INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES – Service Manager, Devon and Torbay
- About Shared Lives South West
Shared Lives South West recruits, trains and supports individuals and families (Shared Lives carers) who can offer accommodation and care for vulnerable and disabled adults in their home, enabling the person to share in home and family life and to maintain their independence. This is known as Shared Lives.
Our service supports adults over 18 years of age and occasionally young people in transition into adult services from the age of 16 upwards We currently support over230 long term service users within just under 200carer’s homes and a further 100 or more service users using our short break services. Our current client group is predominantly people with a learning disability, with some mental health referrals. We also provide services for people with dementia, older people and parents with a learning disability. You can read more about the activities of Shared Lives South West in our latestAnnual Review which is enclosed.
Shared Lives South West is a registered charity and a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. We were set up in 2004 (under the name of SWAPS, the South West Adult Placement Scheme) to provide Shared Lives services across Devon, Torbay, Cornwall andPlymouth.
- About the role of Service Manager, Devon and Torbay.
The service manager for Devon and Torbay manages a team of social care and admin staff who arrange, support and monitor our Shared Lives services in Devon and Torbay. The team is currently made up of two senior Shared Lives co-ordinators, four Shared Lives co-ordinators, a Shared Lives assistant and two service administrators, all of whom work out of our office in Kingsteignton, Devon.
Each Shared Lives worker supports a caseload of Shared Lives carers, who are sharing their home and family life with service users on a long term basis or for regular short breaks. At the moment we have about 85 carer households in Devon and Torbay supporting 115 long term service users and about 60 regular short break service users.
As the leader of the team, your role is to promote and demonstrate the values and principles which our service is based on, and ensure that the team delivers consistent high quality support to our carers and service users. You will need to motivate and encourage the team, making the tough decisions when needed, whilst also keeping an eye on the performance and delivery of the team against annual targets for growth and improvement.
You will have an “opposite number” – the service manager for Cornwall and Plymouth, Sally Crombie – and will work closely with her to ensure consistency of approach in terms of values, quality and implementation of agreed policies and procedures. You will also work closely with the funding and benefits manager on all aspects of funding and pricing for our services in Devon and Torbay and with the finance and resources manager about the business side of the organisation.
These four posts along with the chief executive form the management team, and it is expected you will play a substantial role in this team. All senior managers take on some strategic lead areas within the organisation that are broader than their day to day operational role and we encourage everyone to use their skills, abilities and experience as widely as possible within the organisation.
The job also has a strong external facing role, as you will be the person making key relationships with other professionals in Devon and Torbay. This will include team managers, safeguarding leads, commissioners and others involved in the purchasing of our services. You will also get involved in awareness raising of Shared Lives across the area. Our service managers have a key role with our network of Shared Lives carers, and regularly meet with them at service meetings, social events and our Devon and Torbay carer consultation meetings.
A full job description and person specification is enclosed.
- If I join SHARED LIVES SOUTH WEST as an employee what can I expect?
This is a permanent post. This post will be based in our main Devon office in Kingsteignton. We also have an office near Redruth in Cornwall. You will be expected to travel across the region as part of your role. This post is therefore an essential car user post.
The starting salary for this post is currently between £33,998 and £38,042 which is our Grade 7 points range. This salary may be reviewed by the board of trustees during the next 12 months but no increase is guaranteed. We would normally appoint at the lower end of the scale. The hours required are 37.5 per week. This is based on a working day of 9am to 5pm with a half hour for lunch, although there is flexibility about start and finish times. For this post, we would not consider a request to work less hours than 37.5 per week.
Our basic terms and conditions include 25 days paid leave per year in addition to Bank Holidays, rising to 27 after two years, plus free life insurance and a contributory pension scheme after 3 months. We offer generous mileage allowances and opportunities for training and development. There are regular team meetings and there is a structured supervision and annual review system in place. You will be joining a team of 40enthusiastic and committed staff. The organisationis led by our chief executive, Jane Bell, who in turn reports to a small but dedicated and knowledgeableboard of trustees.
- How do I apply?
Please complete the application form (CV’s alone are not accepted) and return it before the closing date of noon on Friday 20th September. All candidates will be notified if selected for interview or not.
Interviews for those short listed will be held on the 30th September in Kingsteignton, Devon. You will need to be available for both dates at this stage, but will only be required on one day. You will be asked to attend a formal interview plus an informal session with members of the Devon and Torbay team. You may also be asked to undertake an exercise or give a short presentation. We will let you know about this if you are shortlisted.
If you have any queries about the recruitment process, please contact Julie Heald, Executive Assistant on 01626 360170 or by email at
If you would like an informal chat about the role, please call Jane Bell, chief executive on 01626 360170.
Information for candidates – Service manager, Devon and Torbay
September 2013