Support Worker

Job title: Support Worker (Edinburgh Mental Health Service)

Hour of Work: there are 3 posts available:

Full time: 37.5 per week (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm with evening work and weekend working on a rotational basis)

Part time: 30 hours per week, over 4 days (days to be agreed)

Part time: 15 hours per week, over two days (days to be agreed)

Please note in the “match to job requirements section which post you are applying for.

Are you passionate about helping people to live a better life? Do you want to work for a charity where your health and wellbeing matter just as much as the people you support? Do you want to be part of a trauma-informed team where you will be supported to develop creative and flexible ways of working?

You don’t need to have previous experience or qualifications in this field. If you share our values, this could be the role for you!

At LinkLiving, our values and people are at the heart of everything we do including how we recruit our staff. It is important for us to find people who share our values, which are:

• Empathy (listen to and understand an individual’s needs and circumstances)
• Respect (treat others the way they wish to be treated)
• Integrity (be honest and have strong moral principles)
• Caring (show kindness and concern for others)

LinkLiving is a Scottish health and wellbeing charity that supports people to manage or overcome the effects of negative life experiences (including trauma, mental health challenges, poverty and inequality) so that they can build on their strengths and aspirations in order to live their best possible lives. We support people through a range of models including:

• Personal development and employability programmes
• Self-help coaching
• Supported accommodation
• Care at home
• Housing support
• Befriending
• Social cafes

The Service

Our Edinburgh Mental Health Services is made up of five teams of support workers who provide visiting tenancy support across Edinburgh to people experiencing mental ill health. The service also has a Core and Cluster accommodation service which provides more intensive support to people who have spent time in long-term hospital care. Our support enables the people we work with to live as independently as possible in their own home and improve their mental and physical health.

The Job

We have an exciting opportunity for ambitious and motivated Support Workers to join our team and improve the lives of people supported by our Edinburgh Mental Health Services.

In this role, you will be supported to work using a person centred and trauma informed approach and develop effective relationships with people affected by a range of mental health problems, supporting them to cope in difficult times and working towards recovery and a good life. You will provide emotional, practical and social support to enable people to live as independently as possible and make informed choices in all aspects of their lives.

This role involves the administration of medication to some of the individuals we support. Full training will be provided for this.

For a comprehensive list of the essential and desirable criteria required for this post, please refer to the Job Specification in the Job information Pack above.

What’s in it for you?

The benefits of being a LinkLiving employee (subject to the policies and benefit terms and conditions) include:

• Competitive salary, reviewed annually, and opportunity for annual performance related salary increases and discretionary non-consolidated pay awards, subject to terms of the scheme
• 35 days’ holiday per year (inclusive of public holidays) pro rata plus additional 3 days pro rata after 3 years’ service, with an opportunity to buy and sell holiday
• temporary enhanced business travel mileage allowance to support employees with increased fuel costs
• access to paid SVQ qualifications and a wide range of learning and development opportunities and funded Disclosure Scotland and Scottish Social Services Council memberships
• defined contribution pension scheme with generous employer contributions plus salary exchange and additional voluntary contribution options
• life assurance scheme providing death in service benefits to named beneficiaries
• healthcare cash plan for employees (and dependents) to support health and wellbeing plus discounts on shopping, restaurants, and other services
• employee assistance programme for employees and their immediate household dependants to support health, mental and financial well-being
• discounted travel schemes including cycle to work scheme, monthly bus pass scheme and travel ticket loan and much more!

For a full list of benefits available to employees, please see the following link - https://www.linkliving.org.uk/about-us/work-for-us/

Successful applicants will be required to register with SSSC within 6 months of their start date.

This post is subject to Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme registration. Link will meet the cost of any new PVG scheme membership or scheme record update.

Further Information

Interested? If you have any questions about the role, please email jobs@linkhaltd.co.uk and we can arrange for someone from the service to call you for an informal chat.

To find out more about what LinkLiving do and to view the generous pay and benefits package, please visit our website at https://www.linkliving.org.uk

If you are considering a career in social care but aren’t sure what it involves or whether it’s right for you, you can enrol in a free, online 6 week part-time tutor-supported ‘Introduction to a Career in Social Care’ course. The course provides an introduction to the area of social care and can be a stepping-stone to employment or further training.

Closing Date: Midnight on Sunday 28 May 2023

Interview Date: Interviews are being held on Thursday 06 June 2023 at our office in Edinburgh

How to Apply

We have put together a video with a few tips to help you make the most of your application, you can view this on YouTube by clicking here.

To complete an application form, please click on the “Apply Now” button below. Instructions on how to complete the form are at the top of the page.

We can offer suitable alternative methods to apply if requested including although not exclusively; hard copy, Braille and audio. You can request these by emailing our Resourcing Team at jobs@linkhaltd.co.uk and detailing which format you would require.

Please note should an internal applicant be successful in applying for this position on either a seconded or permanent basis, they will move to the terms and conditions associated with the role for the duration of the time they are in post. The terms and conditions are outlined in the job information pack.

LinkLiving is an equal opportunities organisation, and we welcome applications from all sectors of the community. Our offices are fully accessible to wheelchair users and, as a Disability Confident employer, we will interview all disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria.