Vision Rehabilitation Specialist

Job Title: Vision Rehabilitation Specialist - Sensory Services
Starting Salary: £37,035 with the opportunity to progress to £40,476
Hours: 37 hours per week
Location: Farnham House, Stevenage with travel countywide
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Adult Care Services

This is an exciting opportunity to join Hertfordshire County Council's Sensory Services, based at Farnham House, Stevenage.

We are looking for a VRS to join our dynamic multi-disciplinary team of 20, whose focus is on enabling individuals with visual impairments, deaf/hard of hearing, and deaf blindness to achieve optimum control of their lives through the process of rehabilitation.

Sensory Services is a county-wide service, working with both children and adults with sensory needs. We are seen as a flagship service, especially for the work that we do with the Sensory Strategy, influencing and shaping, keeping people with sensory needs at the heart of our work, working closely with partners.

Equally, in our team, we are proud to have a fully inclusive, diverse team of VRS, VRS apprentices, community care officers (CCO), social workers, and deafblind workers. We use assessment tools and support plans for the people we support and their carers to carry out assessments in the person's own home.

We provide rehabilitation input using an outcome-focused approach, including provision of low vision aids, rehabilitation training in orientation, mobility, and daily living skills.

We provide additional in-house training to enable you to support people, for example, short courses on specific conditions like dementia/complex needs, knowledge of Safeguarding/Mental Capacity Act, and functional assessments (such as providing rails or other equipment).

• Work collaboratively and build professional trusting relationships with our clients, their carers, and other organisations. With excellent communication skills, you will contribute to the development of services, looking at ways to improve the customer journey experience.
• Deliver tailored packages of rehabilitation around daily living skills and mobility using a person-centred strengths-based approach.
• Ensure the safe use of a wide range of specialist equipment with an up-to-date knowledge of eye conditions and treatments, along with knowledge of the practical application of teaching and learning theories.
• Undertake assessments and review their outcomes.

• Qualification: Diploma/Foundation degree in Rehabilitation Studies (Visual Impairment).
• Experience of working with adults and children with visual impairment, including those with additional disabilities/support needs.
• Registered with Rehabilitation Professional Workers Network and/or Habilitation VI UK (formerly MISE).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Understanding of the Care Act and other statutory legislations within Adult Social Care and Children's Services relevant to the role.
• Driving licence to travel county-wide for meetings and community visits.
• Familiar with contributing to safeguarding practices.

This job role is within the Health and Social Care, level 10 job profile. Please locate this via:

Interview Date: week commencing 20 January 2025.

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps) and includes any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert/job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

Safeguarding
This role has been identified as requiring a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Driving required
You'll need to have the ability to drive and/or travel around Hertfordshire, either using your own mode of transport or a company car to travel to other locations.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language, the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required).