Community Support Worker

Our benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About the role

*Due to high volumes of applications this post will now close on 26th January 2025*. 

This post is a full-time position, fixed term contract until the 31st October 2025.

The post holder will be based at Kettering General Hospital, but the role will involve travelling to anywhere in the North Northamptonshire Council area, particularly to our Specialist Care Centre in Great Oakley, therefore the ability to travel effectively is crucial.

The Hospital Adult Social Care Team provides social care support to all North Northamptonshire residents who need an assisted discharge from hospital.

We take referrals for North Northamptonshire residents from all hospitals, but predominantly from Kettering General Hospital (KGH) Northampton General Hospital (NGH) and the Medical Rehabilitation hospitals run by Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHFT).

In line with current national guidance, we operate a Discharge to Assess (DTA) process. This requires us to carry out timely assessments for those people discharged to DTA beds in residential care homes in the North of the County. As well as people discharged to their own homes with DTA packages of care or to the Specialist Care Centre (SCC) in Great Oakley.

North Northamptonshire Council’s Adult Social Care assessments are based on the Three Conversation approach. A model that re-emphasises focus on people, their strengths, and the networks through the development of Community links and hubs. The role of the Hospital Adult Social Care Team is evolving with this approach and has become increasingly more Community orientated, and less hospital based.

With the ever-changing face of health and social care, no two days are the same and if you thrive on promoting positive outcomes and enjoy a fast-paced environment then this will be the team for you.
 

What will you be doing?

• Assist on a managed basis, as part of the team, with a monitored caseload of short term and/or less complex cases, which require visiting, monitoring and provision of support to customers to ensure ongoing services.
   
• With reference to the individual’s care plan provide practical and emotional support to customers to help them maintain independent living. In appropriate cases: Assist customers with physical disabilities to carry out activities, hygiene routines and manage medication as directed within their care plans to help maintain health and wellbeing.
   
• With reference to the individual’s care plan promote independence through the provision of information to customers and through liaison with carers, internal and external agencies to help customers to access and utilise resources in the local community and maintain financial independence.
   
• Act as a key worker for designated customers and in consultation with other stakeholders to ensure that customers are supported in accessing and applying for the services and benefits they are entitled to from the relevant agencies and authorities.
   
• Assist senior officers/case managers with ongoing assessment and provide information to help amend and update care plans so that changes in customers’ assessed needs and circumstances are recorded and addressed appropriately.
   
• Ensure that all administrative tasks relating to the job are carried out in an effective and timely manner for accurate audit and record keeping and accordingly to contribute to reviews.
   
• Demonstrate awareness/understanding of equal opportunities and other people’s behavioural, physical, social and welfare needs.
   
• Ensure that reasonable care is taken at all times for the health, safety and welfare of yourself and other persons, and comply with the policies and procedures relating to health and safety within the company

Carry out any other duties which fall within the broad spirit, scope and purpose of this job description and which are commensurate with the grade of the post.

About you

Are you passionate about working with people to promote independence and dedicated to making a difference? We would love to hear from you! We are looking for enthusiastic and dynamic people.

For this role you will need to:

• Assist with the provision of positive intervention and support for adults with mental health problems; physical and / or learning disabilities.
   
• Promote independence and community living and help minimise the risk of hospitalisation or admission to residential care.

Basic Requirements:

• Educated to GCSE or equivalent.
   
• NVQ/QCF Level 2 in Social Care or equivalent
   
• Proven experience of health or care work.
   
• Good verbal and written communication skills sufficient to write clear, concise, and accurate reports and to enable effective communication with a number of different agencies.

If you would like to talk to someone about the role or application process, please contact:
Steve Edwards on 01536 492085 or via e-mail to hospitalascteam@northnorthants.gov.uk

Please note that we do not accept CV’s. We welcome informal visits, but these do need to be arranged in advance.

*Due to high volumes of applications this post will now close on 26th January 2025*. 

• Shortlisting will be completed week commencing the 3^rd February.
   
• Interviews to be completed week commencing the 10^th February.

This post is a full-time position, fixed term contract until the 31st October 2025.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our Key Commitments

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

North Northamptonshire Council re-signed the Armed Forces Covenant in June 2024 which highlights the Council’s pledge to support the Armed Forces community. The council obtained the silver status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) and we are now currently working towards achieving Gold status.

We aim to be a carbon neutral Council by 2030.

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)