Adult Eating Disorder Community Worker
Hours, Salary and Location
Salary £27,866.75FTE per annum
1-year-fixed term contract
37.5 hours per week, Mon – Fri (9-5); part-time applications will be considered
Location – main base will be the Elmore office in Oxford, but some of the working time will be spent with the NHS Adult Eating Disorder service.
Pension, with employer’s contribution rising to 5% on completion of probationary period.
Cost of living increases are approved annually by the Board of Trustees subject to sufficient funding being available.
Purpose
Elmore started in 1989 in Oxford, working with people with complex needs and mental ill health who did not easily fit into the remit of other agencies. Elmore is seen as a leading expert in working with individuals falling through the gaps of existing services by using a variety of different models, and our supportive team approach helps people improve their lives and integrate into the community.
This role is an exciting opportunity to work alongside NHS Adult Eating Disorder (AED) Services in Oxfordshire. The post holder will provide holistic, person-centred support to adults known to NHS AED teams across the county, offering support around a range of needs unrelated to their eating disorder. This could include working with them around benefits/finances, housing, substance use, physical health, advocacy, training/education, or anything else within scope. The worker will be able to offer support to attend health appointments (GPs, dentist, chronic physical health services) and refer on to other VCSE agencies as required.
A further aspect of this role will be to support safe discharge from AED teams for people who had been receiving higher intensity support. The post holder will attend all relevant AED meetings, including clinical team briefings, while also taking part in Elmore supervision sessions and other team events.
This role will use the same recording systems as AED colleagues, making sure that for all of the clients they are working with they are maintaining up to date case notes and risk assessments. The worker will also manage risk and escalate this as necessary to appropriate clinical staff if needing to do so.
Elmore and Oxford Health are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Key Responsibilities
General
This post will work as part of the NHS Adult Eating Disorder pathway across Oxfordshire, offering holistic, person-centred support while maintaining accurate and up to date clinical records.
The postholder will contribute to the planning and continued delivery of an existing service.
Clinical
To assess new referrals and make recommendations about the suitability of this service to meet their needs, or signpost to more appropriate services.
To manage a small, allocated caseload of clients.
To offer a range of support and interventions as determined by the presenting needs and wishes of the clients.
To provide support and guidance to friends, family and carers of clients.
To regularly receive and contribute to clinical supervision according to the protocols of the service.
To work jointly with other professionals in the AED teams to support clients, including being part of a multi-disciplinary team.
To creatively and respectfully engage with clients.
To liaise effectively with other disciplines/teams/services with regard to client care
To actively assess risk and work with Elmore’s and Oxford Health’s risk management processes for individuals and liaise with other professionals as needed.
To manage challenging situations in line with procedures and to ensure the safety of yourself and others.
To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice.
To act as an advocate for clients to ensure that their voices are heard.
To ensure clients are aware of and support them to access opportunities to be involved in client participation (if they wish to do so).
Personal Development
To attend and actively participate in supervision sessions.
To take part in an individual professional review procedure annually involving the identification of developmental needs and priorities.
Administration and Teamwork
To work within policies and procedures of Elmore and Oxford Health, including Health and Safety regulations, Equality and Diversity, and Safeguarding.
To be responsible for knowing about and following all the procedures and policies of the service. This will include keeping accurate records of all work undertaken and observing procedures with regard to confidentiality.
To manage expenses in line with policy and procedure.
To maintain clear and accurate records
To complete relevant monitoring relating to the clients that you are supporting to fulfil contractual needs.
To be able to organise and plan your own workload in association with service constraints/commitments.
To be a supportive and effective part of the team.
To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in the AED teams.
To attend and participate in team meetings and planning meetings.
To undertake such other duties as may be required in the light of changing circumstances.
Person Specification
Clinical Experience:
At least 3-years’ experience of working in the community with people who have mental health problems (experience of working with adults with eating disorders is highly preferrable) (essential)
Experience of working with adults with a range of complex needs, such as physical health, substance use, housing, finances/benefits, offending, safeguarding concerns (desirable)
Sound working knowledge of eating disorders and presentation (essential)
Experience of assessment and risk management (essential)
A good understanding of safeguarding and what may constitute “abuse” (essential)
Experiencing of joint working with other agencies (essential)
Knowledge of other local services for people with eating disorders and complex needs (desirable)
An understanding of relevant legislation that affects clients (desirable)
Organisational and Personal Experience:
Excellent communication skills (essential)
Ability to work as part of a team (essential)
Ability to tolerate one’s own anxieties in the face of complex challenging clinical situations (e.g. projection, transference, counter transference etc.) (essential)
Ability to reflect on own practice and process (essential)
Ability to take care of oneself and promote professional resilience (essential)
Ability to keep accurate casework records, database records and maintain filing systems (essential)
To be IT literate (word, excel, Microsoft outlook and use of databases) (essential)
A good understanding of the principles of equality and diversity and the Single Equality Act 2010 (essential)
Experience of working independently and managing own caseload (essential)
Ability to work autonomously in line with policies and procedures (essential)
Ability to be flexible and adapt to change (essential)
Core mental health qualification (mental health nursing, social work, clinical psychology, occupational therapy, psychotherapy) (desirable)
Personal therapy (desirable)
Car driver with full licence and access to vehicle for work use (desirable)
Values:
Commitment to the ideals of quality and fairness in delivering support to vulnerable people, and the meaningful involvement of service users (essential)
Good understanding of the principles of equality and diversity and how to apply them in our context (essential)
The post-holder must be eligible to work in the UK, and appointment is subject to satisfactory DBS check.
How to apply
Please send a copy of your CV and a covering letter detailing how you meet the person specification using examples where relevant.
If you would like to know more about the post before applying, please email recruitment@elmorecommunityservices.org.uk.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Closing date for application: Tuesday 14th May 2024
Interviews will take place: TBA
Elmore is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for everyone regardless of age, disability, gender identity, race, religion and beliefs, sex and sexual orientation, and marital status.
Elmore treats all clients with respect and dignity, aiming to tailor support to individual needs and preferences. We constantly strive to involve service users in planning and evaluating our services.
Our intention is to interview candidates online via MS Teams. Please do let us know if you would face difficulty interviewing online.