Vision Rehabilitation Specialist

**Location: Home based with regular travel across Flintshire and Wrexham, with the requirement to work from the Council Offices and Vision Support offices on occasion**

Qualification required - Honours Degree or Dip. H. E./Foundation Degree in Rehabilitation Studies (Visual Impairment) or equivalent.

**Job Purpose**

To identify, deliver and evaluate professional rehabilitation interventions to vision impaired people to enhance their skills and confidence to maximise their independence.

To assess and provide support plans to help people at risk from harm or becoming dependent on others due to their sight loss.

To act as an advocate for visually impaired people and the organisation to help promote accessible services; equality; social integration and understanding of the impact of sight loss.

**Key Responsibilities**
- **Assessment - **To undertake specialist visual impairment assessments with the visually impaired person to identify their needs and aspirations to promote independent living.
- **Rehabilitation and service provision - **To plan, implement, evaluate, and review rehabilitative services to the visually impaired person aimed at maximising and maintaining independence, safety, dignity, and choice. Rehabilitation may include, but not be restricted to daily living skills, communication skills, mobility training, low vision training.
- To work with visually impaired people who have additional complex needs such as dual sensory loss, learning, physical and mental health disabilities.
- To work within a safeguarding framework to identify, manage and where possible reduce risk.
- To understand the psychological aspects of sight loss and provide emotional support as part of the rehabilitation process to the individual, their family and carers.
- To signpost and/or refer individuals to partners in local authority, health service, education service, welfare and employment services, voluntary sector and other community services.
- To enable the Local Authority to maintain the Local Authority’s Partially Sighted/Sight Impaired and Blind/Severely Sight Impaired Registers.

**Personal and Professional Development**
- To practice in accordance with the National Occupational Standards for Specialist Sensory Workers.
- To maintain an up-to-date knowledge and understanding of legislation, frameworks etc., the safe use of a wide range of specialist equipment, and up-to-date knowledge of eye conditions and treatments.
- To supervise, mentor and support student Vision Rehabilitation Specialists on placement, where appropriate.
- To develop and maintain links with primary and secondary care and public health services particularly Ophthalmology, Optometry practices and GP practices.

**Policies and Procedures**
- To ensure that written and electronic records and reports are maintained in accordance with the employer’s policies and procedures and the Data Protection Act 1998.
- To work with multi-disciplinary, multi-organisational teams, networks and systems.
- To assist in the management of a waiting list where appropriate.
- To be accountable for and take responsibility for own safety and that of service users.

**Person Specification**

(All attributes and skills are essential unless otherwise specified)

Fluent Welsh speaker (desirable).

Ability to develop clear plans and communicate these to service users and other staff.

Ability to delegate tasks to other staff where appropriate (desirable).

Recognised rehabilitation work qualification (or currently working towards it)

Proven experience of performing rehabilitation assessments with visually impaired people and providing mobility, communication and daily living skills training.

Working knowledge of good practice relating to safeguarding.

Ability to deliver training/advice sessions to individuals or groups of service users, carers and other organisations.

Knowledge of Health and Safety legislation, including lone worker policies.

Ability to travel and work in all areas of Flintshire and Wrexham.

Good knowledge of other related agencies (desirable).

Strong personal organisation/time management.

Proven track record of maintaining and updating personal records for clients.

Ability to record service management statistics.

Be calm and deal sensitively with people and be open minded to all cultures and ways of life.

Work on own initiative, whilst exercising discretion and confidentiality.

Be a team player.

Be willing to work flexibly (outlook, work hours, work location).

Able to implement programmes in partnership with other agencies.

Good personal presentation skills, and oral/written communication skills.

**Job Types**: Full-time, Permanent

**Salary**: £33,977.84-£35,246.40 per year

**Benefits**:

- Additional leave
- Bereavement leave
- Health & wellbeing programme

Schedule:

- Monday to Friday

Application question(s):

- Do you have a Honours Degree or Dip. H. E./Foundation Degree in Rehabilitation Studies (Visual Impairment) or equiv