Female Complex Needs Worker
Overall Purpose: To provide high quality care and positive behaviour support to service users with complex needs, in accordance with their support plan and comprehensive risk assessment; promoting independence, dignity, choice and wellbeing.
Hours of Work: 35 hours per week
Salary: £26,325.00 per year
Responsible To: Team Manager, Registered Manager
Values-based Person Specification & Job Description
Who We Are: Rathbone is a Lambeth charity which exists to help people by providing high quality services. We are not a private company designed to make profits for shareholders.
Our Values
Quality – Our Outreach Service exists to deliver high quality support to the people who use our services by being friendly, honest, reliable and responsive to people’s needs.
Trusted – Over many years we have built a strong, trusted relationship with service users, families, social workers, health professionals and various other outside agencies. This trust is sustained by delivering a consistently high level of professional, person-centred support to service users, while encouraging and promoting an open, honest and reflective approach to problems.
Creative – Rathbone take pride in our ability to nurture and encourage the problem-solving skills of managers and frontline workers.
Inclusive – Rathbone actively promotes equality and diversity and continuously looks for ways to be as inclusive as possible, utilising coproduction principles to achieve this across the organisation.
Personal Specifications
- This role is specifically for female workers to enable our service to work with a more diverse service user group.
- Resilience. The individuals we support in this group use complex and challenging behaviour as communication. Some will try to hit, kick, bite, scratch and otherwise physically harm you and others. This is not ‘ordinary’ support work: it is more psychologically and physically intense. This role requires someone who fully understands how and why this type of work is demanding and different, and who has the skills and commitment to work in a professional team focused on understanding and reducing complex and challenging behaviour.
- Strong professional boundaries.
- The ability to not take things personally.
- The ability to undertake and pass an accredited training course and subsequent refreshers on using Positive Behaviour Support and physical interventions, and to consistently apply this important learning at all times in a professional, sensitive manner, in line with agreed support plans.
- A commitment to work unsocial and flexible hours.
- The ability, insight, flexibility and resilience to work effectively with people of varying levels of need, including those with Autism and challenging behaviour.
- Knowledge of the principles and practice of The Equality Act 2010 and a commitment to promoting the acceptance of diversity when carrying out all duties.
- An empathetic approach and an understanding of the needs of people with learning disabilities (such as physical, psychological, emotional) and the challenges they face in daily life.
- Knowledge of the principles of working with service users from a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
- Effective communication skills including good spoken and written English and a general understanding of non-verbal communication.
- The ability to work in an empowering way, encouraging and supporting service users to develop their independence and daily living skills.
- The ability to work effectively within a team and to work alone when required, prioritising work and managing a caseload.
- Adaptability to change and the ability to be flexible to the demands of a busy service.
- Computer literacy and admin skills.
- Full UK Driving License – This means able to drive any car, including both manual and automatic controls.
- The ability to complete MIDAS minibus training, to be then able to drive work passenger vehicles as required.
Organisational Responsibilities
- To abide by the terms laid out within your Staff Contract, Staff Handbook and following Rathbone’s policies and procedures.
- To read and follow new and updated guidance and information issued via the monthly Staff Newsletter and other emailed memos.
- To work in whichever part(s) of the service you are required to by the organisation: i.e. supported living projects, general outreach service, drop-in service or other.
- All appointments subject to our safeguarding procedures including pre-employment checks and an enhanced DBS.
Duties when working with Service Users
- To provide support, advice and care for people with learning disabilities in accordance with each person’s Support Plan and Risk Assessment.
- To ensure that service users’ needs and human rights are recognised and met in a respectful and responsible manner.
- To advocate for the rights of the people you support.
- To apply an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (and DoLS) in supporting people to make their own informed decisions and to raise concerns if you have doubts about someone’s capacity to make a decision.
- To encourage people to make healthy diet and lifestyle choices, while acknowledging that people with capacity to make decisions always have the right to make unwise choices.
- To report any safeguarding concerns to a manager at the earliest opportunity.
To establish and maintain professional relationships with service users, their families and other agencies.
- To support those service users who require personal care in a sensitive, discreet manner which promotes and maintains their dignity.
- To support service users and their families to follow the Complaints Procedure when they are unhappy with the service.
Duties with Information and Records
- To apply an understanding of the Data Protection Act 1998 and Rathbone’s Privacy and Confidentiality Policy to fulfil your responsibilities when handling sensitive personal information.
- To complete and submit detailed, factual records for every support session you deliver.
- To complete and submit incident reports and accident reports as required.
- To be part of the process of reviewing support plans and Risk Assessments as required by the service.
- To accurately complete and submit all payroll and expenses documents according to organisational procedures.
Other Duties
- To maintain a professional and positive approach and to be accountable for your work.
- To work as part of a team and attend all relevant meetings and reviews as required.
- To take part in training courses and other organisational events and activities as required.
- To participate in the supervision process, working in a co-operative, positive, outcomes-focused manner with your line manager.
- To facilitate and maintain a high level of health and safety standards in all areas of service delivery in accordance with statutory regulations.
- To at all times work within statutory guidelines and standards as set out by the Care Quality Commission.
To carry out other duties and tasks that may arise to meet the needs of the service user and organisation as a whole.
All appointments subject to our safeguarding procedures including pre-employment checks and an enhanced DBS
For more information, or to register your interest in the role please contact Jamie at j.sawyer@rathhbonesociety.org.uk