Specialist Youth Engagement Worker

The Specialist Support is a comprehensive, professional, high quality service for children and young people with a diverse range of neurological needs including ASC, ADHD, social communication delays, OCD, Tourette's, mental health issues and more. · To support a range of programmes of work led by the specialist support team to improve challenges associated with neurological diagnoses - including behaviour, obsessions, social skills, communication skills, isolation/ withdrawal · Independently develop resources and tools to support delivery of these programmes · To implement a PBS model of support to engage the young person and empower the parents/carer, providing sessional reports and monitoring of how strategies / support is working for the family · To communicate clearly and effectively with young people, colleagues, professionals, relatives and outside agencies as required, in both written and verbal form · To ensure that all interactions are based on an understanding of the young person as an individual · To ensure that your conduct, both within the workplace and externally, does not adversely reflect upon Aspens or the people it seeks to support · To be willing and able to undertake all necessary training, be willing to learn about and implement ASC and PBS best practice, have a commitment to professional development · To be willing to contribute to a staff team in which the members are encouraged to reflect on their own practice and accept feedback on their practice with a positive attitude. To receive regular formal supervision · To be able to cope with behaviours that challenge the individual and to be able to understand the complex needs of young people. To be able to understand the personal implications of the stresses involved and to be able to reflect on and discuss the implications with a supervisor. To be supportive to other staff · To adhere to the policies and procedures of Aspens · To ensure and maintain the health and safety of service-users and of staff and be aware of emergency procedures as laid out by Aspens · To maintain accurate records, follow guidelines faithfully and to report all incidents and matters of concern to line manager · Due to nature of the role, flexible working hours will be required. This may include after school and weekend hours according to the needs and delivery of support - although fixed days may be able to be established, with variable hours within them · Raise awareness and generate more business, including liaising with other professionals including social services, health services, colleges, universities etc. · To drive your own vehicle with the appropriate 'Business cover' Insurance as required by Aspens · To travel and provide support to any destination within identified areas as required · To be able and willing to support young people at home and in the community · To attend and contribute to team meetings and participate in the decision-making processes of the service including planning, Any offer would be subject to Disclosure and Barring checks, which we will complete on your behalf if you don't already have one, and satisfactory employment references. We will consider job share and part time arrangements for all posts in line with the needs of the charity.

We are looking for friendly, hard-working people with a fun spirit and a good sense of humour to join our team of support staff. Whether you have years of care experience or no experience at all, if you are a caring person, passionate about empowering others and ready to learn new skills we think you could be a great fit at Aspens!, 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.

At Aspens, we have over 100 years of experience in supporting people with learning disabilities and on the autism spectrum as well as children, young people and adults with a range of disabilities or complex needs. We are here to provide practical and emotional support at all levels of independence, in everyday environments and in the community so that each member of our extended family is empowered to live the way they choose. In fact, our most powerful advances come from the people we support, because they tell us how it should be.

• Fantastic paid training and career progression opportunities (including recognised qualifications in health and social care)
• Paid DBS (we will recover the cost should your employment terminate for any reason, other than redundancy, before passing your probation)
• Flexible work arrangements with opportunities to take on additional bank shifts too
• 30 Days Annual Leave (including Bank Holidays) / Pro rata dependent on hours.
• Annual leave entitlement increases with length of service
• Nest Pension and Death in Service Benefit
• Dedicated Employee Assistance Programme and Access to Mental Health First Aiders
• Hardship loans and advance (subject to conditions)
• Enhanced family leave pay
• Travel season tickets (interest free loans for those wishing to purchase a travel season ticket)
• Aspens High Street Stores - 20% discount on all items for Aspens' staff
• Blue Light Card and access to high-street discounts