Empowerment Practitioner
Closing date: August 12th, 2022
Job Title:
Empowerment Practitioner
Responsible to:
Service Manager
Responsible for:
N/A
Hours of Work:
37.5 hours per week
Location:
YMCA Together – Across Merseyside
Salary and benefits:
- £25,555
- 33 days annual leave including holidays
- Paid Medicash support
- Birthday bonus
- Charity day of your choice
- Well-being Hours
- Cycle To Work Scheme
- Refer a Friend Scheme
- Christmas Voucher
- Company Pension Scheme 4%
- Funded Training Opportunities
YMCA Together is a registered charity and company Limited by Guarantee. We were founded in 1846 and so we build on a long history of providing a place for people experiencing challenging times in their lives.
YMCA Together is a truly value driven organisation.
Our vision is that everyone should feel safe, understood, empowered and positive for their future. We meet our vision by working within our values of Strength, Humility, Respect, Empathy and Kindness. These SHREK values run through all that we do from recruitment to how we work alongside people in our services to our partnership approach with other providers.
Our clear vision and values come together to help us in our mission to inspire and support people to change their lives by instilling hope, valuing the person and maximising potential.
Job Purpose
The post holder will be based across Fae and Grace House, accommodation-based services for Women and their dependent children fleeing or at risk of domestic violence.
Our vision for the Services is one that breathes hope and ambition and promotes choice and independence. The support service we deliver will be psychologically informed and underpinned by two approaches, cognitive analytical therapy (CAT) and trauma informed care.
The post holder will ensure that the services operate in a Psychologically Informed Environment and will maintain high levels of support, recording and reporting and professionalism at all times. The post holder will provide trauma informed care, help and support to ensure that women and children are empowered to lead independent lives.
Hours of work
The services will be staffed 24/7 and the post holder will be working a rota of early and late shifts over 7 days including weekends and bank holidays. The post holder will be required to participate in service specific on call duties.
Duties and responsibilities
The Empowerment Practitioners (EP) will be skilled in delivering a range of interventions to adults, children and young people to build strength, enhance resilience and encourage progress. The post holder will be responsible for managing a small case load of households and will have the primary role of providing and co-ordinating support interventions and multi-agency activity.
All EP’s will undergo Cognitive Analytic Therapy Skills Training (CAT) this will provide a framework for understanding and working with households. Training will also be provided around Trauma Informed Care. These approaches will be used for planning and assessing effectiveness of a variety of interventions and risk management
Support Planning and Risk Assessing
- Provide a high level of therapeutic support as the lead case worker to both the care-giver and their children that empowers them to plan a positive and sustainable future
- Support households to achieve their goals and targets as defined/ agreed within their support plans
- Manage, update and communicate households risk assessments in line with LYMCA/City Wide policy and procedure
- Plan and facilitate workshops to individuals and groups that inform/ teach service users around healthy relationships, parenting skills, promote healthy lifestyles, how to manage a tenancy, manage a home and live independently
- Ensure households shape their own support and take part in activities
Household Involvement and Engagement
- Encourage involvement, participation, and co-production from households in the running and development of the service
- Provide a safe, welcoming environment with excellent standards and an ethos of service delivery that encourages households to engage
- Ensure appropriate recommendations are made for the use of the Service User Personalisation Budget
Multi Agency Working
- Encourage and support to households with additional needs ensuring all appropriate referrals are made
- Promote and encourage the pathway to independence working to a Whole Family Approach
- Acting as nominated champion to maintain key partnerships and links
Resettlement
- Create a platform for move on to independent accommodation
- Provide intensive resettlement support to households who move on from the service
Reporting/Monitoring
- Monitor positive feedback from households and external agencies
- Ensure referrals to the programme are processed thoroughly and within the correct time frames
Health and Safety
- Liaise with all emergency services
- Ensure at all times the safety of yourself and others on the premises in which you work
- Conduct Health and Safety checks as required
- Report, log and communicate all incidents to the appropriate people
