Community Project Worker Team Manager

POST TITLE: (Temporary) Community Project Worker Team Manager Duration 1 year

GRADE:

LOCATION: Countrywide

ORGANISATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS:

• The post holder will be supervised by the project Manager Day Services Improvement.

DESCRIPTION OF ROLE

• Along with the DSI project manager and local management, develop teams of project workers throughout the County towards improving life chances for people with learning disabilities through a ‘person-centred approach’ to enable people to access community resources and opportunities.

CONTEXT OF THE POST

• The post holder will be a member of the Social Care and Health Integrated Learning Disability Service that is based upon the Valuing People principles of choice, rights, independence and inclusion.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES SPECIFIC TO THIS POST

• To support the DSI manager develop a team working approach to support people in community based activities, choices and interests, including the use of public resources and transport.
• Effectively manage all project workers throughout the County, ensuring consistency in application of the role.
• Establish effective net workings practices with a wide range of community and voluntary organisations to provide effective support for people with a learning disability in the community.
• Develop and introduce policies and working practices for Community project workers that will be transportable throughout the County.
• Develop, introduce and maintain an effective reporting regime that recognises Community involvement and support.
• Take forward specific actions and team development resulting from modern days training programmes.
• Work with the Change manger Pontop to effectively introduce a community support team capable of delivering care and support in a community setting.
• Develop safe working practices that support the principles of choice, rights, independence and inclusion in a community setting.
• Work with unit managers to implement the change to community based working, throughout the County.
• Establish an effective Community Activity Dats base, available throughout the County.
• Develop and introduce an effective staff development programmes to enable staff to take onboard new ways of working in the community.
• To operate in line with the philosophy, aims, objectives and standards of a service which promotes equal opportunities for all.
• To promote the principles of Rights, Independence, Choice and Inclusion as outlined in the Government White Paper ‘Valuing People’.
• Along with Staffing develop and introduce effective training to support community activities worker so they can function as a team or as individuals in the community.

COMMON DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Quality Assurance
  All staff are accountable for the quality of their own work and for the operation of the relevant parts of the quality systems. This will involve operating within the appropriate quality procedures applicable to the post to ensure that all users of services have their needs and expectations identified and fulfilled.
• Communication
  To be personally aware of how the teams communications systems operate and to be fully conversant with the Social Care and Health procedures, policies, strategies and objectives and to participate in effective liaison within the Team.
• Professional Practice
  To ensure that individual professional practices developed in line with Social Care and Health’s stated objective of continual improvement in the quality of it’s service to internal and external customers.
• Health Safety
  All staff will comply with the Social Care and Health and Safety Policy, organisation arrangements and procedures and have a responsibility to advise the Social Care and Health through their line manager of where they consider the Service has not met its obligation to provide a safe and healthy place to work.
• Supervision and Appraisal
  All members of staff will receive supervision and appraisal and it is the responsibility of each member of staff to follow the Social Care and Health procedure in respect of supervision and appraisal.
• Equality and Diversity
  As an organisation we are committed to promoting a just society that gives everyone an equal chance to learn, work and live free from discrimination and prejudice. To ensure our commitment is put into practice we are developing policies, which will seek to remove any barriers to equality of opportunity and to eliminate unfair and unlawful discrimination.
  
  These policies apply to all employees of Durham County Council.
• Confidentiality
  All members of staff are required to undertake that they will not divulge to anyone personal and/or confidential information to which they may have access during the course of their work.

Induction

Social Care and Health has in place an induction programme designed to help new employees to become effective in their roles and to find their way in the organisation.

Social Care and Health Quality Standard

Social Care and Health is committed to continuous improvement and has developed a quality assurance framework called Aiming for Excellence. Aiming for Excellence provides a framework for monitoring our performance against a set of standards for all staff.

These standards are used to receive feedback from people who will use our services and are reviewed as part of the Social Care and Health Supervision and Appraisal Systems. All staff will have a set of standards against which they will be reviewed through questionnaires and observation in the workplace and information from these will be incorporated into the Supervision and Appraisal process.

The annual programme of supervision and appraisal will include 7 supervision sessions, 2 direct observations of practice and one appraisal. The appraisal scheme will bring together targets agreed for the previous 12 months and for the following 12 months and involves discussion about the appraisees job, his/her performance, development needs and any issues from supervision and will be part of an ongoing programme of supervision and training.

Conditions of Services

The terms and conditions of service are embodied in the National Agreement on Pay and Conditions of Service (commonly known as the Green Book) and supplemented by local collective agreements reached with Trade Unions recognised by the Council and by the regulations and policies of the Council:

1. The grade of the post is PO 2
2. The appointment will be subject to:
   • Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure check.
   • Satisfactory medical clearance. The successful candidate will be required to satisfy the Occupational Physician as to his/her fitness to perform the duties of the post.
   • Satisfactory references. References will be sought from your current or most recent employer and additional references may be requested.
   • Successful completion of a 6 month probationary period with the exception of staff transferring from another Authority.
3. The successful applicants may be entitled to relocation expenses in accordance with the Authority’s relocation expenses scheme.
4. The post holder will be entitled to join the local government pension scheme and contributions are 6% of salary.
5. A car user allowance may be attached to this post and the Council does provide an assisted car purchase scheme. Alternatively, an employer assisted car lease arrangement may be available.
6. Leave entitlement is a minimum of 22 days rising to 27 days following the completion of 5 years continuous local government service. In addition the post holder is entitled to 8 bank holidays. The above entitlements are reduced proportionately for employees working fewer than 37 hours per week.
7. Durham County Council operates a no smoking policy. Smoking is not allowed in Council offices or establishments.
8. This authority, as your employer, firmly supports the principles of collective bargaining in every way and believes in the principles of solving industrial relations problems by discussion and agreement. For practical purposes, this can only be conducted by representatives of the employers and of the employees. If collective bargaining of this kind is to continue and improve for the benefit of both it is essential and that the employees’ organisations should be fully representative. Your Authority is associated with other local authorities represented on the national and provincial councils dealing with local authorities’ services. It is equally sensible for you, too, to be in membership of a trade union representing you on the appropriate negotiating body, and you are strongly encouraged to do so.
   
   You have the right to join a trade union and to take part in its activities. Details of the specified trade unions on the appropriate negotiating body are available for you to refer to.
9. The County Council is an Equal Opportunities employer and welcomes applications, irrespective of race, sex, marital status, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation or political belief.
10. The County Council requires one month’s notice in writing to the post holders intention to terminate employment.

NOTES

1. Candidates related to any member of the County Council or to the holder of any senior post must make a declaration to that effect.
2. Canvassing directly or indirectly will disqualify.
3. Please note that receipt of your completed application form will not be acknowledged, unless you provide a stamped addressed envelope for the purpose.
4. If you are not invited for interviews within 30 days of the closing date for receipt of applications, you may assume that you have been unsuccessful and that the post has been filled.
5. Please do not send testimonials or references as these will not be returned.

PERSON SPECIFICATION
POST: COMMUNITY PROJECT WORKER MANAGER - PO 2

LONGLISTING - PHASE ONE - Examination of application form and any required work

PHASE TWO - As above plus inter-personal assessments