Location: London, Greater London Salary: £40,000 per year + 6% Contributory Pension Hours: Permanent, Full-Time
During the last financial year almost 4,000 people used Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea (VCKC) to improve their lives and the lives of others. We are now seeking an adaptable manager, with experience of working in a multidisciplinary team environment (or with demonstrable transferable skills), as our new Head of Specialist Services.
Main Purpose of Job:
The successful candidate will be skilled at responding in a client-centred way, while also able to motivate and lead a dedicated team of staff. Experience of working with people with mental health needs, disabled and learning disabled people, those using family support services or people within the criminal justice system: and staff supervision, are the key skills we value.
Opening in 1969, VCKC is the oldest Volunteer Centre in the country, and has grown organically from its core brokerage offer in response to the demands of local people and organisations. This has led to the creation of several specialist projects. Three of these projects – InsideOut, New Opportunities and Wellbeing – target people with relatively complex requirements, share a methodology, and expect to work with most of their clients over a period of months.
The Head of Specialist Services will bring these projects and the people who deliver them together in a new Specialist Support team, providing multidisciplinary casework support to a range of people who experience barriers to volunteering and to sustaining independent living, including:
- long term unemployed people
- people with criminal records
- people experiencing long term mental health issues
- disabled people
The intention is that the members of this new team will continue to deliver high quality, empathetic support to these clients, enabling them to achieve concrete improvements in their lives. The integration of these three projects via the development of a shared multidisciplinary practice will increase effectiveness and reduce risk whilst supporting the wellbeing and professional development of staff.
Key Duties:
- Support and develop the case worker team so they can offer life enhancing services to some of our most vulnerable residents. You will offer great supervision that supports case workers to offer the best they can
- Case work includes the assessment of clients and the development of mutually agreed development plans. To support clients in following those plans and achieving their goals, including obtaining appropriate voluntary or paid roles, developing skills and knowledge, improving relationships and social connections, securing their independence, and improving their health and wellbeing
- Contribute to the achievement of client outcomes, via direct work with clients. The level of casework should allow you to maintain your skills, knowledge and confidence while enabling you to discharge your responsibilities for team management
- Ensuring our casework services work closely together to maximise positive outcomes for clients, and that those achievements are reported internally and externally to support income generation, grow our referral networks, and facilitate new client registrations
- To work closly with the CEO to provide an integrated Specialist Services Team, and collaborate with other managers to improve and sustain the impact of the Volunteer Centre while ensuring it remains an accessible, inclusive, and supportive community organisation
It is anticipated that there will be a balance of three days of management time per week, and two days of client-facing time – with around 3 days working from our offices and two days working remotely.
We want VCKC to retain its positive culture – to be a place that both our team and our clients want to be, that develops and mobilises people’s capabilities in the context of relationships of care and respect, for their benefit and that of everyone in the borough.
VCKC is therefore looking for someone with a mix of practice and leadership experience who understands the value of both and how to put them to good use in building a small, results-focused team, that will be truly impactful – empowering people to achieve and maintain independence.
If this sounds like you – we would love to hear from you!
Application Instructions
To apply, email email hidden; JavaScript is required with your CV, Cover Letter and equal opportunities form. Please find the job description here and the equal opportunities form here. IMPORTANT NOTE: You will find a list of the competencies that are required in the person spec at the end of the job description. In your cover letter please show how you meet each criterion (in order) using examples from your professional or non-professional experience. We will only select candidates for interview who have demonstrated they meet the criterion. Closing date for applications is 1pm 15 November 2023. If you would like an informal discussion before applying please get in touch with us and ask to speak to Liz Woodman or Michael Ashe. If you have any other questions about this recruitment, please contact us at email hidden; JavaScript is required. You can also learn more about this role and apply here: Head Of Specialist at Volunteer Centre Kensington and Chelsea.
