We are seeking a motivated and compassionate Deputy Manager to help oversee our holiday support service and develop improvements across our organisation.

This is an exciting time to join The Yard and play a key role in delivering and improving our specialist services for children and young people with additional support needs.

The Role

You will support the Children’s Services Manager in leading the day-to-day operations of the Holiday Support Service, providing direction to a team of Support Workers while liaising with parents & carers to maintain and review Personal Support Plans for each child.

During term-time, this post will involve additional duties in the delivery of our core services.

You will:

• Support the delivery of service in line with standards set by regulatory bodies (Care Inspectorate and SSSC)
• Support the engagement of children in creative play and the management of suitable activity plans for the different ages/stages of development and interests of children
• Provide effective support and direction to a team of support workers through motivation, supervision, and feedback
• Support the Children’s Services Manager to ensure compliance across the service and ensure the team receive training and guidance appropriate to their role

If you are passionate about making a difference in the lives of children with disabilities and have the skills to help run a regulated service, we would love to hear from you.

About You

We are looking for a Deputy Manager who is inspired by our ethos and is excited to bring their knowledge and experience to our specialised Holiday Support Service for children with complex medical needs.

You will have:

• Supervisory experience, including direct staff supervision, development and implementation of rotas
• Knowledge and experience of facilitating indoor and outdoor play opportunities and environments and leading recreational activities
• Experience of working with children and young people with a range of disabilities
• Excellent organisational skills and administrative abilities

Desirable:

• Leaderships skills and team building capacity
• Previous experience of improvement work within a childcare setting
• First Aid at Work certificate
• Experience of Moving and Handling, delivering personal care and supporting complex medical needs

About the organisation:

The Yard is a Scottish charity offering adventure play, short breaks, training, and support for children and young people with additional support needs, and their families. We operate inclusive play centres, deliver outreach work, and run holiday and youth clubs. We aim to build supportive communities and promote understanding and inclusion for disabled children.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community. The post is subject to a PVG check and SSSC registration.

Ark is a major provider of Housing, Care and Support to people with long term and enduring conditions such as learning disabilities, mental health issues, dementia and autism.

Ark supports people to live independently in their own homes providing everything from a few hours a week social and life admin support to 24/7 care supporting with personal care, medication, household tasks, attending appointments and leisure activities.

We have lots of opportunities across Scotland for our Support Worker roles. As we provide full training no previous is experience is required.

If you are enthusiastic about supporting people to live their best lives, then apply now to join our team!

Your main duties will include but not be limited to:

• Working with colleagues as part of an effective and efficient team to support vulnerable people.
• Communicate and work well with our supported people to provide individual care and maintain appropriate relationships.
• Being responsible in supporting individuals throughout the activities, giving positive feedback and encouragement.
• Updating and maintaining accurate records using a tablet on Arks Information Management system.

Previous experience of the following is an advantage but not essential as Ark will provide full training: Care Worker, Social worker, Home Carer, Case Worker, Care Assistant, Autism Support Worker, Personal Care Assistant , Social Care Worker.

View our job outline, find out what you working week could look like and hear from our current Support Workers on Arks website arkha.org.uk/work-with-us

Why Ark?

• No Previous Experience Required - Ark provide full training so no previous experience is required making our Support Worker roles the perfect place to start your career in Adult Social Care.
• Get a qualification while you work - Ark fully fund your SVQ2 in Health & Social Care which you complete with the support of our in house SVQ team.
• Employee Discounts - Employee Discounts Portal with 1000s of discounts on your favourite brands including Supermarkets, Cinema Tickets, Gym Membership and Holidays.
• Career Progression -Over 75% of all Managers within Care & Support have been promoted internally.
• Employee Assistance Program - Arks Employee Assistance program (EAP) gives all employees access to counselling sessions. There is also support available through weekly webinars and the EAP Website & App.
• Contracted hours to suit you-We have Full-time, Part-time and Relief Support Worker roles available at our services throughout Scotland.

In return for your valuable contribution, Ark will also offer you:

• Up to 36 days paid holiday per year pro rata
• 4% Contributory pension scheme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Fully funded PVG & 1st year SSSC registration paid by Ark

Our employees told us in a recent survey that they stay with Ark because they believe in our values, we have supportive managers who continually appreciate their staff and they love making a positive difference in our supported peoples lives, helping them to achieve their dreams.

Ark would love to hear from you whether you are an experienced Support Worker or new to Social Care.

The Yard is an award-winning charity that runs adventure play services for children with disabilities and/or additional support needs and their families.

We are looking for individuals who have the special ability to support and encourage play activities on a 1 to 1 basis with children and young people with disabilities and medically complex needs.

About the role & your responsibilities:

As a Support Worker at Holiday Support, you will play an active role in the set-up, delivery and development of play activities, encouraging and enabling children and young people to play and socialise in an inclusive way.

There will be some requirement to assist and undertake personal care with individual children when required.

About you:

Do you get a buzz from helping children and young people create laughter, mess and happy memories? Then we would love you to be a part of our team.

