Bolton Carers Support, Activities Co-ordinator Job Pack / 2014

Dear Applicant

Thank you for your interest in the above position with Bolton Carers Support. We look forward to receiving your completed application.Please fill in your application carefully, giving all relevant information and setting out the ways in which you meet the requirements outlined in the person specification. You should provide clear and concise examples of a time when you have had to use the necessary skills.

Your application should be typed or completed in black ink so it can be photocopied. The panel considers the presentation of your application during the selection process.

Your completed application should be returned to us by 10am on Sunday 19 October.

Late applications will not be accepted. Please do not attach any documents such as CVs, reference letters or photocopies of your qualifications as these will be disregarded and will not be seen by the selection panel.

Interviews will be held on Friday 24 October.

We regret that, due to the high costs of postage, we are unable to write to each applicant who has not been shortlisted for interview. If you have not heard from us by 5 pm on 21 October please assume you have not been successful on this occasion.

Please send your completed application to Michelle Clarke, Chief Officer, Thicketford Centre, Thicketford Road, Tonge Moor, Bolton, BL2 2LW (please mark the envelope ‘Confidential’). Or email it to . Good Luck!

This pack contains the following sections:

  • About Bolton Carers Support
  • The Carers Health, Wealth and Well-Being Project
  • Equality and Diversity
  • Guidance Notes
  • Job Description
  • Person Specification
  • Terms and Conditions

About Bolton Carers Support

Caring responsibilities can affect anyone of us at any age and we may need to provide care for a parent, partner or child due to illness or disability. This can involve helping someone get up, washed and dressed, accompanying them to hospital appointments, administering medication, doing shopping, cooking and cleaning, providing emotional support or ‘supervision’. While caring is a natural part of our relationships and can be very rewarding, there are also times when it is physically and mentally exhausting.

There are over 30,000 carers in Bolton – and of these, almost 8,000 are providing more than 50 hours of care each week to family members, friends and relatives.Bolton Carers Support has a 20-year track record of delivering information and support to local carers aged 18 or over, but we have ambitious plans to do much more and we need to expand our staff team to help us turn our aims into a reality.

Our Vision

Bolton Carers Support wants all carers to feel valued and to receive the information care and support they deserve.

Our Mission

Bolton Carers Support is a well-established, confidential, first point of contact for carers. We meet the individual needs of carers by providing information, advice and emotional support. We engage, enable and empower carers to fulfil their caring role.

Our 7 Key Aims

  1. Informed, empowered and confident carers
  2. Carers will have improved health and well-being
  3. Carers will be less isolated
  4. Carers will be trained and supported
  5. Carers will be better off financially
  6. Carers will have regular time off from caring
  7. Overall, we will be a strong and effective carers’organisation

Our Activities

Because caring does not come with a manual, we provide advice and support to help carers find out about local services. We do this through the following activities:

  • Carers Helpline
  • Weekly Information Drop-in
  • Short Breaks (meals out and day trips)
  • Training (workshops and short courses)
  • Carers Cafes in different areas (informal get-together’s)
  • Home Visiting Service (for older carers)
  • Telephone Befriending Service (for older carers)
  • Newsletter, Fact-Sheets
  • Awareness-raising about the needs of carers

The Staff Team

Michelle Clarke / Chief Officer
Ann Brown / Admin & Finance Worker
Bev Strang / Information & Helpline Worker
Peter Harmer / Outreach Worker (fixed term contract)
Glynis O Grady / Co-ordinator, Older Carers Project
Georgette Kay / Health Linkworker
Rosemary Wilson / Helpline Assistant (temp)

The Trustees

Bolton Carers Support is managed by volunteer trustees. Trustees are carers, former carers, or supporters of Bolton Carers Support and are involved in all areas of work, including recruitment and selection. Staff members are accountable on a day-to-day basis to the Chief Officer, while the trustees are the employers of all staff.

The Carers Health, Wealth and Well-Being Project

Our Carers Health, Wealth and Well-Being Project has been running for some years, but generous support from the Big Lottery means that we can develop it further over the next 5 years.

Outcomes for the Carers Health Wealth and
Well-Being Project
1 / Carers are more knowledgeable about their rights and more confident accessing services.
2 / Carers are better off financially, make healthy changes to their lives and feel less isolated.
3 / Volunteers have improved self-esteem, new skills and are more confident taking up opportunities for personal development.

