Connected Generation Carers Outreach Worker
BASE: Home working, covering x area
SALARY: £20,965 pro rata
HOURS: 21 per week
HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT: 27 days plus statutory bank holidays (pro rata)
PENSION: 3%
RESPONSIBLE TO: Connected Generation Project Manager/ Adult Carers Team Leader
About Connected Generation
The Connected Generation project, funded by The Big Lottery Fund, is designed to facilitate and enable the most vulnerable older people to achieve self-determined, sustainable livelihoods using an innovative hybrid of methods that have a strong co-productive ethos. It involves an excitingalliance of Credu (formerlyPowys Carers Service), Age Cymru Powys, Disability Powys, Powys Citizens Advice, and Royal Voluntary Service.
This ambitious project will influence policy and practice across the third and public sector that will lead to transformation through building on individual strengths, social networks and enriching the relationship between citizen and service providers. It will also model a positive approach to enabling a growing aging population to thrive and sustain optimum wellbeing.
Job Description
You will support older Carers (aged over 50) to enjoy a greater sense of wellbeing, by supporting Carers to address practical challenges along with building on individual strengths, social networksand influence on services.
You will engage in intensive training, share your own knowledge and skills and be a reflective, yet proactive practitioner that aims to enable older Carers to:
- Enjoy a greater sense of wellbeing
- Feel more connected to other people and less socially isolated
- Feel more able to shape the services that impact on their lives and feel more listened to, valued and respected in their relationships with services that matter to them.
- Have access to information, advice and support that is coherent and enabling
You will achieve this by working at three different levels:
INDIVIDUAL: Work with individual Carers to help themto identify what matters using coaching, sustainable livelihoods approaches as well as advocacy approaches.
COMMUNITY: Support individuals to build social networks, community links and peer support using Asset Based Community Development(ABCD) approaches.
SERVICES / STATE (Particularly Local Government and Local Health Board): Work with individuals and service leaders using methodologies that enable citizens to influence services and how they are experienced by people who use them.
You are an enabler and change maker who is passionate about people and communities. You are a natural coach and facilitator who recognises and is able to support the realisation of potential of individuals, groups and networks.
Responsibilities
1.Support Carers to access information, advice and support that is coherent and enabling
-Provide one to one support, giving information or support that matters to Carers, on their own terms, where Carers determine the outcomes that they want.
-Contribute to our suite of information on Caring for others, Caring for oneself, Rights, Benefits and local sources of support available in different formats and in person.
-Contribute to quarterly newsletter, a monthly blog and positive social media coverage.
-Tap into and contribute to information sources and services within your locality
-Sign post and refer to other organisations in the Connected Generation Project as well as external organisations and services.
2.Support Carers to enjoy a greater sense of wellbeing
-Use coaching methods, person centred planning and Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches that support Carers to tap into or access social, financial, public and human assets.
- Support Carers to feel more connected to others and less socially isolated
-Support and develop peer groups, trips, training and activities that connect Carers with each other as well as with opportunities to access experiences outside of their Caring role
-Actively connect Carers with local communities and vice versa using Asset Based Community Development Approaches.
- Support Carers to shape the communities and services that impact on their lives
-Carry out listening campaigns, co-design events with Carers, service providers and other stakeholders (with support).
-Provide advocacy and support.
-Develop local partnerships
-Coproduce local awareness raising campaigns to increase awareness of Carers and how communities and services can be more supportive.
-Recruit and support volunteers and supporters.
- Monitoring and administration
-To maintain case records onourcentral database.
-Management of budgets for individuals, groups and projects in agreement with the Team Leader
-Complete timesheets, expenses forms and administration duties.
-Draft Casestudies and Carers Stories to highlight Carers Issues and the difference made to Carers.
- Evaluation and learning
-Engaging in intensive (residential) training programme, with colleagues, which will include, coaching skills, sustainable livelihoods approaches, asset based community development, facilitation skills and influencing skills
-To participate in project and organisational evaluation sessions and share reflections and learning
- Uphold organisational values
Our inspirational framework for our principles, as an organisation is essentially ‘co-production’. This means that we believe in people – hence our name ‘Credu’; the Welsh word for ‘believe’.
-Coproduction – People are the heart of everything we do; we work with people, empower and share power (rather than do services to people).
-Learning – We support the personal development of Carers, Volunteers staff and trustees. We are also keen to learn through doing and build on our practice through reflection on our actions. We aim to appreciate and build on our collective successes with Carers and other stakeholders as well as being open about mistakes and learning where things do not go so well
-Enterprise and Innovation – We are committed to looking to improve and find creative ways to progress our purpose. Access to funds is never guaranteed, yet our purpose is too important to be subject to funding shortfalls. We are therefore committed as an organisation, to finding enterprising ways of fulfilling our purpose by maximizing our own assets and those around us as well as building our resources through social enterprise.
-Values driven – We are a values driven organisation made up of people who have strong values. We can’t list them because the values that really reflect the people who contribute towards our purpose are many and varied. However, ‘integrity’, ‘commitment’, ‘kindness’, ‘transparency’, ‘valuing equality and diversity’ and similar values, are ‘givens’. As a charity and as a civil society organisation, we aspire to the highest ethical standards in everything that we do. When we recruit staff, trustees and volunteers understanding their values and whether they can be congruent with our principles is key. Once recruited, we trust that their core values will drive them to do an excellent job.
- Uphold safety
-Working in a way that is conducive to your own safety and that of others
-Work in a way that safeguards vulnerable adults and promote their safety
Person Specification
Essential Requirements
You have experience of working in Health & Social Care or Community Work
You have experience of person centred planning and support
You are able to communicate effectively at all levels, including statutory and voluntary agencies, but most particularly with Carers, individually and in groups.
You are a creative thinker and can see opportunities for collaboration.
You have an understanding of the specific needs of Carers in a rural area
You can work on own initiative and as part of a team
You are proactive, dynamic and able to inspire and enthuse others.
A willingness to participate in initial, intensive training as well as ongoing personal and organisational development
You have good computer skills (Windows and Microsoft Office, Using Bespoke Databases)
You have good record keeping and reporting skills.
You have the ability to travel throughout Powys.
You are committed to putting equal opportunities into practice.
You are flexible regarding hours of work.
You are able to uphold confidentiality throughout the organisation.
You have strong values that are compatible withCredu’s values.
You have excellent interpersonal skills.
You have excellent facilitation skills.
You can work under pressure.
You are adept at prioritising work load are effective at time management
You have knowledge of relevant legislation and strategies concerning Carers.
Desirable requirements
Ability to communicate in Welsh
Experience of working with Carers and/or Older People
Experience of setting up community based projects
Experience of supporting people to influence services that impact on their lives