Support Practitioner | Strength for Tomorrow

Job Title: Support Practitioner | Strength for Tomorrow

Responsible to: Service Manager

Salary: £20,045- £24,703

Hours of Work: 36.25hrs

Main Responsibilities

To support the Service Manager in delivering the Strength for Tomorrow service. Deliver this through key working and case management sessions with survivors of childhood abuse who have complex needs through their lived experiences of trauma still cause significant challenges in adulthood

Job Activities

• Form, develop and maintain relationships with survivors who have complex needs through their lived experiences of trauma.
• Engage with and support survivors to define their particular areas of need and support them through the process of change.
• Undertake assessments of need and review survivors’ circumstances through accurate & appropriate information gathering. Develop support plans, risk assessments/safety plans.
• Ensure that the basic needs of survivors are addressed and met (food, shelter, warmth, bathing, clothing, etc.).
• Risk management of situations and accurate recording of required documentation.
• Support in engaging with partnership working by liaising with a range of agencies on behalf of survivors, including social work, housing, health, police, courts, utility companies, debt agencies, Department for Work & Pensions, other voluntary sector organisations and other professionals such as lawyers, etc. to ensure a seamless service is delivered.
• Advocate on survivors’ behalf and generally assist them with communication issues.
• Provide emotional support to survivors. Facilitate group work sessions alongside colleagues.
• Assist survivors with substance misuse and/or mental health issues and engage the support of other agencies as required.
• Carry out other relevant work commensurate with the post as required.
• Ensure service is delivered in guidance of best practice of trauma informed care.

Systems

• Maintenance of paperwork – In-Form records, writing letters on behalf of survivors, report writing, H&S checks, diary entries, hours worked on tasks, etc.
• Day-to-day operation of service (budgeting, appointments), meeting attendance.
• Service finance (petty cash).
• Computers/IT systems – Word, Excel, email, databases.

Quality Standards

• Working to the appropriate Care Inspectorate Standards/Health and Social Care Standards.
• Working to the appropriate Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator Standards.
• Working to the appropriate standards and working in partnership with the partner organisations.
• Working to the appropriate Environmental Health Standards.

General Terms of Reference

In carrying out the above activities, the Support Practitioner will:

• Work on their own and as part of teams, both within Aberdeen Cyrenians and with partnership organisations.
• Maximise their own performance and contribution.
• Ensure they comply with internal and external regulations, procedures and other requirements pertaining to the service.
• Maintain the good reputation of the organisation.
• Keep abreast of developments and legislation relevant to the service’s range of activities.
• Seek to improve your knowledge and skills by both formal and informal means.
• Carry out other relevant work commensurate with the post as required.

Basis, Values and Equal Opportunities

• To respect and work according to the mission, aims and values in all aspects of the job and be responsible for the demonstration of these in the course of the daily work.
• To respect and work according to our Equality and Diversity Policy and ensure its promotion in the course of daily work.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS/EDUCATION/KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• A qualification of N/SVQ3 in Care, or equivalent or appropriate experience along with the willingness and ability to attain this qualification.
• Literacy and numeracy at a level to maintain all the appropriate paperwork, write reports and support plans and give budgeting advice.
• Able to use computer applications such as Word, databases.
• An understanding of social issues such as homelessness, mental health, substance misuse, trauma informed care.
• An understanding of legislation/practice/scientific literature pertaining to the work.
• To understand and work within the five trauma-informed care principles.

EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Experience in a social care/trauma support environment in a voluntary or paid capacity.
• Experience working with disadvantaged people.

KEY CAPABILITIES

Essential

• Interpersonal understanding – listens and understands expressed feelings; demonstrates concern for others; encourages others to express themselves.
• Emotional awareness – manages strong emotions and responds constructively; keeps own feelings in check; deals with stress.
• Survivor orientation – strives to meet and surpass survivors expectations; maintains appropriate contact until challenges are manageable; makes self available to survivors at critical periods during business hours; able to advocate on behalf of survivors.
• Flexibility – adapts easily to changes at work; modifies behaviour in response to a situation; sees the merits of differing viewpoints.
• Initiative – takes responsibility; looks ahead and anticipates what needs to be done; is able to assess and manage risks.
• Team working – contributes fully to team work; establishes positive relationships with the team.
• Working within Professional Boundaries – Demonstrates professional curiosity; accepts responsibility for own work; seeks and uses professional support; understands the principle of confidentiality.
• Developing others – case management responsibility for developing survivors’ skills; encourages initiatives in problem solving and making choices.

CIRCUMSTANCES

Desirable

• Driving/clean licence

ABERDEEN CYRENIANS AIMS & VALUES & EQUALITY & DIVERSITY POLICY

Essential

• Able to respect the aims and values of our work including a commitment to work with those with the most challenging needs to ensure that they have every opportunity to avoid further exclusion.

Other information

Other information

You can expect the following working for us:

• Comprehensive training through our online Learning Management System
• Opportunity to pursue on the job qualifications and career progression
• Online timesheets and expenses
• We are a Living Wage Foundation accredited employer - pay is reviewed annually each April
• Benefits including Bike to Work Scheme and an Employee Assistance programme
• A warm and friendly team environment where everyone is valued.
• Mileage paid at the national rate.

It's important to us that we recruit people who share our values and who want to make a difference. Our interview process is designed to get to know you better and to find out why you want to work for us. If you are nervous, please don't be - there are no right or wrong answers.

Because we work with vulnerable people, we have a responsibility to safeguard them. We undertake background and reference checks, and it is a term of employment with us that all employees register with the Protecting Vulnerable Groups ("PVG") scheme operated by Disclosure Scotland.

We guarantee an interview to candidates who have lived experience within the areas of society and the issues that we support and those who are care experienced, subject to meeting the minimum criteria for the role.

We're an equal opportunities employer and value diversity - exclusion has no place in our workplaces. If you need us to make reasonable adjustments to allow you to attend an interview with us, just let us know.

We regret that due to current Home Office rules, we are not able to sponsor applicants for this role, so you must be eligible to live and work in the UK without sponsorship.

The closing date for this position is 5 pm on Wednesday 8th February 2023.

We review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early should sufficient applications be received.