16 Plus Supported Living Support Worker

A rare and exciting vacancy to join our growing Supported Living Team

You will be required to have a full UK Driving Licence and access to a reliable car.

This post is only available to applicants aged over 21 as permitted under the Equality Act 2010.

We are unable to offer sponsorship.

Shifts: 48 hours on a rolling 2 on 4 off rota. We are unable to be flexible on this currently.

**Salary**:

- £31,199.19 (£12.72 per hour, average salary, including sleep-ins based on an average of 162 hours per month) without NVQ Level 3/4 in Residential Childcare OR
- £33,176.33 (£13.72 per hour, average salary, including sleep-ins based on an average of 162 hours per month) with NVQ Level 3/4 in Residential Childcare

If you have a positive attitude, a sense of humour and a passion and drive to help young people fulfil their potential, then we would love to hear from you.

We are looking for a 16+ Supported Living Support Worker who is enthusiastic, patient, reliable and highly motivated to join our team in Somerset. Providing support and guidance to unaccompanied young adults as they journey towards independent living.

This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity requiring post holders to contribute to the transition from care to independence, as part of a dedicated team working to enrich the opportunities available to young people.

Main Duties & Responsibilities:
There are many roles and responsibilities of a supported living support worker, including:

- Supporting young people leaving care aged 16 to 18 years in a range of practical, personal, social and financial ways to help to enable and develop their independence and to help them become confident, successful and contributing in their community.
- Complete weekly and monthly reports, support plans and risks assessments via our bespoke online system to ensure accurate recording on file is adhered.
- Help to identify risks and concerns and liaise with the wider team to put plans in place to ensure that young people are safe.
- Supporting young people to re-join/continue with their education and or learning journey or take the first steps on their journey to employment.
- Ensuring the placement appearance is kept to a high standard and maintained, including cleaning daily.
- Helping young people to enjoy affordable and sustainable activities within their local community.
- Using creative and inclusive approaches to support young people's development and improve their aspirations through 1-1 key work sessions.
- Liaising with external agencies and professionals.
- Adhering to policies and procedures to safeguard young people from harm and abuse.
- Managing challenging behaviour and difficult situations.

Making friends is often difficult for the young people we support, and so a key responsibility of being a supported living support worker is promoting and planning meaningful days. This can be supporting individuals to pursue and enjoy their hobbies and interests, accessing training and education, getting involved in community groups, or encouraging learning a new life skill like cooking or DIY.

Skills Required:

- Excellent interpersonal skills to build trusting relationships with young people and partner agencies.
- Experience of working with young people and/or challenging behaviour in either paid, unpaid or volunteer capacity.
- Strong organisational skills to be flexible and responsive, to meet the needs of young people.
- Good IT skills with ability to use Outlook, online recording systems, Excel, Word, using a tablet and a smart phone.
- Empathy and understanding of the needs of young people leaving care, and the barriers they face.
- An ability to maintain appropriate and professional boundaries.
- Willingness to undertake sleep-in shifts and flexible to work on a rota basis.
- You will be able to keep accurate records and providing written reports on young people for planning meetings, reviews or any other meetings as directed by the line manager.
- Desirable but not essential - QCF Level 3 in children's residential care (working with young people) or equivalent.
- Full, clean UK driving license.
- Have or be willing to have business insurance for transport, if/when required.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands, and final warnings that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013 & 2023).

**Requirements**:
**Requirements**:

- Full UK driving licence (required)
- Right to work in the UK (required)
- NVQ Level 3 qualification in Health & Social Care (preferred)

**Benefits**:
**Benefits***:

- Competitive rates of pay
- Training and career development opportunities
- Access to level 3 and 4 qualifications
- Equivalent to 28 days paid holiday
- Access to Blue Light card discounts
- Free personable mortgage advice
- Company pension