Shared Lives Officer

Role Responsibility

This is an exciting opportunity to join our Kent Shared Lives Service.

Kent Shared Lives are seeking a Shared Lives Officer, due to the growth of our service, to work within a dedicated team to ensure Shared Lives Carers provide high quality support to the vulnerable adults in their care.

Kent Shared Lives provides adults the opportunity to stay in the homes of recruited, trained, and approved Carers and their families.

The Shared Lives Officer is responsible for the assessment, on- going monitoring and development of Carers to support adults in their home to lead more independent, fulfilling lives in the community.

You will support and utilise your skills and knowledge to ensure high quality support is provided to individuals that meet Care Quality Commission (CQC) and in-house performance (IHP standards) standards and requirements.

You will also support the Referrals officer with the co-ordination of new placements to ensure a robust matching process with potential Carers and their families to ensure that they can meet the needs of adults being placed in their homes.

You will supervisory responsibility for a number of Shared Lives Assistant Officers and Shared Lives Workers.

You will have experience of working with people with assessed social care needs, completing assessments and care planning. You will have a sound understanding and experience of adult safeguarding.

You must also possess:

Degree in Social Work or equivalent in a related discipline, e.g. Nursing (RGN Level 1), Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy.

Experience of working within a multi-agency environment.

Knowledge of relevant Social Care legislation

Good computer literacy and report writing skills.

Excellent interpersonal skills and mediation and negotiation skills.

Ability to work in partnership with people and our wider partners to help identify services or resources in the community that can support well-being.

Registration with the Health Care Professionals Council

Kent County Council offer an attractive benefits package and a commitment to ensuring that you achieve a healthy work life balance and opportunities for flexible working arrangements that meet business need.

Annual leave is 29 days rising to 30 after 5 years of service, Bank holidays and an annual concessionary day around Christmas.

There are additional benefits that can be accessed via www.KentRewards.com

You will have excellent opportunities for professional development with access to our social care academy.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring service and a relevant professional qualification (Social Work, Nursing or Occupational Therapy) as well as up to date registration with the appropriate professional body.

Interviews will be held on 30 July 2024