Community Care Officer

Job Title: Community Care Officer
Location: Mobile/ No Fixed location
Starting Salary: £27,344 with the opportunity to progress to a maximum of £30,151 (pro rata for part-time)
Hours: 37 per week
Contract: Permanent

Are you looking for an exciting new challenge? We are looking for a Community Care Officer to join our Gateway Assessment Team (East). The Connected Lives Gateway Service is our new front door for Hertfordshire residents seeking information and support around adult social care. We aim to prevent, reduce and delay need by ensuring people access a wide range of information, advice, and preventive and enablement support in a straightforward and timely way. We are looking for friendly, enthusiastic & committed people to join us  ensuring residents  access a wide range of information, via our proportionate interventions, and receive support at the right time and in the most uncomplicated way possible.

Our Gateway Assessment works preventively with people in the community for up to 12 weeks, to discover & agree solutions which increase their opportunities and promote their independence.

Applying HCC’s Connected Lives assessment framework, Gateway Connections work with residents focusing on what the person wants to achieve – their outcomes. We explore personal strengths, their family and friends’ support networks, and using expert knowledge we connect people with things that will help individuals and families to get on with their lives, achieving prevention, reducing or delaying the need for statutory provision of care services.

You will work as part of  the Gateway team  and  also collaboratively with  other  partners  and  teams, both internally  within Adult  Care  Services  and   externally with all relevant  community  and  voluntary  resources.

You will promote and support a strength-based assessment and practice approach to all interventions to maximise independence, health, and well-being by offering opportunities to prevent, delay or reduce the need for Adult Social Care.  This will require you to apply your creativity working with residents to ensure their safety and continued independence. Your knowledge of local services to support people to access appropriate community resources is also crucial as you will be using our Connected Lives Assessment approach, care planning and organising equipment  or minor  adaptations alongside our  Social Workers and Occupational therapists.  

It is crucial that you have some prior knowledge and experience within the Social Care sector and beneficial to have relevant knowledge Social Care legislation such as the Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Act 2005, and others.

An understanding of person-centred care is important as this is a key principle within Hertfordshire’s Connected Lives Practice to ensure people are supported to maintain and develop their independence.

You will need to be a confident individual, a good team player, an adaptable person and a decision maker .  We need you to have  the ability to work autonomously with cases to enable people to live independently in the community.  You will conduct telephone and community assessments with people using Adult Care Services’ Connected Lives Assessment framework, to achieve desired outcomes. We need you to be able to work successfully with partners and many other agencies for the benefit of citizens.  Your self-organisation is key, as is a ‘can do’ attitude.

Come and join us and make a difference, every contact counts!

In April 2023, Herts CC Adult Care Services are actively embracing and investing in our five NEW Gateway Teams where prevention is key to delivering our Care Act 2014 Connected Lives Approach, improving the lives and outcomes for people in Hertfordshire.

For this we are presently increasing staff capacity and registered professionals’ numbers within the Gateway Service to further our Connect and Prevent conversations with our clients and we hope candidates will be very excited to apply and join us developing and shaping our preventative and enabling  Gateway Assessment team !

Closing Date: Sunday 25th June 
Interview Date: 4th - 12th July 

For an informal discussion and more information please contact: Sarah Simpson 01442 454320