The Community Link Worker programme, funded by EVOC & Edinburgh Health & Social Care Partnership, is delivered in partnership with GP Practices and the 3rd sector to support people to live well through strengthening connections between community resources and primary care.

The Community Link Worker will be employed by Caring in Craigmillar and will work as part of two practice teams (Restalrig Park and Baronscourt) in North East Edinburgh, to provide 1:1 person-centred and practical supports to people in contact with the GP practice team.

Taking a person-centred approach, you will work with individuals to enable them to identify personal outcomes and priorities for their health and well-being and link them to local, city and national activities and support services.

The postholder must have experience of working with people who are facing complex social and emotional circumstances, a strong understanding of the challenges affecting people living in areas of disadvantage in relation to living well, extensive effective interpersonal skills in working with people on a 1:1 basis as well as experience in networking and relationship building with other professionals and organisations.

PVG: This post requires membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. Application will be processed for the successful candidate.

The Self Directed Support Forum East Renfrewshire is an independent charity organisation. We support people and their families who are thinking about directing their own support or someone they care for. We also support individuals and families who are already directing an existing social care package. Our vision is people having the choice and control over their own support arrangements to ensure they can live more independently.

The Forum are looking for an enthusiastic person to join our team.

You must have work experience in the field of Health and Social Care. It is essential that you are familiar with the Self-Directed Support (SDS) Act 2013 and the Scottish Government Legislation for SDS. You must be willing to learn and understand the local SDS policy and practice and be able to work well with all our partners. We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic towards continued development in this area. An SCQF level 6 or HND in Health & Social Care or equivalent is required.

You must have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, report writing and IT skills. Experience working with people who have additional needs, including individuals with communication impairments. It is essential that you have experience in representing clients within a multi-agency setting.

Teamwork is at the core of all our service provision and is imperative to the strategic growth of our organisation.

We require someone who is flexible and can adapt to any changes in delivery of service. This includes evening work occasionally, however the core hours of work are throughout Monday to Friday between 8.45am and 4.45pm.

Flexible Part time hours to be agreed and ideally will be over 5 days.

We are a caring and compassionate team of 9 and, have a vacancy due to retirement, Supporting people living in the city of Perth and North Perthshire.

Assisting people who have been classed as homeless who may have been living in

temporary accommodation, sofa surfing, or fleeing abuse - the list is endless.

We provide 1:1 person-centred support to help people to sustain their tenancy. Getting to know the person, building trusting relationships, leading by example, and looking after ourselves and each other too.

Welcoming people with a wide range of skills and experiences – including those who have lived through life experiences.

We are flexible, humourous, and have a ‘can do’ spirit. Walking alongside people to help build their confidence and give them the tools so they can do this on their own.

Job Purpose

The role of a Floating Housing Support Worker (FHSW) will be to provide positive, practical, and emotional support to people who use our service, focusing on goals, promoting choices, and encouraging personal responsibility.

Multi-agency work, by building and maintaining effective professional relationships with a range of external partners we can ensure support for the people is tailored to their needs and their voices are heard.

People who use our services are often excluded from many other places and are often quite hard to reach, so a can-do attitude is essential. So our team are experts in building positive relationships with people who understandably find it difficult to trust others, demonstrating perseverance and resilience.

You will be responsible for maintaining your own caseload and service records. You will ensure that the service you provide is delivered in line with the Scottish Social Services Council’s Codes of Practice for Social Services

Any other duties directed by your Service Leader

Key Responsibilities

Warmth and Regard

• Treating people with kindness, dignity and respect
• Act with compassion and discretion.
• Recognises and values everyone (equality and Diversity).

Inclusion and Participation

• Builds local partnerships to understand the needs of each service locality
• To provide quality services to people through effective planning, monitoring,
• and reviews.
• Participating in organizational initiatives and opportunities to engage with
• colleagues and services across Simon Community Scotland
• Embracing technology in delivering your role.

Personalized and Creative

• Working with people to plan support that is person-centred and responsive to
• their needs and wishes being creative in your approach.
• Have a can-do attitude, to find solutions that are a good fit for someone, irrespective of who they are or the problem they have.
• Be intuitive, so when someone isn’t at their best, quickly recognize there’s probably something else going on and find ways to respond with care.
• Being adaptable and flexible, as things can change quickly.

Partnership and Collaboration

• Working and building a positive relationship and working in partnership with other
• providers.
• Deliver evidence-based outcomes for people.
• Demonstrates and promotes resilience

Leadership and Learning

• To act as an advocate, or facilitate advocacy, where appropriate by acting on behalf of
• people who use the service
• Ensure your practice complies with all SCS policies & procedures, with particular
• reference to HR, health & safety, equalities & diversity and confidentiality
• Maintaining SSSC registration and PVG membership
• Keep abreast of developments within the field and undertake relevant training and learning development as necessary and sharing with others.

