We are looking for a highly motivated individual, with experience of working directly with an adult client group. The successful candidate will have excellent communication and organisational skills, demonstrating a strong ability to working sensitively with adults over the age of 18 years of age who are Carers of a person under 25 years of age who has additional needs due SEND.

What will the successful applicant be doing…?

They will work with newly referred Adult Parent Carers, offering support which will help to reduce the impact of their caring role. They will create a package of support, tailored to the needs of the Adult Parent Carer. The  Adult Carers Wellbeing team aim to help Carers so that they get the support they need, preventing their caring role from  having a negative impact on their social, mental, and physical wellbeing. The post holder will also work with existing Parent Carers who come back to us for support. 

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1) To undertake Carer registrations with all Adult Parent Carers following referrals from other agencies and self-referrals into the service.

2) To complete Statutory Carers Assessments for Parent Carers of young adults aged 18 to 25, identifying the impact of their caring responsibilities and ensuring appropriate support is provided to help sustain them in their caring role.

3) To provide information, advice, emotional support, and advocacy services to Parent Carers via telephone, face to face support or home visits where necessary, at point of registration and when Parent Carers return for support.

4) To ensure Parent Carers are registered onto our internal electronic recording system along with all contacts with the Carer on an ongoing basis, accurately and efficiently in a timely manner.

5) To provide emotional support, maintaining a professional yet empathetic approach to Parent Carers.

6) To work within an established Carer Support Pathway to ensure and maintain a high level of knowledge and understanding of the services and benefits available to Parent Carers. Ensuring Parent Carers are receiving all appropriate services, support, and information.

7) Facilitate a monthly Parent Carer social peer circle group (one in the daytime and one in the evening), giving them the opportunity to meet with other Parent Carers.  You will be required to invite guest speakers in from local agencies to provide updates on services relevant to Parent Carers. 

8) To work closely with Listen 4 Change in supporting Parent Carers, referring Parent Carers into their service and accepting referrals from them. 

9) To organise and co-facilitate specific Parent Carer workshops on topics that will support Parent Carers in their role.

10) To make referrals into internal and external services, at the request of the Parent Carer, ensuring identified needs have been met in a timely manner.

11) To liaise with other organisations and advocate for Parent Carers, either collectively or on a case-by-case basis, this may be in cases where services provided are either not appropriate or not available.

12) To facilitate outreach sessions of Carer Support as and when required. 

13) To participate in and/or facilitate training events as required by the Line Manager, to support your role and Parent Carers.

14) To help plan, organise and become involved in Carers Centre events such as open days, evenings, Carers Week etc. To promote the services of the Centre and raise awareness of Carers issues.

15) To assist Senior Management in identifying areas of work to be undertaken and in the planning and development of these.

16) To take part in and support the Adult Carer Wellbeing Team, this will include active participation in supervision and support sessions, team meetings and appraisals.

17) To contribute to the collection of data about Parent Carers, their needs, and the provision of services.

18) To maintain accurate records and files of on-going work and participate in monitoring and evaluation.

19) To work with your colleagues across St Helens Carers Centre, to maintain an equitable service to Carers taking a whole system approach to Carer Support.

20) To share information in a professional manner, maintaining strict confidentiality

21) To work responsibly, complying with Safeguarding Adults & Children and ensuring all safeguarding concerns are acted upon immediately.

22) To be responsible, with other members of staff, for ensuring the work undertaken complies with the Centre’s Health & Safety Policy.

23) To work within all Policies and Procedures of the organisation and keep up to date with the Staff Handbook.

24) To work flexibly to ensure support is available during core hours, and by meeting the needs of all Carers, which will require a monthly late-night evening during term time and occasional weekend work. 

This person specification describes the personal attributes that we are seeking in a potential employee. You should refer to this when completing your application form as we need to ensure you are suitable for the role

Only those applicants who can clearly demonstrate they have all the essential criteria will be offered for an interview.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

1. EDUCATED to a good standard of education, with 5 GCSE grades A-C.

2. KNOWLEDGE - A good understanding of Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND)

3. EXPERIENCE of using IT systems, including Microsoft Word and Excel with excellent data entry skills at intermediate to advanced levels and using the internet and email systems at intermediate level.

4. ABILITY & SKILL to work under pressure with changing demands and workloads so that tasks are completed within a timely manner.

5. ABILITY & SKILL to maintain confidential records and a clear understanding of confidentiality.

6. ABILITY & SKILL to work on your own initiative whilst also working in a supportive manner within a team.

7. SKILL of excellent written and verbal communication, including listening skills.

8. ABILITY & SKILL to identify potential safeguarding  concerns and respond in accordance with safeguarding policy and procedures.