The activities the Project will deliver include:

  • benefits and welfare advice to ensure carers maximize their income
  • outreach activities to identify the most effective approaches in reaching different groups of carers
  • activities such as carers breaks, courses and special events to provide carers with opportunities for time off, training and peer support
  • volunteer opportunities to assist with raising awareness, service delivery and evaluation

Equality and Diversity

Equality and diversity are areas of great importance to Bolton Carers Support. It is fundamental that people are treated fairly, with respect and dignity. Bolton Carers Support will not tolerate any discrimination, victimization or harassment on the grounds of age, disability, gender or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

We strive to take all practical steps to prevent discrimination and promote equality through our work, including making our services inclusive and accessible to carers from all sections of the community.

Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form

Bolton Carers Support values diversity and selects staff solely on merit. All stages of the recruitment process are monitored to check that discrimination of any kind is not taking place. To help us ensure this, we request all applicants to complete a Monitoring Form. This information is treated in confidence, separated from your application form as soon as it arrives, and only used for monitoring purposes.

How to apply: Guidance Notes

Bolton Carers Support is an equal opportunities employer. We aim to treat every applicant fairly. The information you provide in your application form is the only information we will use in deciding whether or not you will be invited for interview, so it is important that you complete it with care. To help you, please follow these guidelines:

  1. Please complete all sections of the form

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

  1. Personal details and references

Enter your personal details fully and clearly so we may contact you about your application. One of your referees must be your current or most recent employer. If you have not been employed before or have been out of paid employment for a long time, you should give the name of someone who knows you sufficiently well to comment on your ability to do the job. Any person who is related to you does not qualify as a suitable referee.

  1. Education

Please give brief details of educational, vocational and professional qualifications with attainment level. If you are shortlisted for interview you will be asked to bring proof of qualifications with you.

  1. Employment History

Provide details of your employment history. State the position you held, starting with your most recent employer and give brief details of key achievements. Please note the salary you are currently on and any notice period for your current employer.

  1. Disability

Bolton Carers Support welcomes applications from people with disabilities. As defined by the Disability Discrimination Act, 1995, disability is: A physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Please let us know if you need additional assistance if you are invited to interview.

  1. Personal Development

Please give details of any personal development you have undertaken, and dates. This may include formal courses that you have attended, voluntary work you have done or membership of association or professional groups. Think carefully about how you have developed your skills and note any relevant points here.

  1. Supporting Statement

The supporting statement is a vital part of the application form and should be used to tell us how you meet the person specification and what experience you have relevant to the job description. Always remember to specify your personal responsibilities rather than those of your team. Bring in voluntary work as well as paid work if relevant.

If you have little or no paid work experience or if you have not been in paid work for a long time then think of how you can transfer skills used at school, college or home such as planning a project, course work, organizing events, budgeting or IT skills.Only those candidates who demonstrate an acceptable performance level of each requirement will be short-listed for interview.

If shortlisted, you will be asked to do a brief presentation or exercise to help us assess your skills. We will tell you what this will be when we contact you to invite you to interview.

  1. Keep it concise

Remember that the selection panel will be sifting through lots of applications. Forms that stand out are those that are clear and concise, address each criteria in turn, and use bullet points and short sentences.

  1. And finally…

Do not use more than 2 additional sheets (if typing, please use font size 11 or 12). If more than 2 sheets are attached they will be disregarded.Please do not stick or glue paper to the back of the form as it may get caught in the photocopier. Use separate sheets of paper instead and number them.

Hours of work / 28 hours a week
Salary scale / SO1 – SO2, Points 29 – 34, starting at Point 29
Reporting to / Chief Officer
Accountable to / Bolton Carers Support Management Committee
OUTCOMES FOR THE CARERS HEALTH, WEALTH AND WELL-BEING PROJECT
1 / Carers are more knowledgeable about their rights and more confident accessing services.
2 / Carers are better off financially, make healthy changes to their lives and feel less isolated.
3 / Volunteers have improved self-esteem, new skills and are more confident taking up opportunities for personal development.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES

To co-ordinate and deliver a varied programme of training courses, workshops and short breaks for carers, ensuring under-represented groups of carers are able to access services. To recruit, train and support volunteers to take an active role throughout the project, delivering a range of activities and helping to monitor and evaluate work.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES

Training for carers

  • To co-ordinate an annual programme of workshops, training sessions and short courses for carers within agreed timescales and budgets and ensuring a balance between health and caring-themed courses and courses for relaxation / leisure.
  • To develop and deliver a ‘Caring Essentials’ course on a rolling basis throughout the yearwith training modules on key issues affecting carers.
  • To work in partnership with key organisations (NHS Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group, Bolton College, voluntary sector organisations) to provide quality training for carers at low cost.
  • To promote take up of training opportunities with under-represented groups of carers, ensuring targets are met.
  • Provide monthly health and well-being workshops to provide carers with: practical techniques for looking after their own health; mini health checks; Think Positive sessions; stress management sessions; moving and handling training; first aid training and sessions on coping with key health emergencies.
  • Provide weight management and exercise courses for carers each year, working with the Clinical Commissioning Group and other partners to deliver sessions.
  • To evaluate each training activity, gathering feedback and identifying learning for future sessions, providing summaries of evaluation for the Chief Officer and funders as required.
  • Work with the Information Officer to develop e-books on a selection of topics each year, to ensure carers who are unable to attend courses can access key content online.