Person Specification

Training and Qualifications:

Essential:

• SVQ 3 social care or willingness to work towards
• SSSC Registered or willing to become so

Desirable:

• Trauma-informed practice
• Assist/MHFA/SafeTalk trained

Experience:

Essential:

• Being creative in working alongside people.

Desirable:

• The lived experience of homelessness
• Experience working with a range of agencies as a team
• Networking and connecting skills

Knowledge and Skills:

Essential:

• Understanding of the issues faced by people who use services
• Understanding of regulatory requirements including SCSWIS, SSSC, HSCS
• Good digital skills or desire to learn

Desirable:

• Knowledge and understanding of homelessness, addictions, and mental health
• Evidence of good communication skills, written, verbal and digital

Personal:

Essential:

• Able to lead by example.
• A team player.
• A desire to learn and to develop innovative practice
• Flexible, responsive

Context:

Elpis Trust delivers a person centred housing support service to 18 young women who are experiencing homelessness or are care leavers aged between 16-25 years. The supported accommodation is based in the Core service and satellite flats in the Ruchill and Maryhill area of Glasgow. Elpis provides a high quality support service which addresses young woman’ identified and assessed needs and reflects the aims of the service to work within relevant organisational and statutory policies, including health and safety, employment and equality laws. This includes adhering to Scottish Social Services Council codes of practice, National Care Standards and contractual requirements. Staffs work closely with the young women to write up support plans and deliver an individually tailored service, utilising Ladders to Success and GIRFEC, SHANARRI Outcomes.

Job Purpose:

To have specific working responsibility at present for 19 vulnerable young women, 9 living in the Core building and 9 in scatter flats and 1 in Mother & Baby flat in the Ruchill and Maryhill areas of Glasgow.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide direct support to young women who have experienced homelessness and/or have a variety of complex emotional and mental health needs.
• Provide support to young women in all areas of service.
• Establish a supportive relationship with each young woman, enabling them to maximise their own resources in order to improve their quality of life, and to assist each young woman to be as independent as possible in all aspects of their daily life, in line with their support plans.
• On a daily basis assist and support young women to carry out identified housing support tasks to ensure that they maintain and sustain their accommodation and be flexible and responsive to meet the changing needs of the young women, as well as the housing support service itself.
• Problem solve unexpected and difficult issues that may arise during shift and deal with challenging behaviour when lone working, use own initiative in order to support the young women’s complex issues, and make decisions based on current assessments of risk, following set risk assessments protocols and procedures.
• Resolve complex young women issues, involving discussion with colleagues and relevant agencies through reviews and meetings, ensuring correct procedures are followed.
• Risk assess young woman’s needs and actions and consult with appropriate people such as line manager, social worker, case worker.
• Complete and update all relevant paperwork including housing support plans, risk assessments and case notes for each young woman, complying with National Care Standards, SSSC Codes of Practice, GIRFEC model of outcomes (SHANARRI) to ensure person centred service delivery and to meet service aims.
• Complete regular health and safety welfare checks of the young women, the building environment and equipment, reporting and dealing with any issues raised during these checks.
• Inform line management of any areas of concern or significant change when delivering young women support, to ensure that appropriate risk assessment is undertaken.
• Carry out all duties in compliance with Elpis Trust’s policies and procedures.
• Actively participate in 3 monthly support, supervision and observation.
• Work closely with and with direction from the Duty Manager, to plan and deliver young women’s identified support needs.
• Work co-operatively as part of a team including attending and contributing to team meetings and work in co-operation with other members of the support team, as well as colleagues from other agencies.
• Communicate in a knowledgeable, confident and professional manner with external agencies, including social workers, case work team, commissioning team, carers and relatives of young women. This may include email, telephone calls, letters or face to face meetings.
• Communicate with other team members in a respectful and supportive manner in order to promote positive team work and cohesion.
• Ensure the young women’s views and wishes are central to your work and encourage a high level of young women participation.
• To actively participate in identified training, on-going supervision and performance development.

Note: Duties will be reviewed and modified in line with the exigencies of the service.

Knowledge, education, qualifications, competences and experience:

Essential:

• Membership of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme
• Able to meet registration requirements with Scottish Social Services Council, Health and Social Care at S.V.Q. level 3, or be willing to achieve qualifications within specified timescale.
• Have an awareness of relevant National Care Standards and their application to work practice.
• Understand and adhere to the Codes of Practice from Scottish Social Services Council.
• Willing to maintain and enhance own knowledge, practice and competency.
• Previous experience working in Social Care.

Desirable:

• Experience of working with vulnerable young women and an understanding of the issues and needs involved.