Habilitation Officer
About the job
Salary: £33,143 – £36,363 a year plus £963 essential car user allowance
Hours per week: 37
Contract type: Permanent
Are you passionate about making a meaningful difference in the lives of children and young people with vision impairment? Do you have the skills and experience to deliver specialist training that promotes independence, mobility, and independent living skills?
If so, we invite you to apply for the role of Habilitation Officer within our dynamic and supportive team in Luton.
As a Habilitation Officer, you will play a vital role in supporting children and young people (CYP) with vision impairment, including those with additional disabilities, to develop essential life skills. You will assess individual needs and deliver tailored habilitation programmes that focus on orientation, mobility, independent living, and travel skills.
Your work will promote inclusion, accessibility, and confidence across home, school, and public environments. You will work collaboratively across the Passenger Transport Unit and the Special Educational Needs Service, contributing to the development and implementation of borough-wide SEN policies.
Your role will be guided by national standards including the Curriculum Framework for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment (CFVI) and HAB Standards, ensuring best practice and statutory compliance. Key Responsibilities Coordinate and deliver habilitation training programmes for CYP with vision impairment.
Conduct environmental access audits and risk assessments to ensure safe and effective training. Support CYP during transitions between educational settings, promoting independence and confidence.
Liaise with families, schools, and professionals to ensure consistent and complementary support. Maintain accurate records and contribute to service development through regular review and evaluation.
Provide training and guidance to parents/carers and other stakeholders. Promote awareness of habilitation services through training and outreach. work with the Independent Travel Training team to assist in delivering this training to those learners with Visual Impairments
Please note this role does not attract sponsorship.
About you
What We’re Looking For
Essential:
Experience working with CYP and teaching new skills.
Proven ability to deliver person-centred, outcome-focused training programmes.
Knowledge of mobility and habilitation services, vision impairment registration, and relevant legislation. Strong communication skills and ability to work independently and collaboratively. Degree or diploma in Rehabilitation Work or equivalent, with evidence of ongoing professional development.
Desirable:
Experience working with CYP with dual sensory loss or additional needs.
Professional expertise in habilitation work and knowledge of BSL or other communication systems.
Registration with professional bodies such as HABVI(UK) or RWPN.
About us
Our ambitious Luton 2040 Vision – that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty – is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.
The people of Luton depend heavily on this council – and that means our workforce! Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?
We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of our borough
Application Process
Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare all unspent cautions and convictions; and also any adult cautions (simple or conditional), and spent convictions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020). A person’s criminal record will not in itself prevent a person from being appointed to this post. Applicants will not be refused posts because of offences which are not relevant to, and do not place them at or make them a risk in, the role for which they are applying. However in the event of the employment being taken up, any failure to disclose such offence, as detailed above, will result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the Authority.
On occasions, we may close a vacancy early due to a very high number of applications being received.
Benefits
We offer a range of excellent staff benefits which include:
- From 25 to 32 days’ annual leave: linked to length of service and grade
- Buying annual leave scheme: buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
- Career Pathways: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
- Pension scheme: with generous employer contributions of up to 20.2 per cent (at July 2023) and 3x salary death in service grant
- Generous relocation package: up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
- Employee Assistance Programme: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
- Work/life balance: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
- Training and support: unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
- Staff offers: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
- Arriva Travel Club: great value savings on local bus travel
How to apply
We understand that job applications take time and effort, but a high-quality application shows that you are professional with a good attention to detail. The recruiting manager may receive a number of applications for each job advertised so you want yours to stand out!
Our ‘How to apply' page has more tips to help with your application: How to apply
Available documents
Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.Salary range
- £33,143 - £36,363 per year