Support Assistant (Category 2 Sheltered Housing)

You will be working in a Category 2 Sheltered Housing Scheme. These schemes are in Leigh Park, Crookhorn and Wecock Farm.

The current vacancy is at Tweed Court, although you will be required to work in a nearby Category 2 sheltered scheme in Leigh Park if there is a need.

You will be part of a small team under the supervision of the Scheme Manager who will provide you with the induction and guidance that you need to gain confidence in the role. This is in addition to other training available to assist you in your personal development.

As a Support Assistant, you will provide residents with day-to-day help according to need. This for example may involve domestic help or personal reassurance. Where support is needed, you will liaise with care agencies, social workers, GPs, chemists and families of residents. You will need to be able to deal with any emergencies and on occasions, this will involve assisting some frailer residents with personal care issues, as well as being able to manage challenging behaviour from time to time.

You will spend time with residents to understand their support needs, documenting your learning on residents' support plans as well as updating residents' records at the time as appropriate. Some activities, for example, the selling of laundry tokens, will require you to handle and account for cash collected from the residents.

Part of your duties will be to assist the Scheme Manager with ensuring the security of the building and the carrying out of various health and safety checks. You will also support the Scheme Manager in promoting and facilitating social activities in the sheltered scheme.

You will be working each day from Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays), with regular afternoon shifts amounting to 18.5 hours per week. There will be periods of time when you are working alone in the scheme.

You will be expected to work flexibly to meet the demands of the service. The normal hours of working are:
(Whilst the end times are not negotiable, start times on individual days can be discussed as long as the hours amount to 18.5 per week).



Skills:

You need to:

• Have a caring nature, enjoy talking to people and have good listening skills.

• Have a professional approach to your work.

• Have good written skills and basic numeracy.

• Be prepared to provide domestic help to residents who require support, and in an emergency, with their personal care.

• Be physically able to participate in moving and handling tasks.

• Be a good team worker, have the confidence to work alone and to deal with challenging situations in a calm manner.

• Have basic IT skills - e.g. basic use of Microsoft Word and Outlook.

• Be flexible and reliable. Although mainly working in one scheme, you will be prepared to work in other schemes to meet the needs of the service. You also need to be flexible with your hours.

• The ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.