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Supported Living Shift Lead – West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

A new and exciting opportunity has arisen for the role of Shift Lead, overseeing our Supported Living Services in the  West Wycombe  area of Buckinghamshire.

MidCo Care Limited (“the Company) provides Supported Living Services to adults accommodated in multi-occupancy homes located within communities. Our objective is to provide stimulating, homely environments for adults to meet their social and health needs, assisting them to live as far as is possible, independent lives.

The Shift Lead will have hands-on experience of providing support to adults with experience gained in a Residential setting or a Supported Living service setting in the community. The role involves working closely as a team with other care staff, to support the service users. The Shift Lead will also occasionally act as an out-of-hours emergency support staff (evenings and on Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank holidays) to assist staff on duty when required, for example, to manage an incident that has arisen.

The Shift Lead will be the first point of contact for all operational and management  tasks related to the service, working closely with other support workers in the service, MidCo Care management, and Local Authority professionals. Reporting to the Care Services Coordinator, they  will provide direct day-to-day support to the service users overseeing, monitoring and supervisina other support workers, to enable the service users to lead stable lives in line with their Support Plans and Risk Assessments. The role also includes responsibility for administrative duties of the service. It is estimated that the Shift Lead will spend 66% of the time on administrative issues and the remaining 33% on direct support to service users.

It is preferable that the Shift Lead live within 45 minutes travel time to the service.

Primary Responsibilities

• Take full responsibility, in liaison with supervisor, for all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the service, ensuring that service users receive a safe, caring, stimulating, and homely environments to meet their social and health needs.
• Ensure the safeguarding of service users in our care.
• Hands-on support role in the day-to-day support of the service users, ensuring that a high standard of support is provided and maintained at all times.
• Responsible for preparation of and filing service users’ electronic and hard copy documentation (e.g. Support Plans, Risk Assessments, Health and Safety), ensuring that the documentation remains relevant and responsive to the needs of the individual service users.
• Collaborate with other staff to be aware of any changes in service users’ needs that impact on Support Plans, and Risk Assessments, and other areas, and update these documents to reflect the new needs.
• Responsible for preparation of and filing of the home’s electronic and hard copy documentation (e.g. Health and Safety).
• Responsible for the Health and Safety of service users, the home, and visitors to the home, such as contractors, and professionals, inclusive of carrying out weekly house contents and Health and Safety Inspections, and reporting outcomes and issues needing attention, and recommendations for improvement.
• Troubleshoot specific and common issues/challenges in the home and escalate to the supervisor as required for resolving.
• Acting as the focal point for contact with service users, their relatives and visitors, as well as health and social care professionals involved in the well-being of service users, acting upon requests and ensuring that queries, concerns, complaints, and cases are dealt with timely and appropriately.
• Investigate medication errors, safeguarding incidents, missing from care cases, other incidents and accidents, and any other arising issues, ensuring relevant internal and external reporting, including, where applicable, to external institutions such as Local Authority and the police.
• Contribute towards driving continual service improvement, whilst operating within a budgetary constrained environment.
• Build and manage strong positive relationships with relevant Local Authority professionals (e.g. Social Workers), working closely with them to implement service users’ plans, and facilitating monitoring visits and external audits.
• Act as the main contact with management and Local Authority professionals for managing and reporting incidents, accidents, and other cases that may arise in the service.
• Working closely with the supervisor, to prepare, finalise and submit Matching Forms in response to the Local Authority’s referrals to increase occupancy levels.
• Carry out pre-placement assessments for potential service users, completing all the necessary documentation to aid management decisions.
• Act as the administrative center for the service, maintaining accurate, confidential, and up-to-date documentation on all aspects of the service and the home in accordance with the systems and processes in place.
• Ensure that Support Staff capture and maintain accurate, confidential, and up-to-date documentation on all aspects of their service and the home in accordance with the systems and processes in place.
• Prepare weekly and/or monthly Service User Progress Reports for submission to Local Authority.
• With direct support from MidCo Care management and Compliance Officers, recruit new support staff as and when required.
• Supervision of all support staff allocated to the service delegating tasks as appropriate, including conducting their induction, supervisions, appraisals; staff spot checks, and shadowing of more experienced staff.
• Prepare the service’s staff Duty Rota to ensure appropriate staffing levels at all times, and that rota information is up-to-date, inclusive for 1:1 support.
• Supervise the standards of support delivered by support staff, ensuring that they are trained, and understand the importance of their roles and the need for continuous improvement to ensure that high standards are met and maintained in the services.
• Ensure that support staff’s timesheets are accurate and signed off in a timely fashion.
• Contribute towards and support the development, of relevant Supported Living policies, systems, processes and procedures to improve service delivery.
• Act as out-of-hours emergency support staff (evenings and on Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank holidays) to assist staff on duty when required, for example, to manage an incident that has arisen.
• Work closely with designated Compliance Officer, ensuring that the teams of support staff are accessing the right training and development opportunities to be able to provide the necessary individual support to service users.
• Working closely with the Finance Manager and Supervisor, responsible for the financial transactions of the service.
• Sign-off any works carried out by contractors, such as repairs and maintenance to the home.
• Contribute to creating and maintaining a culture of professionalism, performance, and excellence.
• Act as shift cover during emergencies where replacement staff are not immediately available; as well as providing cover for other support staff for the service, in their absences.
• Provide cover for other services as may be required.
• Carry out any other duties as may reasonably be requested by the Services Manager.

Qualifications & Training

Essential:  NVQ/QCF Level 2/3/4 in Health and Social Care or other relevant/equivalent care qualification or studying towards. Relevant mandatory trainings applicable to the role.

Desirable:  NVQ level 5 -Diploma in Health and Social Care for Adults

Experience

Essential: Relevant work experience, at Senior Support Worker/Administrator level within a support/care/health institution. Experience gained in a Residential setting or a Supported Living service setting in the community. Staff supervision experience. A minimum of 1 year’s experience is preferred, however candidates with less experience will be considered

Desirable: Knowledge, understanding of care legislation and CQC requirements.

Skills

Essential: Staff supervision skills; Good interpersonal and administrative skills, proficient with MS Word, and Excel; multi-tasking skills; confidential and sensitive approach; excellent communication skills; good report writing skills; planning, organising and prioritising effectively; ability to work well in a pressured environment; able to cope with young people’s challenging behaviours; client and service user focused; good team player; learn from past mistakes; proactive; analytic; displays tact and diplomacy.

Experience of using the Access Care Planning  Care Management System is essential.

Qualities and Attitude

Committed to continuous service improvement; passionate about providing support; the ability to work on your own initiative; a positive approach  to work committed to problem solving

Travel

The role may involve travel to the Company’s other services and offices. A full UK driving licence is essential,  preferably with own vehicle.

Security

Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

How To Apply

Submit a Cover Letter and up-to-date CV to [email protected], using Shift Lead – West Wycombe as the email subject

Closing date:  Sunday the 5th of January 2025