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Are you looking for a rewarding opportunity that makes a real difference to people’s lives?

Are you experienced in trauma informed practice and person-centred care and working with and empowering LGBTQ+ individuals?

We are looking for a pro- active Support Practitioner to join our Ending Violence & Abuse Aberdeen (EVAA) Inclusive Service to provide support to anyone LGBT+ who has experienced violence, or at risk of homelessness with outcomes focused on gaining and maintaining a safe and settled lifestyle in the community.

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 life-changing services including support to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, have experienced abuse, are at risk of violence, are 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 www.weareac.org

Position:

Job title: Support Practitioner | Ending Violence & Abuse Aberdeen (EVAA) Inclusive Service

Responsible to: EVAA Service Manager

Responsible for: Relief Workers and Volunteers

Salary: Scale point 21-28 (£20,556- £ 25,092)

Contract: Fixed Term 31st March 2024

SSSC registration level: Practitioner

Our Ending Violence and Abuse Aberdeen (EVAA) Inclusive service work across the whole spectrum of gender-based abuse, recognising that many may experience multiple forms of abuse and crisis at once, and have different short and long-term needs. Providing person-centred holistic support for individuals, we help with both emergency and recovery, working collaboratively within local partnerships and inclusively through specialist support for LGBTQ+ abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Our aim is to ensure people are safe and healthy, respected and included, and that they are treated equally and compassionately.

Values are at the heart of our organisation informing the decisions we make, the way we offer support to our service users and our staff, and the foundation of how we deliver crisis support that is holistic, person-centred, trauma-informed and compassionate.

Requirements:

Main Responsibilities

• To support the delivery of EVAA Inclusive service through key working and case management sessions.

• Work to the service and organisations aims and values including a commitment to the empowerment of marginalised and vulnerable individuals

• Form, develop, sustain, and maintain relationships with service users through which individual lifestyles and situations can be addressed

• Work with service users on a 1-1 basis to address individual needs.

• Facilitate diversionary group activities.

• Assess and follow up referrals on a monthly basis through accurate & appropriate information gathering and the summarising of needs

• Ensure that LGBTQ+ views and needs remain paramount and ensure that potential obstacles and issues are assessed and addressed.

• Plan individual and group support and implement and review support plans where the main issues to be addressed

• Undertake assessments of need and intervene in crisis to effectively avoid and pre-empt incidents and threats to personal safety

• Develop personalised support plans, ensuring the basic needs, of people using our service, are met which include practical tasks of establishing a tenancy and sustaining their home

• Liaise with a range of agencies on behalf of service users, 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 service user’s behalf and generally assist them with issues around communication.

• Support service users to deal with issues of abuse and encourage them to engage with other agencies as required.

• Produce regular 6 monthly evaluation and monitoring reports on the project.

• Participate in the ongoing awareness-raising of issues around violence against the LGBTQ+ community and around the work of the project and organisation

• 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

• Knowledge and understanding of LGBTQ+ community and 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.

• 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 service users’ skills; encourages initiatives in problem solving and making informed choices.

Other information:

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 Friday 26th of May 2023.

We review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert early should sufficient applications be received.