative, inclusive and progressive work culture where everyone is supported to do and be their very best. In return, we are looking for people like you - people who are innovative, driven and committed to serving and improving Nottingham. So, if you are passionate about making a difference to the lives of those who live and work in our city, we want to hear from you.
• You can read more about the different benefits offered to colleagues working for Nottingham City Council here.