Kent Association for the Blind

February 2014

West Kent Duty Officer

Thank you for your interest in the post of West Kent Duty Officer with KAB. Please find below some background to KAB, together with a Job Description and Person Specification, an application form, Accessibility Statement and Equality Monitoring form and guidance notes.

If you would like to apply for the post, please complete all of these forms and return them to Natalie Jarrett, HR Officer, by email at , or by post to KAB Sight Centre, 72 College Road, Maidstone, Kent ME15 6SJ. Completed forms should reach us by 5pm on Friday 21st February 2014. Interviews will be held on Monday, 10th February 2014.

Although we would like to be able to write to each applicant individually to let them know the outcome of their application, sadly the cost of doing this is prohibitive. Therefore, if you have not heard from us within two weeks of the closing date please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

Thank you very much for your interest and we look forward to receiving your completed application.

Yours sincerely

Vanessa Stanley

Head of Human Resources

Background Information

KAB is a charity that has been working throughout Kent and the surrounding areas since 1920. Our aim is to improve the quality of life for blind and sight impaired people of all ages, and enable our service users to maximise their independence.

We have around 120 staff working from six local bases, and around 800 volunteers across the region. The charity has a turnover of c. £2.5 million p.a., and is overseen by a Board of Trustees.

KAB has six local rehabilitation teams throughout the region, three based at KAB Sight Centres (in Maidstone, Canterbury and Bromley) and three based in offices in Gravesend, Dover and Medway. All six rehab teams provide statutory assessments, registration as Sight Impaired (SI) or Severely Sight Impaired (SSI), comprehensive rehabilitation services including mobility and orientation training, and provision of equipment. This is done mainly on an outreach basis in services users’ own homes.

As well as being a base for rehab teams, our Sight Centres provide services such as resource rooms displaying equipment and assistive technology, low vision clinics, training courses, and meeting spaces.

Other services provided by KAB include:

·  IT/Assistive Technology training and support.

·  A Guide Communicator Service for people with a dual sensory impairment, and one-to-one Sight Support and Intervenor services.

·  A Talking Newspaper service, providing local news from 13 districts.

·  Transcription services – Braille, audio, CD, SD & USB.

·  A Foundation Degree in Health and Social Care (Visual Impairment Rehabilitation) in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University and various accredited short courses.

·  Eye Clinic Liaison Officers based in hospital eye clinics.

More information can be found in our Annual Review, which can be downloaded from our website www.kab.org.uk.

Employment Details

Job Title: West Kent Duty Officer

Based at: KAB’s Maidstone Sight Centre, 72 College Road, Maidstone, Kent ME15 6SJ

Responsible to: Maidstone Team Leader

Hours of work: 35 per week, Monday to Friday (will include

occasional travel away from home for meetings/training. Time off in lieu will be given).

Length of Contract: Permanent

Probationary Period: Six months.

Salary: £17,485 to £18,842 p.a. (points 15-17)

Expenses: All approved out of pocket expenses incurred in undertaking official business will be met.

Pension Scheme: Membership of the pension scheme will be available immediately; after three months satisfactory employment KAB will match contributions.

Use of Private Car: Business mileage is reimbursed at £0.40p per mile.

Holiday Details: 21 days per annum, plus public holidays.

Job Description

West Kent Duty Officer

Purpose of Job:

To be the first point of contact and provide high quality support, information and advice to service users from West Kent, ensuring that they receive an appropriate and professional response to their enquiry as quickly as possible.

Main Tasks:

·  In response to enquiries or referrals, carry out a priority telephone assessment to establish client’s individual needs and the level of risk. Electronically record the information. Resolve all enquiries at initial contact where possible, or pass to the relevant rehabilitation team for action.

·  Provide verbal information, advice and guidance, for example eye conditions, eye health, KAB services, Kent County Council (KCC) services, registration and referral processes and equipment. Follow up with written or audio information if needed, or sign post to other sources of information such KAB’s website. Provide emotional support and reassurance as appropriate.

·  Issue replacement equipment such as canes and over-specs after checking eligibility and suitability of the equipment to the user’s needs. Maintain accurate monthly records of equipment and collate monthly, quarterly or as required.

·  Provide face to face information, advice, guidance and equipment for clients, their family members, carers and professionals at the Centre.

·  Monitor the electronic duty client enquiry mailbox on a daily basis and take action for all referrals.

·  Identify possible safeguarding concerns, appropriately document these concerns and raise them with the Team Leader or another manager within the required timescales. Follow protocols in relation to safeguarding vulnerable adults and children supporting referrals as required.

·  Take an active role in developing new communication systems between the two West Kent offices to ensure information is recorded and passed quickly, securely and accurately.

·  Maintain thorough up to date knowledge of the services available to support sight impaired people (e.g. other KAB services, KCC Sensory Services, Low Vision Clinics, other voluntary agencies and Gateways), and refer or signpost callers as appropriate. Carry out research where needed in response to non-routine enquiries.

·  Maintain and manage details electronic records of all work undertaken.

·  Undertake training and maintain knowledge in the following areas;

-  Adult Integrated Systems – AIS (KCC client recording system)

-  Safeguarding/Adult Protection

-  Mental Capacity Act

-  Equality and Diversity

-  Safeguarding/Child Protection

-  Eligibility criteria

-  Sight impairment awareness, Hearing Impairment and Deafblind awareness

-  BOXi Infoview training (KCC data reporting system)

·  Carry out telephone service user reviews; monitor service quality and check that equipment issued is being used effectively and meets service user’s needs.

·  To maintain and update knowledge in key areas including equipment and technology, local policy and relevant legislation.

·  Provide support to other colleagues at the Maidstone Sight Centre, including supporting the rehabilitation function, preparing training materials, checking and correcting data quality and preparing information for dissemination.

·  To provide administrative support to groups running at the Sight Centre, including Rehab and Peer Support sessions. To include booking rooms, sending course invitations, managing attendee lists, organising refreshments, producing materials in preferred formats and collating evaluation data.

·  Work within health and safety protocols; this includes sharing responsibility for checking the building and occasional locking/opening up as required.

·  To attend team meetings, one-to-ones, and training as required.

These are the normal duties which the employer will require from you at the date of your employment. However, it is necessary for all staff to be flexible in this respect and all employees may be required from time to time to perform other duties which are required for the efficient running of the organisation.

The posts are subject to an Enhanced Level Criminal Records Bureau check.

KAB is an equal opportunities employer.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

Be able to demonstrate:

·  Ability to assess and prioritise within a framework of prescribed priority criteria.

·  The ability to analyse and use professional judgement to assess risk and understand safeguarding indicators.

·  Experience of project work and evaluation.

·  A willingness and ability to complete relevant modules of the KAB Foundation Degree.

·  Ability to adapt quickly to a new working environment, swiftly gain detailed knowledge of eye conditions, sight impairment and its impact.

·  Excellent interpersonal skills, the ability to communicate effectively, and to listen and empathise while remaining objective.

·  Ability to deal with, and show empathy to, a variety of audiences, some of whom may be distressed or exhibiting challenging behaviour.

·  Ability to conduct research in order to respond to queries.

·  Sound IT skills, the ability to use MS Word, Outlook, Excel, and Explorer effectively, learn new data management systems quickly and to be administratively self-sufficient.

·  Ability to complete data inputting within necessary time periods and to required data quality standards.

·  Experience of maintaining efficient administrative systems, ensuring all necessary information is recorded and communicated to relevant colleagues.

·  Ability to organise time effectively, establish efficient systems and work schedules from scratch, prioritise workload and meet deadlines.

·  Good written communication, the ability to effectively produce and present reports to demonstrate outcomes.

·  Ability to understand and demonstrate commitment to KAB’s Equal Opportunities Policy and to ensure all activities are consistent with the Equal Opportunities Policy. This includes all staff activities and their interface with the general public.

Desirable Criteria

·  Knowledge of services available to people with sight loss, particularly in relation to the standards embodied in the documents ‘Progress in Sight’ and ‘Good Practice in Sight’.

·  Knowledge of databases and/or health or social care IT and recording systems.

Kent Association for the Blind

Application Form

Position applied for: West Kent Duty Officer
Personal details
Surname: ______
Forenames: ______
Address: ______
______
______
Postcode: ______
Telephone: ______Business: ______
Mobile: ______
Email: ______
National Insurance Number: ______

Education

Please list qualifications achieved from Secondary, Higher and Further Education

Name of School, College or
University /

Qualifications (including GCSE, O and A Levels or equivalent, NVQs, Work based courses and any further education)

/ Grade
and year taken

Please list any training courses undertaken, any other relevant skills, interests or public duties, and any voluntary work experience.

Employment History
(Please list your present or most recent job first, give full details, explain any gaps in your job history, and continue on a separate sheet if needed)

Date

/ Employer / Position held / Reason for leaving if applicable
Please give your current salary £______p.a.
If you have applied for a position with the KAB before, please give details:
Please attach a statement (no more than two sides of A4) detailing what skills, knowledge and experience you could bring to the role and why you would like to be employed in this position.
Please make sure you address the person specification in your response, as these are the criteria we will use to shortlist for the post.
Referees
(Not members of your family or friends), one of whom should be your present employer (or, if not employed, the most recent)
Referee 1
Name: ______
Address: ______
______
Occupation: ______
Relationship to you: ______
Telephone: ______Email: ______
Referee 2
Name: ______
Address: ______
______
Occupation: ______
Relationship to you: ______
Telephone: ______Email: ______
Do you need a work permit to work in the UK? Yes/No
(please delete as appropriate)
If offered this position will you continue to work in any other capacity? Yes/No
(please delete as appropriate)
If yes, please give details below
Please note this post is subject to Criminal Records Bureau Enhanced Disclosure clearance.
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 – Exemption from S4(2)
This employment is exempted from the above and employees are not therefore entitled to withhold information about “spent” convictions. In the event of you ever having been convicted of any offence by a Court of Law, please give the offence(s) with dates. If you have not, please write “No Convictions”.
______
I understand that any employment, if offered, will be subject to the information on this form being correct, and I confirm that no valid information has been wilfully withheld. I understand that if I am appointed, I am liable to dismissal without notice if the information on this form is later proved to be inaccurate.
I agree that Kent Association for the Blind can hold and handle these details in line with Data Protection Legislation.
Signed: ______Date: ______
How did you become aware of this position? Please delete as appropriate:
KAB Website
Jobs in Kent
Charity Jobs
Job Centre
Other (please specify) ______

Equality Monitoring Form

Kent Association for the Blind is committed to developing and implementing its Equality Policy and seeks to ensure that recruitment and selection is carried out fairly. You are asked to assist us by completing the following information.

Ethnic Group

Please circle one of the options from the list below to describe your ethnicity:

White British

White Irish

White - any other White background

(please specify) ______

White & Black Caribbean

White & Black African

White & Asian

Any other mixed background

(please specify) ______

Asian or Asian British

Indian

Pakistani

Bangladeshi

Any other Asian background

(please specify) ______

Black or black British

Caribbean

African

Any other black background

(please specify) ______

Any other Ethnic background (please specify) ______

Gender

Male/Female (delete as appropriate)

Age Range (please circle)

Up to 19 20-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65

Over 65

Accessibility Statement

Kent Association for the Blind aims to be a fair employer and is committed to equality of opportunity for disabled people. Applications from disabled people are welcome. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview. At interview, we have a policy of providing appropriate access and equipment to ensure that disabled people are considered on an equal basis. If you would like any further assistance or advice about this application we will try to help.