Specialist Support Worker

Recruiting a Violence against Women and Girls Specialist Support Worker to join our Young Peoples service in Milton Keynes!

£23,543 per annum, working 40 hours per week, plus 25 days Annual Leave, Pension schemes, Staff discounts, healthcare and more.

Specialist Support Workers within Look Ahead are required to have either an extra dimension of experience or a higher qualification level as determined relevant for the particular post.
The Young People in Milton Keynes services will have complex and multifaceted needs. This could include emotional and mental health issues, drug and alcohol misuse, partaking in criminal activity and anti-social behaviours or being at risk of sexual exploitation.

Whilst the majority of young people referred will not yet be ready to live fully independently, they will be ready to begin the transition to adulthood and develop their independent living skills. The young people will require a supportive, structured and stable environment with clear boundaries in which to do this.
Specialist support workers are expected to work with the young people that have the most complex needs. They should be the lead in their team regarding their specialism, form partnerships with external agencies and lead on co production and customer engagement. You would work as part of a team of support workers and other specialists, providing support to the rest of the team as needed.

The VWAG Specialist should have experience of working with young people that have experienced trauma and the complex issues that arise due to this. You will provide support around healthy relationships and what these look like using your skills to facilitate meaningful conversations and workshops. You should have knowledge of domestic abuse policies and the procedures that support them. Your involvement will be needed in attending and referring to panels such as MARAC and MASE. Safeguarding and partnership working will be a key part of your role

This post is restricted to female applicants pursuant to Section 9s of the Equality Act 2010.

Key Responsibilities:

• Building supportive, trusting relationships with customers and creating a positive atmosphere
• Carrying out holistic assessments of new customers which incorporate relevant statutory referral information
• Conducting regular key work sessions that are innovative and engaging in order to achieve Support Plan goals
• Create support plans for young people that are strength based and support them to achieve their goals
• Ensuring ongoing assessment and management of risks associated with customers within an attitude of ‘positive risk taking
• Provide support and access to relevant services to enable customers to continue their support independently
• Undertake support work in partnership with external stakeholders to compliment their interventions
• Developing productive relationships with partner organisations to improve service outcomes
• Demonstrate strong commitment to the functioning of the staff team and to support colleagues in providing a high level of service and safety to customers
• Involving customers in the design, development and delivery of the service
• Lead on group workshops for customers
• Share best practice and knowledge with the team.
• Adhering to lone working protocols and maintaining high levels of awareness in relation to the health and safety of yourself and colleagues
• Ensuring Look Ahead Health and Safety policies and local protocols are adhered to at all times e.g. fire risk assessments, fire alarm checks etc.
• Being responsible for the handover of key information between shifts
• Provide structured support and guidance to other front line staff in their area of expertise
• Adhering to all other Look Ahead’s policies and procedures. Engaging in learning and development activity to increase knowledge and skills
• Undertaking any other duties consistent with the grade and nature of the post as assigned by the Team Leader/Manager

This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead.

Person Specification:

• Enjoys social interaction and the company of others, joins in local activities to encourage customer involvement
• Exudes a warm friendly presence and open behaviour
• Prefers working as part of a group or team
• Is fundamentally calm and resilient, does not let emotion adversely affect them or obscure their judgement
• Has a practical and logical mind and is naturally well organised
• Thrives on change and enjoys dynamic diverse environments
• Is respectful, articulate and sensitive in style of communication
• Is motivated towards excellence and improvement of personal performance with a can do attitude
• Ability to cope positively with challenging and diverse behaviour

Skills, Knowledge and Experience
Essential:

• Sector work or equivalent experience in specialism applied for
• Knowledge of safeguarding young people and children
• Ability to work as part of a team
• Ability to work to deadlines
• Good Record Keeping
• Strong relationship skills

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, but we feel that you would be suitable for another role, we may contact you to discuss alternative opportunities. If this occurs you would not need to submit another application for the alternative role.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.

Look Ahead is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion at work and are accredited with the Inclusive Employers Standard 2020. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.