- Conduct welfare checks as specified during your shift
- Ensure adherence to LYMCA visitor’s policy and procedure
- Adhere to all Risk Management Protocols
Internal relationships
- Excellent communication with all LYMCA staff
- Flexible and positive approach with all team members
- To be committed to learning and personal development both as an individual and as part of a team
- Sharing information and expertise with the team, covering absence, and working together to provide a high quality service
- Attend team meetings as required
External relationships
- Develop excellent working relationships with the City Council Commissioners and multi-disciplinary team and ensure successful delivery of outcomes
- Develop excellent and robust relationships, protocols, contacts and service level agreements with referring agencies, statutory services, and wider stakeholders
- Attend meetings with external partners as required to develop the service model and ensure all the KPI’s and outcomes of the service are met
General
- Uphold and develop LYMCA Equal Opportunities policy of anti-discrimination across all services
- Ensure compliance with Code of conduct, always including professional boundaries and confidentiality
- Deal promptly with all complaints
- Report all safeguarding incidents
- Familiarise yourself with and ensure compliance with all LYMCA policies and procedures
- Conduct Mainstay assessments and related tasks
- Prepare for and attend supervision and annual appraisal with your line manager taking direction as appropriate and contributing to the development of both yourself and the service
The post holder will be expected to carry out other duties consistent with the responsibilities of the post and to demonstrate flexibility in all areas of their work including the willingness to attend team meetings and training outside of your normal working hours.
It is recognised that the association is operating in a dynamic environment and as such this job description may be varied in consultation with the post holder to reflect evolving needs of the business and changing nature of the job.
PERSON SPECIFICATION – Empowerment Practitioner
Qualifications – Essential
Educated to graduate level or significant relevant experience
Qualification or significant relevant working experience in women’s/children’s services and Domestic Abuse
Qualifications – Desirable
Qualification in mental health/therapeutic approaches
Qualification in training
Qualification in IT
IDVA Qualification
Experience – Essential
Experience of working with households with a history of domestic violence, mental health, homelessness or substance misuse.
Experience of Children Safeguarding
At least 2 years’ experience of working within a Refuge or support service
Experience of partnership working
Experience of creative support planning and target setting
Experience of support planning using “The Outcome Star”
Experience of formulating risk assessments
Experience of resettling individuals into independent accommodation
Experience of formulating Risk Assessments and Safety Plans for DA clients.
Experience – Desirable
Experience of working within a psychologically informed environment (PIE)
Knowledge – Essential
A working knowledge of Health & Safety issues
A clear understanding and specific knowledge of complex needs support issues such as domestic violence. homelessness, mental health, substance misuse and offending
Knowledge of Safeguarding protocols
Knowledge of “Empowerment Star”
Knowledge of health intervention and services for women and children
Knowledge – Desirable
Knowledge of the Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)
Skills – Essential
Computer literate, competent in working with Microsoft word, outlook, windows
The ability to plan and facilitate workshops
Commitment to multi agency working and best practice
Ability to develop and deliver a high-quality person-centred approach
The ability to support service users who display challenging behavior including verbal aggression
Skills – Desirable
Analytical, data collation and reporting skills
Behaviour/Attributes – Essential
Committed to improving the lives of women and children fleeing from or at risk of domestic violence
Committed to own personal development and CPD planning
Creative and dynamic approach with the ability to “think outside of the box” when providing solutions
Energetic, highly motivated with a reputation of being held in high regard by their peers
Excellent interpersonal/ communication skills
Excellent negotiation/ mediation skills
Committed to own career development
Reliable
Ability to work within and have commitment to YMCA ethos, philosophy and SHREK values, Strength, Humility, Respect, Empathy and Kindness.
Energetic, dynamic and self motivated
If you would like to apply for this role please click here APPLY NOW
To download a copy of our application form, please click HERE
If you would like to apply not directly through the website, please email your completed application form to recruitment@ymcatogether.org.uk