Job Role: Senior Homecare Worker

Location: Greater Manchester

Duration: Temp to Perm

Date entered: 02.12.2009

Small description:

To assist senior staff in the co-ordination and operational management of the service, ensuring that a high quality service is maintained at all times. To take delegated responsibility for key functions and tasks, as directed by senior staff. To ensure care and support is provided to service users in a sensitive and person centred way.

Large description:

Summary of the Job   

Location - Partington (Greater Manchester)

To assist senior staff in the co-ordination and operational management of the service, ensuring that a high quality service is maintained at all times. To take delegated responsibility for key functions and tasks, as directed by senior staff. To ensure care and support is provided to service users in a sensitive and person centred way.

Main Tasks

To provide personal care and support to service users in line with the individual care plans and preferences.

To carry out assessments and devise appropriate support plans in full consultation with tenants and other agencies.

To build and maintain strong links with other agencies, to ensure smooth and effective inter-agency working.

To work positively with families and positively engage the local community.

To offer support and supervision to any junior staff or relief staff.

To liaise with other team members to ensure that continuity of support and excellent communications are to be maintained at all times.

To encourage, support and assist service users in the following areas to maximise and build on their existing skills.

• Life skills
• Domestic skills
•  Budgeting, benefits, managing personal finances and the paying of bills
•  Nutrition and safety matters
•  Using community resources and facilities
•  Tenancy Management
•  Social, leisure and education activities
•  Benefit entitlements
• Health promotion
• Personal Care

 To assist the manager with the smooth running of the team and service, ensuring that new staff and service users are made welcome and kept fully informed of their rights and responsibilities.

To be flexible and responsive to the needs of service users as directed by their personal support plan.

To respond proactively to changing needs and to be flexible and person centred at all times.

12.    To work flexibly with line managers, important services and primary care services to meet the full range of service users needs.

To offer reassurance and support to service users at times of emotional distress.

 To actively seek and respond to tenants feedback and implement changes as appropriate.
 
To develop warm and trusting relationships with service users and to encourage them to express their needs, views and concerns.

To work alongside the project manager and (where appropriate) take delegated responsibility for:

•    Health and Safety aspects
•    Referral and allocation procedures
•    Feedback and report writing
•    Monitoring and evaluation of the service
•    Assisting with rotas
•    Tenant participation
•    Financial and administrative procedure
•    Other team functions

 To assist in monitoring tenants health and their general well being and to inform the manager and other relevant agencies of any concerns or significant changes in their needs and circumstances.

To respect the tenants right to privacy and to ensure that their dignity is maintained at all times.

To work collaboratively with the Housing Provider to ensure the premises are safe, clean and attractive.

To respond positively to families and carers and facilitate their involvement in the service users support plan and the development of the scheme.

To enhance the confidence and coping abilities of service users through encouragement and positive feedback.
 
To encourage service users to make choices and decisions.

To respond flexibly to changing needs under the direction of the Manager.

To take appropriate action in the event of unforeseen emergencies, ensuring that the Manager is promptly informed.

To follow health and safety guidelines and to alert the Manager immediately of any concerns in relation to health and safety issues.

To ensure that accurate records are kept.

To ensure that all financial transactions are promptly and accurately recorded.

To contribute to service users reviews through the provision of verbal and written reports and by attending care planning meetings.

Other

To provide regular verbal and written feedback to the line manager.

To accept regular support and supervision from the line manager.

To carry out all work in a manner consistent with the aims of the project and the service principles

To comply with and to implement the current Equal Opportunities Policy

To maintain confidentiality at all times, in accordance with the agreed policy.

To identify training needs in discussion with the line manager and to attend training events and courses as required.

To observe any written policies, procedures and guidelines for good practice

Any other duties required.































 PERSON SPECIFICATION

1.    Ability to assess needs and to devise appropriate support plans in liaison with service users and other agencies               
    Assessed by Application Form and Interview                Essential

2.    Good verbal communication skills and ability to listen sensitively to others   
    Assessed by Interview                            Essential   

3.    Good written communication skills, with an ability to contribute to a record keeping system to an acceptable standard   
    Assessed by Application Form                        Essential   

4.    Good interpersonal skills       
    Assessed by Interview                            Essential   

5.    Ability to work as part of a team                   
    Assessed by Interview                            Essential   

6.    A good understanding of the health, housing and social care needs of older adults        Assessed by Application Form and Interview                Essential

7.    Ability to provide non-judgemental, emotional and practical support to clients and to gain their trust                   
    Assessed by Application Form and Interview                Essential

8.    A common sense approach to problem solving and an ability to deal with conflict and distress                       
    Assessed by Application Form and Interview                Essential

9.    Ability to work without direct supervision with service users           
    Assessed by Application Form and Interview                Essential

10.    Ability to liaise in a professional manner with other agencies
    Assessed by Interview                            Essential   

11.    Ability to provide respectful personal care to older people and to be a role model for Home Care Workers                   
    Assessed by Interview                            Essential   


    Assessed by Interview                            Essential       
13.    Understanding of Equal Opportunities                   
    Assessed by Interview                            Essential
   
14.    Commitment to consulting with service users and responding to their views       
    Assessed by Application Form and Interview                Essential




Experience
           
15.    At least 12 Months Experience of working with people with older adults with care and support needs       
    Assessed by Application Form                        Essential           
16.    Experience of working as a member of a team       
    Assessed by Application Form and Interview                Desirable