This job is for you if you have:

• Experience of working with children and young people in a play or youth work setting or, alternatively, in a home environment
• An empathetic approach with the ability to trust in others
• An ability to work in a flexible manner, as an individual and as part of a team
• The ability to register to successfully with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), and undertake an acceptable PVG check

To understand more about the role, please download our Support Worker – Holiday Support job description below.

Are you passionate about helping people to live a better life? Do you want to work for a charity where your health and wellbeing matter just as much as the people you support? Do you want to be part of a trauma-informed team where you will be supported to develop creative and flexible ways of working?

At LinkLiving, our values and people are at the heart of everything we do including how we recruit our staff. It is important for us to find people who share our values, which are:

• Empathy (listen to and understand an individual’s needs and circumstances)
• Respect (treat others the way they wish to be treated)
• Integrity (be honest and have strong moral principles)
• Caring (show kindness and concern for others)

LinkLiving is a Scottish health and wellbeing charity that supports people to manage or overcome the effects of negative life experiences (including trauma, mental health challenges, poverty and inequality) so that they can build on their strengths and aspirations in order to live their best possible lives. We support people through a range of models including:

• Personal development and employability programmes
• Self-help coaching
• Supported accommodation
• Care at home
• Housing support
• Befriending
• Social cafes

The Link Academy team works primarily with people with complex backgrounds. The experiences of these young people often result in low self-esteem and confidence, poor mental health and a pattern of destructive behaviours. Because of this, these young people find it difficult to manage key transitions such as moving into work or training, into a tenancy or leaving care. The service works hard and creatively to maintain the early engagement of participants. By offering mental health and wellbeing programmes, independent living skills and a wide range of qualifications to support their progression, we give young people the tools to better manage their own mental health. Doing so helps them break negative and destructive cycles of behaviour and thinking, with the aim of putting them on the path to having the best life possible. Staff are trained in using a trauma-informed approach to support young people to build confidence, develop resilience and realise their goals for the future.

The Job

The ‘Right Track (Navigating Positive Futures)’’ is a preventive programme which focuses on supporting young people at risk of becoming involved in the criminal justice system, through the provision of one-to-one and group-based support. The Development Worker will have a background in criminal justice and will support young people facing issues including youth crime, antisocial behaviour, family breakdown and school-related difficulties, to achieve their goals and aspirations, providing them with practical tools and techniques to overcome the challenges they are facing. We welcome applications from people with lived experience and professional experience.

The Development Workers will also provide support to parents and caregivers, as well as leading a team of peer education volunteers (16-24) who will use their own lived experiences of the criminal justice system to positively influence young people supported through the programme.

About You

You are passionate about supporting young people to overcome challenges and achieve positive outcomes, particularly those involved in or affected by the criminal justice system. You will be educated to SCQF Level 7 (HNC or equivalent); however, we actively welcome applicants with relevant lived experience who may not hold formal qualifications, as training and qualifications will be supported within the role. In these cases, you must have demonstrable experience of working with this client group.

You will have a minimum of three years’ professional experience in youth work, including direct experience of working with young people in a criminal justice setting. You are skilled at developing, shaping, and delivering engaging programmes that respond to the current challenges facing young people, using a trauma-informed and relationship-based approach.

You are confident in building positive, trusting relationships with young people and have experience creating or identifying resources for one-to-one work and group delivery, including the effective use of digital tools and resources. You will also have experience of building and sustaining partnerships with a range of stakeholders.

You bring a good understanding of current Scottish policies and the social, economic, and systemic challenges affecting young people and families in Scotland. You are highly organised, with excellent planning skills, and are an effective communicator, confident in both oral presentations and written reporting. A good working knowledge of ICT is essential.

You are a collaborative team player with a flexible, can-do attitude, willing to work across different areas as required. Occasional evening or weekend work may be necessary to support specific training programmes or events, although this sits outside normal delivery hours.

What’s in it for you?

The benefits of being a LinkLiving employee (subject to the policies and benefit terms and conditions) include:

• Competitive salary, reviewed annually, and opportunity for annual performance related salary increases and discretionary non-consolidated pay awards, subject to terms of the scheme
• 35 days’ holiday per year (inclusive of public holidays) pro rata plus additional 3 days pro rata after 3 years’ service
• opportunity to buy and sell holiday
• enhanced company sick and family friendly pay
• access to paid SVQ qualifications and a wide range of learning and development opportunities
• funded Disclosure Scotland and Scottish Social Services Council memberships
• defined contribution pension scheme with generous employer contributions plus salary exchange and additional voluntary contribution options
• access to an Electric vehicle leasing scheme, subject to the terms of the scheme
• life assurance scheme providing death in service benefits to named beneficiaries
• healthcare cash plan for employees (and dependents) to support health and wellbeing plus discounts on shopping, restaurants, and other services
• employee assistance programme for employees and their immediate household dependants to support health, mental and financial well-being
• annual flu vaccination
• access to a savings and borrowing scheme
• cycle to work scheme
• monthly bus pass scheme
• season/travel ticket loan and much more!

For a full list of benefits available to employees, please see the following link - https://www.linkliving.org.uk/work-with-us

This role is subject to PVG membership under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020. Individuals who are barred from working with children or protected adults will not be considered for this position. Link will meet the cost of any new PVG scheme membership or membership update.