Mental Health Senior Support Worker - Preston

Job description

Job responsibilities

At Care in Mind our homes are always a hub of activity and energy where the young people can feel safe, and our staff enjoy coming to work. As Senior Support Worker your role will involve working alongside and supporting the Deputy and Registered Manager in supervising a team of staff and will carry out the co-ordination and leading of shifts. You will take the lead and play an active part in the young persons key team, creating and updating care plans, work collaboratively with the homes multi-disciplinary team ensuring all actions have been completed. You will also take an active role in supporting new members of the team and be involved in the recruitment of new staff attending interviews and local job fairs.

At our home in Fulwood you will be working with young people who have a variety of mental health diagnoses including personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, those who have difficult relationships with food, and those who use self-harm as a strategy to cope with their emotions. This role requires patience, resilience, and compassion as you support our young people to navigate various challenges and develop new skills. When asked what qualities are the most important to them in a staff team, our young people have said they would like caring, honest, understanding, fun, and kind people to come and work with them. They love to learn new things and have a variety of hobbies and interests that they like to share with the team. Theyre also an adventurous bunch who engage in a variety of activities such as going to the zoo, museums, outdoor sports, theme parks, and escape rooms to name a few. Our young people are working towards moving on positively from the home into the community and are developing skills that support their independence and autonomy.

The home is a 5-bed service and is located near local woodland and scenic walking routes, it is a big house with lots of character set in large grounds, which are perfect for summer BBQs, veg patches, and outdoor games. The surroundings are very peaceful with stunning views of local wildlife and countryside. It is a short drive or bus journey away from the centre of Preston which has excellent transport links and numerous amenities. The home is well cared for and staff and young people work together to make it homely and welcoming.

The role will include some fewer fun aspects such as incident management, de-escalation of challenging behaviours, completing several online records, report writing, audits, and medication management.

Previous experience of working with young people who have mental health needs is essential and ideally you will have worked as a Support Worker in a similar environment. You will receive full training and ongoing support & mentoring from our friendly residential and clinical team.

The job is highly rewarding and is an excellent development opportunity if you would like to gain supervisory experience and move into a future management role of which we will support the right candidates to do.

Additional Information

• Please note that we do not accept CVs and the application must be completed in full.
• Care in Mind operates a safer recruitment process and as part of this process the successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.
• We are an equal opportunities employer who values diversity and positively encourages applications of all ages from all sections of the community.
• We reserve the right to close the advert early, should we appoint a suitable candidate.
• Please note, as this position is over 20 hours per week, we will be unable to accept applications from anyone that only holds a student visa

• Please note Care in Mind do not have a sponsorship licence and therefore unable to offer sponsorship to candidates requiring this now or in the future.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Desirable

• Has NVQ Level 2 qualification in in care or equivalent
• Level 3 diploma qualification in care or equivalent

Experience

Essential

• Previous experience of working in a team
• An understanding of the issues young people face
• Previous experience of working with young people who have mental health needs

Desirable

• Previous experience of working as Support Worker or similar role

Skills

Essential

• Good written communication skills and the ability to write basic reports and record information accurately
• IT skills and the ability to write emails and use Microsoft office

Desirable

• Do you hold a clean driving license?

Other

Essential

• Good verbal communication skills and the ability to listen to others
• Are you able to work shifts/attend training outside of shift hours?
• Ability to liaise in a professional manner with external agencies
• Understanding of the issues around confidentiality
• Understanding of safeguarding
• Form and maintain professional working boundaries between staff and service users.
• Awareness and basic understanding of the Legislation and Guidance relevant to young people in residential care.

Desirable

• Previous experience of supervising a team or individuals within a team

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Care In Mind

Address

Willowhurst Residential Service

Fulwood, Preston

PR2 9SX

Employer's website

https://www.careinmind.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)