About Aberlour Sycamore Children’s Houses

Aberlour Sycamore Services’ vision is to provide warm, loving homes for children where everyone learns, laughs, grows into their future and is treasured always. At any one time, the residential houses within Sycamore require additional support to help to maintain stability and balance within the teams. Sycamore services are widely recognised in Scotland for providing a range of quality therapeutic residential houses for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in the country. The Service is a national resource and as such receives referrals from throughout Scotland.

What we are looking for....

We are looking for individuals who can integrate seamlessly into our existing team, working alongside it and relief adults to support excellent service delivery. We are looking for a Residential Worker to work 18.75 hours per week to work within our home in Glenrothes. You will work as part of a residential rota including early, late, sleepovers and weekend shifts. You will have a knowledge and understanding of the importance of attachment, trauma and how this can impact on an individual’s development. At times our children express their distress through their behaviour and the role can be emotionally and physically challenging; we are therefore looking for someone who is resilient, understands that behaviour is a means of communication and is trauma responsive.

You will be skilled in building therapeutic relationships with the children, young people and young adults to enable them to feel safe, loved and cared for.

You must have the ability to quickly build your relationships with the adults within the house. The nature of the role is such that you could be working to cover a shift or longer periods as required, including days and wakened nightshifts and you may also be supporting young people to attend school or participate in other learning programmes. You must therefore be able to quickly adapt to the working environment within each house.

You will be comfortable with working within Aberlour’s culture embracing respect, integrity, innovation and the ability to challenge. Demonstration of these qualities will be particularly important in this role given that you will be dipping in and out of the different teams. You must be able to be an exceptional role model for other staff and the young person.

Undertaking the role of Residential Worker will afford you the opportunity to develop and build on a range of transferrable skills which are valued in a range of employment. You will be able to demonstrate excellent flexibility and adaptability with exceptional interpersonal skills, ability to work with different teams and different children, young people and young adults living within our Sycamore Houses.

To have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employees click here.

What we offer...

As well as a supportive team and excellent training opportunities, we want all our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers. Please click here to have a look at our Employee Benefits.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of our West Central Services to positively impact on the lives of children, young people and their families, building empowering relationships to address the various, often complex challenges they face. These are innovative services, working alongside children and their families within communities across West Central Services providing whole family support which is easily accessible and non-stigmatising. We listen and learn from children and families to develop the service alongside our partners.

We adopt a relational and restorative approach which helps families to strengthen relationships and reduce emotional distress. We invest in reflective and trauma-sensitive practice which guides workers to develop a relationship with family members characterised by trust, respect, honesty, compassion and an open communication, placing the voice of children, young people and their families at the centre of the support.

Our main Children First base is in Glasgow, but as a key member of our wider leadership team across Glasgow, Inverclyde, South Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, you will oversee a range of services and some travel would be expected across these areas.

In this position you will play a crucial role in the on-going learning and development of the service and contribute to how we continue to best meet the needs of families across Glasgow and our other services/areas. Building relationships and the ability to communicate effectively internally as well as with external partners and agencies is at the heart of everything you will do.

You should have experience of working in a leadership capacity; of offering reflective support and/or supervision to a team of volunteers/staff/students and able to confidently respond to and manage risk.

Families are facing increasing challenges which makes this is a demanding role requiring tenacity, commitment and flexibility. No two days are the same!

If you have a passion for working alongside families, have experience of keeping children safe, are committed to restorative approaches, and have a professional qualification in a relevant area such as Social Work, Teaching or equivalent in Child Care/Social Care or related area, accredited counselling qualification, or other relevant qualification at SCQF level 9 or higher, then we want to hear from you. Nb- Please see related documents, for full description of qualification requirements.

Base

We currently have a community base in the Pollok area of the southside of Glasgow. The role involves meeting partners and families across in their local communities in Glasgow and our other services/areas. Due to the needs of the service, this is a fully office/community-based role.

Wellbeing

Your wellbeing is important to us, we will support you to work in a way that gets the job done but maintains a healthy work life balance. We will provide connection with the rest of the organisation including regular support from the local Service Manager and Assistant Director.

Salary, Conditions, Pension & Benefits

We will offer you a competitive salary, generous annual leave entitlement (40 days inclusive of 7 public holidays, pro rata), flexible working opportunities and a contributory pension scheme.

We also provide additional comprehensive benefits including cycle to work scheme; access to a credit union and a cash health care plan-including an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Further Information

This a permanent role of 21 hours a week, to be worked flexibly, including some weekends/evenings.

Family Support Workers provide one-to-one holistic, information, advice and support to families across Highland via phone/email/online, supporting and enabling them to improve their lives by building their confidence, empowering them to recognise their personal expertise and value, implement practical support strategies, access services, know their rights, and have their voices heard.

Each Family Support Worker will also have a specific locality remit as detailed earlier: for 1) face-to-face support activities in collaboration with local organisations and communities and 2) building relationships with local partners and communities to a) improve our reach and impact and b) identify and pursue opportunities for collaboration to effectively meet local needs within the resource available.

Family Support Workers are working towards the following outcomes for families:

• Reduced isolation – building relationships with others
• Improved resilience – enabling coping mechanisms at a time when the usual strategies and services may not be available
• Improved access to information, support and advice
• Improved recognition of own strengths
• Improved mental health and well-being
• Increased confidence to make positive changes

As a small charity team work is integral to our success and effective functioning. It is sometimes necessary for team members to share responsibility for a range of tasks such as communications/fundraising/service strategy/monitoring for which a larger organisation would have dedicated posts.

Do you want to make a positive impact on the lives of children and young people with a disability and or Autism?

About Options Moray

Aberlour Options Moray is a community-based service for children/young people with learning disabilities offering residential, short breaks, family-based care and community support matched with the individual needs of every young person.

What we are looking for....

We are looking for Young People’s Workers, to work 30 - 35 hours per week on a permanent basis. The team work no more than 4 days before a day off and currently have every second weekend off. Rotas are designed around the needs of the young people we care for and ensuring the wellness of the practitioners we employ. Late shifts are 2.00pm to 10.00pm. Early shifts are 7.30am to 2.30pm. Overnight sleep ins are part of the role, alongside an awake member of night staff. Shifts can be subject to change as and when required for the needs of the service.

Individuals need to bring a range of qualities to the role including being playful, warm and accepting and must be able to adapt their practice to appropriately meet the varying individual needs of each young person. This role can be challenging but is also immensely rewarding and provides postholders with rich opportunities to develop their own practice and understanding of the needs of children and young people with disabilities.

You must be comfortable working in a culture based on respect, integrity, innovation and the ability to challenge – both yourself and other people. We support our staff to be as effective as they can be through dedicated training and supervision. In return our staff act as exceptional role models supporting the children and young people, as well as sharing knowledge and learning with colleagues.

Ideally, you will have a relevant professional qualification at SCQF level 7 or above, or be willing to work to this requirement as per SSSC registration.

At Aberlour we want to make sure every child and young person has the love, support and opportunity they need to reach their potential. If you share the same vision, we want you to join our team. Have a look at our values to understand more about what we are looking for from our employees.

What we offer...

As well as a supportive team and excellent training opportunities, we want all our employees to feel valued and rewarded for the vital work they do. When you work with us, we'll recognise your efforts with generous annual leave, an excellent employer pension scheme and a range of deals and discounts across various retailers. Find out more about our Employee Benefits and our commitment to Equality and Diversity

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