17.    Experience of liaising with other agencies as part of a multi-agency approach            Assessed by Application Form and Interview                Essential

18.    Supervisory experience and/or ability to supervise junior staff       
    Assessed by Application Form and Interview                Essential

Personal

19.    A warm, respectful and positive approach to working with service users        
    Assessed by Interview                            Essential   

Willingness to work flexible hours according to needs of project, by mutual agreement
    
Willing to participate in regular supervision with line manager       

Possession of clean driving licence and ownership of a car   
 
   

 TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Title : Senior Home Care Worker


1.    Salary:    Up to £16,022 (dependent on experience and qualifications)
        Pay award pending

        Point 1 - £14,304 per annum

        Point 2 - £14,598 per annum

        Point 3 - £14,945 per annum

        Point 4 - £15,300 per annum

        Point 5 – £15,708 per annum

        Point 6 - £16,022 per annum

2. Sleep Ins:
An additional payment of £26.00 is payable per night for sleep-ins.
   
3. Waking Nights:   
All waking nights of a minimum of 10 hours duration will attract an additional payment of £1.80 per hour (£11.80) for each night actually worked. This is paid to all staff who work nights whether on the basis of regular waking nights, periodic night duty, internal rotation or occasional night duty.

4. Bank Holidays:   
An enhancement is paid for working at Christmas and New Year. We do not pay enhancements for working evenings, weekends or any other public holiday.

5. Bonus:
Employees will be awarded a one off bonus payment of £100.00 (pro-rata for employees who are contracted to work less than 18.5 hours per week) once they have successfully completed their probationary period, which is subject to the following:

•    Attendance is satisfactory
•    End Probationary Review is satisfactory
•    Induction Checklist is complete
•    Line Managers recommendation

6. NVQ II & LDQ Award:
All employees will be required to undertake and complete the NVQ II and the LDQ award (applicable to Support Workers working in learning disability services only) programme as a condition of their employment (If you hold NVQ 2 care or equivalent you will of course not need to do the award again, but we may support you to undertake qualifications).

7. Hours of Work:
Full or part time hours, full time hours are 37.5 per week. To be worked flexibly on a rota which will include evenings, weekends and public holidays according to the needs of the service. Part time hours to be agreed subject to a minimum of 16 hours per week. In addition to your contracted hours you will be required to work sleep-ins for which you will be paid an additional £26.00 for each sleep-in actually worked. Sleep-ins are additional to your contracted hours.


8. Disclosure Checks:
All appointments will be subject to CRB enhanced disclosure, POVA and POCA checks.

9. Probationary Period:
The first six months will constitute a probationary period. When this is successfully completed, employment will be confirmed.

10. Holidays:
20 days plus 8 statutory days

11. Part Time Work:
Please note that annual leave and other entitlements are calculated on a pro-rata basis for employees working less than 37.5 hours. We take a positive view of part-time work and will consider reasonable requests for part time hours for a minimum of 16 hours per week.

12. Sickness Policy:
We operate a discretionary company sick pay benefit scheme which is for the purposes of preventing hardship during times of serious illness. The eligibility criteria and conditions for payment of Company Sick Pay (inclusive of SSP) are shown in the Employee Handbook. You may be eligible for Company Sick Pay benefits subject to compliance with these criteria as follows:-

•    The company do not pay for the first three days of any sickness absence.
•    First six months service - Not eligible for Company Sick Pay though you may be entitled to SSP.
•    Six months to eighteen months service - Up to a maximum of four weeks at full pay.
•    Eighteen months plus service - Up to a maximum of eight weeks at full pay followed by four weeks at half pay.

Part time employees will receive Company Sick Pay benefits as detailed above but pro rata to actual hours worked each week. Company Sick Pay benefits may be withdrawn or temporarily suspended where performance or attendance is unsatisfactory.

13. Pension:
The company will make a contribution to a personal pension scheme after three months satisfactory service, providing that the employee makes a contribution equal to or exceeding this.  Company pension contributions rise on an incremental scale to 6% of basic salary for employees with more than three years service.

14. Life Assurance:
All staff are entitled to free life assurance. This is a valuable benefit which provides a lump sum equal to four times annual salary. The policy is provided by Norwich Union.

15. Discretionary Benefits:
The company offers discretionary benefits in addition to statutory benefits. These include:

•    Paid paternity leave
•    Enhanced maternity leave
•    Compassionate leave
•    Carers leave up to 5 days per annum

16. Employee Counselling Service:
All staff, their partners and members of their household have access to an independent confidential, 24 hour telephone counselling service and to legal and financial advice. In addition, up to 6 sessions of face to face counselling can be obtained. This service is delivered by professionally qualified and supervised counsellors and is provided free of charge

Hospital Saturday Fund:
All employees have access to a special scheme which enables membership of the Hospital Saturday Fund on preferential rates. There are a choice of packages offering different levels of service. Membership is entirely voluntary.

Staff Benefits Scheme:
As a member of staff for you will be entitled to access a range of on-line benefits for various activities and high street stores. Benefits include discounted prices and two for one offers at Theme Parks, Shops, Restaurants and various on-line stores.

This post is offered on a temp to perm basis. For more information, please contact Victoria Brown on 0161 941 4822
CV's to victoria.brown@housingsupport.co.uk