Carer Support Officer

**North Ayrshire Carers Gateway Carer Support Officer - UNITY**

**Full time - 35 hours per week - £22,000 per annum - Three Towns (Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston) and other localities in North Ayrshire as required
- position available on a permanent basis.**

21 HSC are proud to announce that we have been exclusively retained on behalf of Unity to recruit a Carers Gateway Carer Support Officer.

Unity is a highly regarded and long-established charity that provides a range of services to support vulnerable and disadvantaged people across the West of Scotland. In North Ayrshire, they have supported unpaid carers for more than 20 years and have been contracted by the local Health and Social Care Partnership to introduce a vastly enhanced service. The new North Ayrshire Carers Gateway model will help more people, in more places and in more ways than ever before. The Carer Support Officer will be instrumental in achieving that.

The purpose of the job is to identify and support unpaid carers within a designated locality of North Ayrshire. They help carers to identify their needs and put in place a package of support to achieve personal outcomes, triaging them to specialist support within the Carers Gateway service and other organisations as required. Carer Support Officers manage local case load, maintaining and evaluating Gateway support plans so that carers receive consistently high quality and ongoing support which adjusts to meet their changing needs. The Carer Support Officer maintains a high profile for the Gateway service in their locality through partnership working, networking and by maintaining a visible presence in the area.

**Key Roles and Responsibilities**:

- Responsible for proactive identification of carers within the locality.
- Responsible for responding to all enquiries and referrals for carers in the locality, providing carers with both emotional and practical support.
- Responsible for ensuring that all carers needs are met by utilising the appropriate Gateway assessment tool to identify and prioritise needs.
- Responsible for ensuring that all carers are offered an Adult Carers Support Plan during their initial engagement with the Gateway service and, when this is not progressed, is revisited with the carer periodically.
- Responsible for promoting the Gateway service within the locality. This will include local networking, developing partnerships and working with the Marketing Coordinator to produce plans and resources for raising the Gateway’s visibility within the locality.
- Provide guidance on Carers rights and entitlements: liaising with the Gateway Welfare and Benefits specialist as required.
- Ensure Carers Gateway processes are always followed and electronic case management records are updated and reviewed regularly.
- Prepare monthly status reports and undertake other monitoring and evaluation as required.

**Essential/Desirable Skills and Attributes**
- It is essential to have a driving licence and access to a car for business use.
- It is essential to have previous work experience with unpaid carers, lived experience or other relatable experience.
- It is essential to have experience of managing a caseload, good note taking and follow up.
- It is essential to understand carers rights and benefits.
- SVQ in Social Care is desirable.

**To Apply**

21 HSC Limited is an equal opportunities employer.

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

**Salary**: £22,000.00 per year

**Benefits**:

- Company pension

Schedule:

- Day shift
- Weekend availability

Application question(s):

- Do you have eligibility to work in the UK?

Work Location: In person

Reference ID: CSO/A/SC