Are you looking for a rewarding opportunity that makes a real difference in people’s lives?
Are you experienced in trauma-informed practice and person-centred care and working with people who are experiencing complex social and emotional circumstances?
If you bring enthusiasm and integrity to the work you do, we would very much like to meet you.
About Us
Aberdeen Cyrenians have provided front-line services and care in the North East for over 50+ years, empowering vulnerable and socially excluded people, to overcome their personal challenges, make informed choices and move towards positive outcomes, promoting dignity, inclusiveness and equality throughout communities.
Our organisation exists to support anyone and everyone who is facing difficulty and we provide a wide range of lifechanging services including support to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, have experienced abuse, are at risk of violence, at high financial risk, struggling with mental health issues, struggling with substance addiction, social exclusion or involved in the justice system.
You can find out more about our organisation and our impact at
Job Title: Support Practitioner | Strength for Tomorrow
Responsible to: Service Manager and Team Leader
Hours of work: Full-time (36.5 hours per week)
Contract: Fixed Term till 30th September 2024
Salary: Scale point 24 (£22,620)
SSSC registration level: Practitioner
Our Strength for Tomorrow service offers trauma-informed care and support to adults whose lives have been affected by childhood abuse. Our service aims to support and promote the wellbeing of survivors of childhood abuse by providing person-centred care and therapeutic interventions in a safe and secure environment. Those who have survived childhood abuse can experience lasting effects through their adult lives. Having your trust broken in early life can lead to difficulties which may include forming and maintaining positive relationships, the use of unhealthy and chaotic coping mechanisms, such as drug and alcohol use, and difficulties in managing emotions.
To help us deal with increased capacity and to ensure that we can support as many people as possible, we are now recruiting an experienced Support Practitioner on a fixed-term contract to support the delivery of this service to survivors of childhood abuse.
Main Responsibilities
* To support the delivery of Strength for Tomorrow service through key working and case management sessions with survivors of childhood abuse.
* Work to the service and organisations aims and values including a commitment to the empowerment of marginalised and vulnerable individuals
* Engage with and support survivors to define their particular areas of need and support them through the process of change.
* Undertake assessments of need and review survivors’ circumstances through accurate & appropriate information gathering. Develop personalised support plans, risk assessments/safety plans
* Liaise with a range of agencies on behalf of survivors, including social work, housing, health, police, courts, utility companies, debt agencies, Department for Work & Pensions, other voluntary sector organisations and professionals to ensure a seamless service is delivered.
* Advocate on survivors’ behalf and generally assist them with communication issues.
* Provide emotional support to survivors, facilitate group work sessions alongside colleagues.
* Maintain professional confidentiality and boundaries at all times.
* Be willing to develop skills used when supporting people through reflective practice, personal and professional development and supervision
* Register with the Scottish Social Services Council and work to all appropriate legislation, standards and codes of practice including Health and Social Care, Care Inspectorate, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and Environmental Health
QUALIFICATIONS/ KNOWLEDGE/EXPERIENCE
* A qualification of N/SVQ3 in Care, or equivalent or appropriate experience along with the willingness and ability to attain this qualification.
* Literacy, numeracy and IT skills at a level to maintain all the appropriate record, keeping, report writing and support plans and give budgeting advice.
* To understand and work within the five trauma-informed care principles
* An understanding of social issues such as homelessness, mental health, substance use and an understanding of legislation/practice/scientific literature pertaining to the work.
* Experience in a social care, trauma informed environment in a voluntary or paid
KEY CAPABILITIES
* Interpersonal understanding – listens and understands expressed feelings; demonstrates concern for others; encourages others to express themselves.
* Emotional awareness – manages strong emotions and responds constructively; keeps own feelings in check; deals with stress.
* Survivor orientation – strives to meet and surpass survivors’ expectations; maintains appropriate contact until challenges are manageable; makes self available to survivors at critical periods during business hours
* Flexibility – adapts easily to changes at work; modifies behaviour in response to a situation; sees the merits of differing viewpoints.
* Initiative – takes responsibility; looks ahead and anticipates what needs to be done; is able to assess and manage risks.
* Team working – contributes fully to team work; establishes positive relationships with the team.
* Working within Professional Boundaries – Demonstrates professional curiosity; accepts responsibility for own work; seeks and uses professional support; understands the principle of confidentiality.
* Developing others – case management responsibility for developing survivors’ skills; encourages initiatives in problem solving and making choices.
SUPPORT
You can expect the following working for us:
* Comprehensive induction and training including online learning, face to face training and support and supervision.
* Opportunity to pursue on the job qualifications and career progression
* Case management systems and technology which helps us to ensure paperwork is streamlined and as much time as possible is spent with the service user
* Online timesheets and expenses paid weekly
* We are a Living Wage Foundation accredited employer - pay is reviewed annually each April
* Benefits including Bike to Work Scheme and retail discounts
* Employee Assistance programme offering confidential support 24/7/365
* Mileage paid at the national rate
* A warm and friendly team environment where everyone is valued.
OUR AIMS & VALUES & EQUALITY & DIVERSITY POLICY
It's important to us that we recruit people who share our values and who want to make a difference. Our interview process is designed to get to know you better and to find out why you want to work for us. If you are nervous, please don't be - there are no right or wrong answers.
Because we work with vulnerable people, we have a responsibility to safeguard them. We undertake background and reference checks, and it is a term of employment with us that all employees register with the Protecting Vulnerable Groups ("PVG") scheme operated by Disclosure Scotland.
We guarantee an interview to candidates who have lived experience within the areas that we support and those who are care experienced, subject to meeting the minimum criteria for the role. We are an equal opportunities employer and value diversity - exclusion has no place in our workplaces. If you need us to make reasonable adjustments to allow you to attend an interview with us, just let us know .
We regret that due to current Home Office rules, we are not able to sponsor applicants for this role, so you must be eligible to live and work in the UK without sponsorship.
The closing date for this position is Tuesday 21st May 2024.
We review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early should sufficient applications be received.