Team Leader

Job title: Team Leader – Supported Living West (Fife Support Service)

Location: This post is based at LinkLiving’s Kirkcaldy office.

Hours of Work: 37.5 per week (9-5 or 8-4, Monday to Friday, which could include some evening and weekend work)

Are you passionate about helping people to live a better life? Do you want to work for a charity where your health and wellbeing matter just as much as the people you support? Do you want to be part of a trauma-informed team where you will be supported to develop creative and flexible ways of working?

At LinkLiving, our values and people are at the heart of everything we do including how we recruit our staff. It is important for us to find people who share our values, which are:

• Empathy (listen to and understand an individual’s needs and circumstances)
• Respect (treat others the way they wish to be treated)
• Integrity (be honest and have strong moral principles)
• Caring (show kindness and concern for others)

LinkLiving is a Scottish health and wellbeing charity that supports people to manage or overcome the effects of negative life experiences (including trauma, mental health challenges, poverty and inequality) so that they can build on their strengths and aspirations in order to live their best possible lives. We support people through a range of models including: 

• Personal development and employability programmes 
• Self-help coaching
• Supported accommodation
• Care at home
• Housing support
• Befriending
• Social cafes

The Service

Our Fife Support Service is a visiting supported living, and housing support service which operates across Fife. Our service is underpinned by our trauma-informed approach to support delivery, and we work with people experiencing a range of issues to live as independently as possible within their own homes. For some, this includes supporting people with personal care and / or the administration of medication. As well as enabling people to live as independently as possible in their own homes, we support people to take part in multi-agency working with a range of statutory and voluntary organisations is a key part of the service we deliver, ensuring the people we work with get the support they need.

The Job

The purpose of the job is to provide leadership, support and supervision to a team of support workers whilst ensuring that objectives and targets are achieved, the service to individuals is co-ordinated and that appropriate policies and local procedures are in place. The Team Leader is the first line manager and is responsible for ensuring the service is of high quality which meets all internal and external standards and reporting requirements. The Team Leader will combine a thorough knowledge of social care practice and processes with first class leadership, staff support and development skills.

Working closely with the Service Manager, the Team Leader will use their extensive knowledge and experience to ensure the delivery of high quality, person-centred services to people we support. They will also be expected to establish and develop effective working relationships with partner agencies and to actively promote opportunities for partnership working in order to deliver improved outcomes for the people we support.

About You

You will have a general good standard of education and a SVQ Social Services and Healthcare at SCQF Level 9 PLUS SVQ Care Services Leadership and Management SCQF Level 10 or ability to gain these qualifications within the required timescales.

You will be able to demonstrate experience of co-ordinating complex support arrangements combined with knowledge of social care and housing issues, welfare rights; benefits, procedures and entitlements.

The successful candidate will have knowledge of issues affecting people who are excluded and marginalized, along with experience of leading and managing a team and carrying out support and supervision, combined with strong skills in mentoring less experienced colleagues and proven experience of contributing to development of colleagues.

You will have a sense of judgement and ability to take decisions and be responsible for them, with a flexible, practical and reliable approach. You will be able to work flexible hours including evenings, weekends and public holidays.

Due to the geographical area covered access to a car and a full driving licence are also essential.

For a comprehensive list of the essential and desirable criteria required for this post, please refer to the Job Specification in the Job information Pack above.

What’s in it for you?

The benefits of being a LinkLiving employee (subject to the policies and benefit terms and conditions) include:

• Competitive salary, reviewed annually, and opportunity for annual performance related salary increases and discretionary non-consolidated pay awards, subject to terms of the scheme
• 35 days’ holiday per year (inclusive of public holidays) pro rata plus additional 3 days pro rata after 3 years’ service
• opportunity to buy and sell holiday
• enhanced company sick and family friendly pay
• access to paid SVQ qualifications and a wide range of learning and development opportunities
• funded Disclosure Scotland and Scottish Social Services Council memberships
• defined contribution pension scheme with generous employer contributions plus salary exchange and additional voluntary contribution options
• access to an Electric vehicle leasing scheme, subject to the terms of the scheme
• life assurance scheme providing death in service benefits to named beneficiaries
• healthcare cash plan for employees (and dependents) to support health and wellbeing plus discounts on shopping, restaurants, and other services
• employee assistance programme for employees and their immediate household dependants to support health, mental and financial well-being
• annual flu vaccination
• access to a savings and borrowing scheme
• cycle to work scheme
• monthly bus pass scheme
• season/travel ticket loan and much more!

For a full list of benefits available to employees, please see the following link - https://www.linkliving.org.uk/work-with-us

Successful applicants will be required to apply for registration with SSSC within 3 months of their start date and be registered within 6 months.

This post is subject to Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme registration. Link will meet the cost of any new PVG scheme membership or scheme record update.

Further Information

Interested? If you have any questions about the role, please email jobs@linkhaltd.co.uk and we can arrange for someone from the service to call you for an informal chat.

To find out more about what LinkLiving do and to view the generous pay and benefits package, please visit our website at https://www.linkliving.org.uk

If you’re thinking about working in adult social care, download the Guide to adult social care jobs in Scotland for in-depth information on everything you need to know to get started. In addition, you can enrol on a free, online 6 week part-time tutor-supported ‘Introduction to a Career in Social Care’ course. The course introduces the area of social care and can be a stepping-stone to employment or further training.

Closing Date: midnight on Wednesday 11 September 2024

Interview Date: Interviews are being held on Wednesday 18 September 2024 at our office in Kirkcaldy

How to Apply

To complete an application form, please click on the “Apply online” button below. Instructions on how to complete the form are at the top of the page.

We can offer suitable alternative methods to apply if requested including although not exclusively; hard copy, Braille and audio. You can request these by emailing our Resourcing Team at jobs@linkhaltd.co.uk and detailing which format you would require.

Please note should an internal applicant be successful in applying for this position on either a seconded or permanent basis, they will move to the terms and conditions associated with the role for the duration of the time they are in post. The terms and conditions are outlined in the job information pack.

We aim at all times to recruit the person who is most suited to the job and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and from anyone who shares our commitment to inclusion. Our offices are fully accessible to wheelchair users and, as a Disability Confident Leader, we will interview all disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria.