Job Description

Job title:Senior Case Worker

Responsible to:Project Manager – InSpired to Work

Responsible for:Case Workers x 3

Salary:NJC Scale: SO1: £27,945 per annum (including London weighting)

for 35 hours p/week

Contract/Hours:Fixed term until the end of March 2016

35 hours per week (includes occasional evenings)

Location:Based at InSpire, Liverpool Grove, London SE17 2HH. Travel around the borough on a regular basis is also a requirement of the job.

Annual Leave:25 days per year plus bank holidays

Project Summary:InSpired to Work (ITW) works with young people (YP) aged 16-25, providing intensive support to overcome personal and skills related barriers to employment, training and volunteering. These barriers vary from case to case buttypically include issues around housing, education, life skills, mental and emotional health issues and substance misuse in addition to more generic barriers relating to employment skills gaps. ITW focuses on supporting YP to develop pathways to achieving their career goals.

Job Summary:The Senior Case Worker (SCW) will lead a team of three Case Workers (CW), responsible for providing bespoke employment support to young people across the needs spectrum. They will work alongside the Project Manager (PM) to oversee the expansion of the current programme to include the delivery of high intensity support to those farthest from the job market. This will include taking a lead on InSpired to Work’s Job Centre Plusprovision and the development of additional satellite provision across the borough. They will be responsible for developing further our partner base to support the complex needs of this particular client group. The SCW will hold a personalcaseload focused on high risk cases and those with Learning Disabilities (LD) and Mental Health (MH) issues.

Main Responsibilities:

  1. To hold a small personal caseload of young people aged 16-25 years old,focusing on high need/LD/MH.
  1. To work closely with the PM to ensure appropriate allocation and management of CWs caseloads.
  1. To provide day-to-day and ongoing line management, support and direction to the ITW CWs.
  1. To participate in the identification of training and development opportunities for the CWs.
  1. To lead professional supervisory support to the CWs including regular 1-2-1 and group casework supervision.
  1. To lead on InSpired to Work’s Job Centre Plus provision and the development of additional satellite provision across the borough.
  1. To support young people to develop aspirations, and to make steps to reaching their goals through the provision ofone to onework and small group work
  1. To provide bespoke support to young people targeted at removing barriers to employment
  1. To oversee the delivery of, and occasionally deliver yourself, various training programmes for young people.
  1. To hold individual and small group sessions on a variety of employability and personal development subjects.
  1. To work with young people to create personal development plans to monitor progress against key milestones relating to their employability and personal development.
  1. To provide personal, emotional, educational and social support to young people on your caseload.
  1. To signpost young people to a range of services that will support their ongoing development both in terms of employability and personal development.
  1. To develop appropriate exit strategies for young people accessing the ITW volunteer programme, inclusive of ongoing periodic monitoring of progress.
  1. To liaise with a range of businesses and partner organisations to coordinate volunteer placements for young people.
  1. To work in partnership with a range of organisations to recruit and signpost young people to the ITW programme.
  1. To work closely with young people’s placement providers to measure progress and identify areas for development through site visits and regular communication with placement providers.
  1. To attend meetings with other partners and service providers.
  1. Occasional attendance at events held by InSpire or partner organisations.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

  1. To collate and maintain up to date attendance records for all aspects of the programme.
  1. To supervise and maintain up to date personal development and action plans for all young people involved in the programme, using agreed systems as directed by the PM.
  1. To provide reports on the projects progress against key milestones as requested by the PM.

Personal Development and Training:

  1. To attend regular supervision and appraisal sessions.
  2. To undertake training and development opportunities as agreed with the line manager.

Other Duties:

  1. To be responsible for effective implementation of InSpire’s Child Protection and Equal Opportunities Policies, supporting the execution of best practice through all aspects of delivery.
  1. To provide written and verbal reports to the Project Manager as requested.
  2. To ensure compliance with InSpire’s other policies.
  3. To undertake any other reasonable duties as appropriate to the post.
  1. To undertake any task that may be requested from time to time by the Project Manager, Young People’s Manager, Director or board of trustees, as may be consistent with the nature and scope of this post.

Person Specification:

Essential / Desirable / Evidence
Qualifications / Level 3 qualification in a relevant subject area (i.e.; youth work, counselling, IAG, informal education, training, mentoring)
Child Protection and Safeguarding Training
Training specific to work with young adults in a mentoring/casework context (could include specialist training in IAG, informal education, motivation, personal development, managing challenging behaviour)
GCSE A-C grade in English, or equivalent / Degree level educationin a relevant subject area
First Aid training / Application form
Experience / Minimum 3 years full time (or equivalent) experience of working with young people aged 16-25, in an employability context
Minimum 2 year full time (or equivalent) experience of managing a small team and providing intensive casework supervision and support
Significant experience of working with ‘hard to reach’ and high risk groups with complex needs including those with LD and/or MH issues
Developing personal development plans (PDPs) with young people
Writing risk assessments
Working within a community setting
Working in partnership with other agencies across the voluntary and statutory sector
Monitoring and evaluation
Key working or mentoring with ages 16+ / Supporting volunteers
Delivering group-work to ages 16+ / Application form and interview
Skills / Motivate, inspire and positively influence young adults outlook and mindset
Advocate for young people (especially those with complex needs elating to MH, LD or criminal backgrounds), and for the work of the project
Work with young people to achieve their aspirations through realistic and achievable steps
Able to support young people in a variety of workplaces and sectors
Good IT skills including a working knowledge of Microsoft Office and willingness to learn database skills
Excellent communication skills and ability to communicate to a variety of audiences and in a variety of mediums
Excellent problem solving skills, including conflict resolution and negotiation
Ability to apply reflective practice and support others to do the same
Form close and effective working relationships with young people from a wide range of backgrounds
Manage time and caseloads effectively, work under pressure and meet deadlines, and support your team to do so too
Work unsupervised and on own initiative and as part of a team / Application form and interview
Knowledge and Attributes / Passion for working with young adults and especially those with MH, LD and other high intensity needs
Knowledge of government initiatives and both local and national policy relating to youth employment, LD, MH,
Understanding of value of volunteering as a route to valuable experiences, skills and opportunities
Excellent understanding of safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults and associated good practice
Understanding of barriers to employment for YP, especially those with complex needs
Understanding and empathy with issues affecting young people
Knowledge of tools for leadership and staff development and how to apply them
Flexible, enthusiastic and confident with ability to lead and inspire / Local knowledge of relevant services, organisations, and support for 16-25s / Application form and interview

Draft