Application Pack
Curnie Clubs Project Support Worker
Contents:
· Background
· Job Description
· Person Specification
· Application Form
· Monitoring Form
Closing Date for Applications: 22nd July 2016
Interviews to be held on: 11th August 2016
About Curnie Clubs
FASS has received a Big Lottery Grant Award of £149,750 for our Curnie Clubs project.
Year one £74,979
Year two £74,771
Project start date: September 2016
Curnie Clubs will help isolated adults, through facilitated peer support, to connect into their local communities. Curnies (curnie is a Scots word for a small number/company) will build members' confidence through both personal and group work over a total period of six months. Groups will receive intensive support for the first six weeks which will help members move on to community activity of their choice. They will be further encouraged and supported to maintain their group connections over the following four and half months. The focus will be on building social lives and the confidence to maintain these. Groups will be run by a trained counsellor who will facilitate peer led social and practical activity, using counselling techniques. Curnie Clubs will provide a friendly, supportive and enabling environment for those requiring more intensive support than befriending can. Practical support will be incorporated into sessions as requested by members. The Clubs will very much be a non-classroom setting, however. The approach of addressing practical issues will be through supported social interaction.
Groups will be made up of adults aged from 26 to 49 years. These will be people whose confidence is severely diminished. They may be recovering from an addiction, have been a victim of domestic abuse or involved in the criminal justice system. They may well be presenting with mild to moderate mental health issues. Often they will have little or no family or community support.
Attendance will be voluntary but participants will be referred from various local partners, as well as from within FASS itself. Curnie Clubs will seek to engage with 240 people over two years.
The project will be delivered from local community facilities in Fife and local volunteers (up to 4 over the two year period) will be recruited to work on the project. There will normally be 2 groups running in the same six week period. On referral to a Curnie, each potential group member will have an assessment with the counsellor. If they require personal coaching or counselling before joining a group this will be delivered by FASS.
Each group will meet for a half day session twice weekly over the initial six weeks. The content of sessions will be flexible, in accordance with members needs and wishes. However, activities will include a combination of socialising, group discussion and exercises and taster sessions in creative and physical activity. Members will benefit from peer support in areas such as confidence, self esteem and stress management. They will also grow in confidence from recognising their own skills and achievements within the Club.
Groups will be made aware of and introduced to the community resources that are available to them. Local community services will meet and talk to groups and the groups will actively participate in community activities of their choice. At the end of the six week supported sessions, members will have identified their own strengths and next steps for themselves. They will be facilitated in their choice and to maintain supportive and social contact with their groups until the group is six months old.
The Support Worker will encourage the group to meet informally, strengthen wider community links and sign-post to resources. A central Curnie Facebook page and individual Facebook pages for groups will be set up to encourage communication. In addition, Celebrating Success events will be held once a year. These will be a chance for members past and present to hear from each other. They will also promote the programme and relevant partners/influencers will be invited along.
The project will change lives for people who are currently isolated due to a lack of available intensive support. Many people find social interaction with strangers or unstructured socialising daunting. Where people's confidence has been severely eroded they often feel like they don't have anything of worth to contribute. Attending a strange group can be overwhelming and a negative experience. More than just providing a supportive environment for people, Curnie Clubs will act as a demonstration to them. By the end of each six week period, members will have evidence of their own worth. They will have seen for themselves what they can bring to any social situation or group activity. The Clubs will remove the unknown and encourage people on from that daunting first hurdle, to independent and fulfilled lives.
Big Lottery Fund Blog Post
There is a blog post on the Big Lottery’s website that provides some further information:
https://bigblogscotland.org.uk/2016/06/28/keeping-connected/
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title: Curnie Clubs Project Support Worker
Salary: £20,388 per annum (pro rata)
Responsible to: Project Manager
Hours of Work: 15 hours per week (including out of hours and weekend work)
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Overall, to assist the Project Manager with administration and delivery of the Curnie Club project in Fife. Some activities may require to be conducted out of normal office hours.
