Main Purpose of the Job:
SCDA has secured funding through the National Lottery Community Fund and ESF to provide intensive and ongoing practical employment support for disadvantaged people with long term health issues or disabilities to move into sustainable volunteering, education, training or employment. The project will follow the principles of social prescribing to enable SCDA and their partners, RBLI is one, to engage with those who will benefit from it the most. Effective relationships with the medical and health sectors are central to the success of the project.

Overview of the Role & Team:
The Project Navigator is responsible for creating and maintaining effective relationships with referral organisations in the medical and health sector, compiling participant referral maps, initial engagement with the participant and management of their ongoing involvement with the project to ensure their wellbeing, health, community engagement and employment needs are fully met. The Project Navigator will work alongside Community Connectors and Employability Trainers to meet the project goals.

Liaising with the Assistant Project Manager and project staff the Project Navigator will ensure participants engage with the project in an informed way and that support and referral to other services is aimed at meeting their needs and moving them towards employment.

Working Environment:
While based in Medway travel throughout the South East is required and to work from outreach centres as required

Your Key Responsibilities:
Encourage and promote partnership working:
Liaise with a range of statutory, voluntary, and private sector agencies and organisations to improve clients’ access to services and maximise their choices - main agencies include Jobcentre Plus, GP surgeries, CCG’s, social and healthcare teams.

Work in partnership to identify potential clients:
Build and maintain effective working relationships with appropriate referral agencies, organisations and relevant professionals (e.g. Medical and Health Centres, Local Authority Health Teams, CCG Link Workers, Jobcentre Plus, Family and Children’s Services and other RBLI projects), to identify participants who are eligible for the project.

Working closely with GP surgeries to promote the benefits of social prescribing
Negotiating effective co-locating agreements with GP surgeries and health centres. Embedding a referral process so GP’s are clear about our services and what their patients can expect.

Guide and support participants to engage and benefit from the project:
• Establish and identify participants eligibility to engage with the project ( those with long term health needs and disabilities, including learning disabilities)
• Undertake holistic assessment of needs including health, wellbeing, community engagement and employment
• Provide bespoke and intensive support for individuals including information advice and guidance relating to employment, health and wellbeing issues
• Support to enable participants to overcome wider barriers to employment, particularly where these relate to health issues
• Provide case work support for participants to access related services including volunteering opportunities, community learning, supported employment and work trials
• Make a plan of action for achieving their aims and goals, and give them support as they carry it out
• Conduct regular progress reviews with caseload of participants to ensure project continues to meet their needs and record progress being made

Your work would also include:
• Keeping up to date with occupational and labour market information
• Keeping informed about the issues and policies that impact on people with long term health and disabilities
• Giving talks to potential referrers and participants and leading discussions
• Working closely with the Employer Co-ordinator, Community Connector and Assistant Project Manager to ensure the clients support plan is carried out
• Updating records and completing other administration tasks
• Assisting potential clients to engage with the project and explain what the service can provide
• Conducting a one to one interview with each client on your caseload offering information, advice or guidance, as appropriate, on the range of work and learning opportunities available locally
• Enabling clients to develop the opportunity to exercise individual choice and the pursuit of their own options for work and learning, and support them in these choices whilst creating an action plan to map their journey towards their anticipated job start date
• Using a range of resources to help clients identify their skills and aspirations
• As appropriate, offer intensive support where individual need has been established (e.g. lone parents or those with a specific condition)
• Recognise and work appropriately within challenging situations

Signposting and Referral:
• Communicate confidently with colleagues, partner agencies, individuals and Assistant Project Manager, to identify appropriate learning and work placement providers, to meet individual participants’ needs.
• Maintain awareness of and signpost to a range of local providers to meet participant needs.
• Make referrals on behalf of participants and follow through by maintaining contact with the client.

Follow up agreed actions:
• Ensure the necessary support structures are in place to maintain the volunteering, learning or work placement of each participant
• Track participants to ensure up to date information is held at all times

Management reporting:
• Keep accurate participant records and assist in the preparation of written and statistical reports as required.
• Maintain appropriate administrative and recording systems.
• Work with others to contribute to the delivery of projects so that they are on time, to target and within prescribed budgets
• Collaborate and contribute to funding bids as required
• Update systems as required accurately and on a timely basis within 1 working day
• Maintain an accurate caseload management sheet at all times
• Report and record achievement of all project outcomes within the month they occur to maximise contract target performance
• Provide one good news story per month reflecting client progress and/or success

Other:
• Meet regularly with the Assistant Project Manager or other designated supervisor for supervision and project reviews and to take responsibility to follow through agreed areas of work.
• The varied nature of the role may require flexibility to undertake other appropriate and relevant duties as they occur.
• Attend team briefs, meetings and SCDA staff meetings.as required
Promote and comply with RBLI policies and procedural requirements

Personal Attributes:
• Be committed to a person centred ethos and empowering participants to help themselves with the right support
• Able to work effectively as part of a team and on own initiative
• Be confident in dealing with participants, partners and funders and be able to respond at all levels
• Tact, diplomacy
• Resilience to withstand peaks in workload
• Emotional resilience to work objectively and professionally with vulnerable people
• Understanding of or willingness to learn about the needs of a wide range of socially excluded or disadvantaged people.

Skills & Experience Required:
Essential:
• At least 2 years’ experience in health or health related supported employment setting with a good understanding of the issues/barriers faced by people with long term health issues and disabilities (including learning disabilities)
• Experience working with individuals who are facing barriers to work and learning or engaging with their community
• Experience of setting up referral paths and supporting individuals to access work, learning and/or volunteering opportunities
• Experience of working to targets, goal setting and delivering a service that is person centred.
• Accustomed to multi-tasking, working a case load alongside networking, presenting to GP’s and admin reporting for example
• To be able to travel to various locations in and around South East LEP area easily and economically
• Be able to undergo enhanced DBS checks

Desirable:
• Knowledge of the benefits system, especially ESA
• A level 3 in Advice and Guidance or Health and Social care
• Experience of lone working policies and practice
• Up to date knowledge of good employment practices which support the placement of clients with barriers to work e.g. disability discrimination, flexible working.
• Familiarity with routes into, and the opportunities available, within Adult Education, and the local community

To Apply:
If you wish to be considered for the above role, forward your CV and covering letter including a supporting statement to recruitment@rbli.co.uk. RBLI is an equal opportunities employer.

RBLI is an accredited Disability Confident Leader. We guarantee to interview disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the role. If you consider yourself to have a disability and would like to apply for the above role under our disability confident scheme then please submit your application to dcapplications@rbli.co.uk

Should you need additional support or any reasonable adjustments to support you in applying for this role please email dcapplications@rbli.co.uk or call 01622 795917

* RBLI reserves the right to remove a vacancy at any time prior to the published closing date

NO AGENCIES