Short Breaks (meals out, day trips, break activities)

  • Review, improve and implement a new booking system for activities, ensuring any process is fair and transparent and encourages new carers to access breaks.
  • Identify and implement effective ways of supporting carers who are attending breaks for the first time.
  • Administer a system of collecting and checking payments for short breaks, liaising with the Administrative and Finance Worker to ensure systems are efficient and cost effective.
  • Make all arrangements for the annual programme of short breaks, ensuring a varied range of breaks to meet different needs (including holding some break activities in the evenings and at weekends), and encourage and monitor take-up of breaks by under-represented groups, ensuring key targets are met.
  • Do site visits and health and safety checks prior to breaks and ensure the Chief Officer has copies of all site visit / review documentation in a timely fashion.

Events

  • Co-ordinate planning meetings for Carers Week activities, ensuring a good range of activities are held, including an annual Open Day at Bolton Carers Support. Liaise with other staff (internal and external) and organisationsto maximize potential for activities and promotion.
  • Plan an event for Carers Rights Day, linking publicity / activities to national theme.
  • Arrange an annual public consultation event to provide stakeholders with feedback on events, breaks, training, and hold workshops to discuss key themes and aid planning for next round of activities.

Volunteers

  • To provide leadership and direction for volunteers, ensuring that they are clear in their roles and motivated to participate fully in a range of activities.
  • Plan annual volunteer recruitment activitiesusing different methods to recruit volunteers, including an annual ‘Volunteer with Us’ event during Volunteers Week. Ensure adequate numbers of volunteers are recruited to different roles.
  • Provide induction and training relevant and appropriate to the role.Produce role descriptions and annually update these.
  • Ensure that the diversity of volunteers reflects the community served and actively recruit volunteers from under-represented groups.
  • Develop and deliver (or co-ordinate) volunteer training sessions, maintaining accurate records of training provided, registers of attendance, evaluation forms and similar records, providing summaries for the Chief Officer and Human Resources and Finance Sub-committee as required.
  • Ensure volunteers are DBS checked, organising form-filling and collection in a timely fashion before volunteers work with carers.
  • Provide volunteers with ID badges and clothing before they start their placement and ensure they wear them at any event / activity they assist at.
  • Provide supervision for volunteers at an appropriate level, based on the extent of their volunteering role / involvement based on a minimum of a six-monthly individual meeting to review their role and contribution, and their training needs. Maintain clear personnel files (including interview records, DBS details, start date, references, training record, supervision records, records of volunteering activity, exit interview).

Planning Meetings or Task Groups

  • Co-ordinate any Planning Meetings or Task Groups relevant to this role / area of work, which may involve booking meeting rooms, preparing agendas, taking Minutes, doing mail-outs and, where relevant, Chairing meetings.
  • Co-ordinate, lead and Chair meetings of project staff (and volunteers) to ensure project activities are delivered in a co-ordinated manner, making best use of staff time and resources and ensuring any joint working is planned and effective.

Publications

  • Write articles for Carers Contact newsletter, factsheets and website promoting breaks, courses and events.
  • Contribute articles for Annual Report and other publications as requested by the Chief Officer.

Monitoring and Evaluation

  • Maintain accurate records and produce quarterly work and monitoring reports and an annual summary of progress, key achievements, areas for further development and training needs.
  • Routinely monitor take up of, and feedback about, all activities, using different tools to record information.
  • Contribute to monitoring reports and annual returns for funders.
  • Ensure a thorough evaluation is conducted at key stages of the project and recruit, train and support carers and former carers as peer evaluators.

Organisational

  • To be proactive in identifying personal development needs through supervision and annual appraisals and in taking up any opportunities for self-development.
  • To ensure that the principles of equal opportunities are implemented in all work undertaken for, or on behalf of, Bolton Carers Support.
  • To participate in occasional phone and drop-in duty as required so effective office cover is maintained.
  • To carry out any other reasonable tasks commensurate with the post, as directed by the Chief Officer.

Person Specification