2. Provide project administration, record keeping and correspondence;
3. Assist the Project Manager with recruitment of Club members;
4. Assist the Project Manager to source provision of on-going social activities/interests for Club members following their completion of therapeutic programmes;
5. Provide telephone and one-to-one support for Club members;
6. Provide Social Media communication for the project;
7. Work within the organisation’s Policies including its Confidentiality Policy, ethical practices and Data Protection guidelines;
8. Undertake Supervision and Personal Development;
9. Carry out any other reasonable duties as the Project Manager may request.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Job Title: Curnie Club Project Support Worker
Responsible to: Curnie Club Project Manager
Requirement / Essential or Desirable? / How is this assessed?Qualifications and Training / by application form
· A qualification in a caring vocation such as COSCA Counselling Skills or SVQ Level II Social Care
and/or
Office Administration / Essential
Experience / by application form and interview
· Support of vulnerable people in a project setting / Essential
· Use of counselling skills / Desirable
· Office administration / Desirable
Skills and Competencies / by application form and interview
· Excellent communication skills, including telephone, social media, written and verbal / Essential
· Administration skills including filing, database, and correspondence / Essential
· Ability to use Microsoft Office applications, including Word and Excel / Essential
· Counselling skills and/or carer skills / Essential
· Knowledge of Social Media and its community / Essential
· Ability to work out of hours as required / Essential
· Ability to travel effectively between service locations throughout Fife and the office base at 17 Tolbooth Street, Kirkcaldy / Essential
1
APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL
Position Applied for: / Curnie Clubs Project Support WorkerHow did you first learn of this vacancy?
Identification details
(block capitals please)
Surname / Initial(s)Address
Postcode
Tel No
Education and Training
Please list details of your education and professional qualifications, and any relevant training.
Qualifications/ training Grade Attained Date
Employment History
Please give details of all positions held within the last 10 years, including part-time and unpaid work, starting with your current or most recent employer. Continue on a separate sheet if necessary.
Employer’s full name & address / Job title/Key achievements & areas of responsibility / Length of time in job/
Reasons for leaving/
Personal Statement
Using criteria section of the person specification, please give a statement in support of your application stating why you
want the job, and why your skills and experience demonstrate you are suited for the post. Continue on a separate sheet
if necessary.
References
Names and addresses of 2 referees are required. At least one should be from your present or most recent employer, and should be someone who was employed at a more senior level to yourself. Personal referees will be suitable if you have not been employed previously. (Please note: Relatives are not acceptable as referees.)
Name Name
Position held and relationship to you Position held and relationship to you
Organisation & Address Organisation & Address
Tel No Tel No
Email address Email address
May we contact this referee before interview? May we contact this referee before interview?
Yes No Yes No
Declaration
Are you eligible to work in the UK?
Yes No
The information on this form will be used for recruitment and selection purposes only and all unsuccessful applications will be destroyed twelve months after the closing date.
If it is discovered that you have given any information which you know to be false, or withhold any relevant information your application may be rejected or any subsequent employment terminated.
I confirm that the information contained in this application form is correct.
Signature …………………………………..…….………………. Date …..…….…………
Please return completed Application to:
Fife Alcohol Support Service
17 Tolbooth Street
Kirkcaldy
KY1 1RW
Equal Opportunities Form
Fife Alcohol Support Service is committed to the principle of equal opportunities and aims to be an equal opportunities employer. The policy aims to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, marital status, responsibility for dependants, trade union or political activity or geographic location.
Fife Alcohol Support Service would be grateful for your co-operation to help us ensure that our equal opportunities policy is being carried out satisfactory.
Completion of this form is voluntary and the form will be separated from your application on receipt. If you choose not to complete this form it will not affect treatment of your application. Information you supply will be treated in strictness confidence.
Name ______
Post applied for ____________
Gender (please tick) Male o Female o
Do you consider yourself to have a disability?
Yes o No o
Please give details if you consider this appropriate.______
Ethnic Origin
White o Pakistani o Indian o
Black Caribbean o Bangladeshi o Black African o
Black Other o Chinese o Other o
Age
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This information will be detached from application prior to selection process
Thank you for taking the time to complete this form.