Carers Support Officer

Knowsley Carers Centre, a network partner of the Carers Trust, is a registered charity providing information, support, advice, and a voice for carers living and caring in the Borough of Knowsley.

Knowsley Carers Centre is a growing charity, established in ~October 1997 to support the borough's 16000 unpaid/family carers.

A highly motivated and experienced person is required to identify and support unpaid carers.

Proven experience of the sector and an understanding of unpaid carers’ issues are essential along with the ability to work independently.

Job Purpose:    To find and assist Carers in the Knowsley area by providing advice, information, drop-in sessions, facilitating support groups, home visiting, training and a variety of other methods highlighted by Carers in Knowsley.

Duties and Responsibilities

Information and Support

All staff are expected to be familiar with the range of services and events provided by Knowsley Carers Centre.

The Carers Support Officers specifically: -

1)               Provide Carers with advice and support to improve the quality of their lives and the person they care for:

This will include:

a)         Completing current procedure for Carers’ Assessments and to support Carers through the Assessment process.

b)         Offering Carers the opportunity to take up other services offered by KCC such as coffee mornings and Holistic Therapies.

c)         Providing an empathetic and supportive ear to Carers about the difficulties they may be experiencing. Remind carers that we are here to provide a listening ear and offer our counselling service if appropriate.

d)         To signpost Carers to relevant voluntary and statutory organisations.

2)         Keep up-to-date with services, benefits and organisations relevant to Carers.

3)         To assist in the promotion of the work of the organisation by use of media, talks, presentations, displays etc.

4)         Make links with relevant statutory and voluntary organisations.

5)         Use any of the above opportunities to identify hidden Carers and

Casework

1)         Work on behalf of Carers both by phone and in writing to help them to obtain the services they need.

2)         Make home-visits as necessary to carry out this aspect of the work and initial support to new carers via home visit with the agreement of line manager.

3)         Liaise with other advice/advocacy organisations to develop and maintain referral systems.

4)         Complete all the necessary administrational tasks related to the role including updating all contacts on the database.

Groups and Events

1)         Setting up, administering and facilitating Carers Support Groups.

2)         Organise outings and events for Carers. To liaise with the manager to raise small funds to assist with one to one support or group support.  

3)         Work with other members of the Knowsley Carers Centre staff team to plan, organise and facilitate special events and activities e.g. During National Carers Week.

Administration and Monitoring

1)         Complete contacts on the database for every interaction with each carer. All phone calls, drop ins, home visits letters, emails and texts to have a separate contact.

2)         Ensure attendees at group events whether in house or at another venue complete the signing in sheet. Complete the register for these events on the database if requested to do so. 

3)         Add names to waiting lists for trips and events following the standard procedure. Make appointments for carers to attend holistic therapies following the standard procedure.

4)         Write up case studies and other reports as requested by line manager.

5)         To be primarily self-servicing including word processing letters, keeping appropriate records of work undertaken, write reports and complete monitoring forms.

6)         All of the above are necessary for management to produce statistics and other monitoring reports to comply with funders requests outlined in the main contract and other sources of funding.

General Tasks

1)         To work as part of a team contributing to the smooth and effective running of Knowsley Carers Centre.

2)         To produce articles for the Carers Centre newsletter and to distribute

           to various establishments around Knowsley.

3)         To attend and actively participate in regular supervision, team meetings and annual appraisal sessions.

4)         To undertake relevant training and staff development activities as required.

5)         To undertake occasional evening/weekend work where necessary.

6)         To undertake any other duties as reasonably requested by the Centre Manager.

7)         All employees are expected to read and abide by the organisations policies and procedures.     

Benefits of working for Knowsley Carers Centre:

22 days annual leave plus bank holidays per year (pro rata)

Bonus 3 days of annual leave per year over the festive period (subject to Trustee approval)

6% Workplace Pension Scheme with The Pensions Trust