9. ABILITY to work occasional evenings (monthly) and  weekend work.

DESIREABLE CRITERIA

10. KNOWLDEGE - A good understanding of the impact of caring responsibilities on Adults.

11. QUALIFICATION in Social Care, Youth Work, Health or Education. 

12. EXPERIENCE – Working with a vulnerable clients.

13. EXPERIENCE of one-to-one client work within a health/benefits/advice service or related field 

14. KNOWLEDGE - A good understanding of The Care Act , Children & Families Act, the Voluntary Sector and Health & Social Care services

All staff appointments are subject to enhanced DBS Checks and satisfactory references (1 from your current / previous employer)

We are extremely well respected by our local partner agencies; we have built up a reputation based on providing a friendly and efficient service. Our approach is simply to go above and beyond. 

St Helens Carers Centre is an independent charity, established since 2001. The Management board governs the Centre; it consists of 6 Trustees, most of whom are Carers or former Carers.

Our organisation is also a network member of the National Carers Trust.

Our aim is to put preventative measures into place so that Adult, Young Adult & Young Carers are better able to cope with their caring responsibilities.

The Adult Carers Centre is located on Baldwin Street, it provides a range of support to Adult & Young Adult Carers 18 years +, the services offered include:

• One to One Emotional Support

• Practical Advice & Support

• Adult Carers Assessments/Reviews

• Holistic Therapies to help with the Carers’ wellbeing

• Referrals into other agencies for support & signposting

• Welfare Benefits Advice – a holistic approach, looking at both the Carer and the Cared for’s welfare benefits to see what they may be entitled to

• Training & Information Courses, for example, First Aid etc. 

• A range of specific support groups, e.g. Memory Loss, Mental Health, LGBTQ+ and Parent Carers. 

• Recreational Activities and social events at our Adult Carers Club House, for example, Carers Café, quiz nights etc.

• Parent Carer Wellbeing Support – dedicated support for Parent Carers who care for a child with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND).

• Carers Membership Discount Card

• Carers Emergency Card which gives the Carer peace of mind that in the event of an emergency the person they care for will be taken care of.

• Dedicated support for newly registered Young Adult Carers and those transferring over from our Young Carers Service

The Young Carers Centre is situated opposite the St Helens Town Hall. The Centre has been specifically designed to cater for children and young people. The bright décor and the facilities make the Centre appealing to all age groups. The staff at the Centre support Young Carers aged 6 – 18 years of age.

The Young Carers Centre also provides a range of support, the services offered include:

• Young Carer Assessments/Reviews (in home, school, college or at the Young Carers Centre)

• Referrals out into other agencies for support

• Practical/Emotional Support

• Regular Age-Specific Activities (during term time & school holidays)

• Chattin 4 Action Committee – Young Carers working together to make positive changes

• Residential Breaks

• Wellbeing & Training Workshops

• Math & English Tuition

Hours: Full-Time 37 hours per week:

37 hours per week covering our core hours of Mondays to Fridays 9.00am – 4.30pm (4.00pm Fridays) with an unpaid lunch break of at least 30 minutes. The remaining hours will be worked between 8.45am and 5pm.

From time to time an employee may be required to undertake duties more than these hours. When such work is needed, reasonable effort will be made to give employees advance notice of the requirement so as to minimise any personal inconvenience that this would otherwise mean for them. In these circumstances no overtime is payable but time in lieu will be granted.

Based: Adult Carers Centre, 31-35 Baldwin Street, St Helens, WA10 2RS.

Pension: Auto Enrolled Pension scheme of which 3% is paid by St Helens Carers Centre 

Holiday Entitlement: 

25 days per year plus 8 bank holidays (After 5 years of service, this rises by 1 additional day per year to a max of 30 days plus bank holidays)

Other:

• Job satisfaction! The chance to make a real, long-lasting difference to the lives of Parent Carers. 

• Staff Autonomy – Staff have a real say on how we shape and improve our service delivery. 

• Flexible time in lieu arrangements. 

• Training and Career development opportunities, with access to training courses offered by the Local Authority and through external providers. 

• Regular supervisions. 

• Annual Appraisals.

• Free hot drink facilities. 

• Complimentary events to reward staff at least twice a year. 

• A great team environment. 

• Sick pay (after the probationary period). 

• Full Staff Meeting’s, giving all staff the opportunity to meet up and focus on areas that will help them to develop their roles.