Senior Sensory Support Practitioner

Human Resources & Development - Form 35a Version 16 - Issued February 2025 JOB DESCRIPTION AND PARTICULARS OF APPOINTMENT ▪ Job Title: Senior Sensory Support Practitioner ▪ Post Number: P24208 ▪ Grade and SCP: Band 12 scp 34-38 ▪ Directorate: Care and Wellbeing Where your role fits at Shropshire Council As Shropshire Council we are rightly proud of our achievements and we have proven to be a resilient local authority in our response to the many challenges we overcome, particularly over recent years. We will be continuing this momentum with ambition and a focus on delivering our four key priorities outlined within the Shropshire Plan: Healthy People, Healthy Environment, Health Economy and Healthy Organisation. We are committed to achieving this by aligning everything we do to our vision 'Shropshire - living the best life'; to tell everyone that Shropshire Council is a great place to be. We will enable a skilled, happy, healthy, diverse, inclusive, empowered, and proud workforce that influences and leads change, addressing any inequalities. As a member of the Sensory Service within Adult Social Care you will support the achievement of these key priorities, making a real difference to the lives of people in Shropshire. Overview of your role The Senior Sensory Support Practitioner oversees staff and manages performance within the Sensory service. The post holder will offer guidance to help staff fulfil legal responsibilities and work to enhance service quality and efficiency. This role involves working closely with community services, partner organisations, and internal teams, such as RNIB, Sight Loss Shropshire, Fire services and Adult Social Care etc—to make sure we meet Care Act (2014) requirements and aims to continually improve client experience. Who will your manager be and what will you be responsible for? You will be: ▪ reporting to Operations Manager and Service Manager who is in turn responsible for your health and safety, training and development. ▪ Responsible and accountable in a for Sensory supervisory/managerial capacity, monitoring performance, supporting development and undertaking annual appraisals. team members, acting ▪ expected to lead and/or contribute to a range of projects and build relations with both internal and external partners in order achieve specified outcomes but will not have direct authority over those involved. ▪ Responsible for the monitoring of an approximate budget of £40,000 and the monitoring of equipment stock and inventory. ▪ Responsible for preparing responses in line with Shropshire Council's corporate processes and national/regulatory/statutory processes (e.g. complaints, MP enquiries, Information Governance requests, customer enquiries, media enquiries, HR staff investigations etc..). These responses should be in line with the quality and timescale expectations set out within Shropshire Council's published procedures and/or case allocation emails and discussions. ▪ Responsible for completing within expected timescales all mandatory corporate and role specific training. Training requirements will be detailed in your corporate induction and Personal Development Plan (PDP). Courses are accessed via the council Learning Management System via the Intranet. What will you be doing? Customer Experience ▪ Provide essential support for collaborative work on complex casework, ensuring seamless coordination between relevant parties. ▪ Promote positive client outcomes by sharing success stories and compliments within the team to encourage a culture of excellence. ▪ Handle complaints, feedback, and freedom of information requests with line manager support. ▪ Conduct triage of urgent referrals to ensure prompt and appropriate action is taken. ▪ Monitor and review RAG (Red, Amber, Green) criteria for clients awaiting ▪ assessment, ensuring prioritisation of need. Identify and capitalise on opportunities to provide advice and effective signposting for clients awaiting input. Line Management ▪ Line manage staff, providing regular supervision to support their wellbeing, professional development, and performance. ▪ Monitor caseloads and workflow progress to achieve service targets and maintain high standards. ▪ Triage referrals and allocate them appropriately to team practitioners based on workload and expertise. ▪ Lead on recruitment for the service to meet appropriate staffing levels within the team. ▪ Complete appraisals and implement agreed improvement goals. ▪ Promoting individual and team wide training to enhance knowledge and skills and ensuring mandatory training is up to date. Performance and Quality Assurance ▪ Ensure that all statutory duties of the service are fulfilled in a timely and effective manner. ▪ Provide support to individual practitioners, facilitating access to relevant services that promote staff health and welfare. • Meet supervisory duties consistently and complete case audits per performance guidelines. • Lead on performance conversations and implementing agreed plans for improvement. • Fulfil all human resources procedures associated with line management duties, including those related to sickness absence. General ▪ Oversee the equipment store, maintaining accurate inventory records and ensuring effective stock control. ▪ Monitor service expenditure and implement budgetary controls to ensure financial accountability. ▪ Conduct quality assurance reviews of assessments and care records to uphold service standards. ▪ Lead monthly team meetings, preparing structured agendas to ensure effective communication and service planning. Community Engagement ▪ Develop and maintain strong relationships with partners, stakeholders, and community services relevant to Sensory Services. ▪ Lead and participate in community events, such as See and Hear, as well as other ▪ public engagement initiatives to showcase services. Implement service improvements as directed by strategic management, ensuring alignment with organisational objectives, best practice and core service delivery. The above duties are an illustrative outline and are not an exhaustive list. You will be expected to become involved in a range of work to enable the service to respond effectively to the changing requirements of the Council and changes affecting the workforce. What we expect of you You will: ▪ adopt a customer focused approach when delivering your service, ensuring engagement with service users and maintenance of an appropriate personal profile, ▪ act as an advocate for your service and work collaboratively with colleagues across the whole Council to meet the needs of the people of Shropshire, ▪ meet individual, service and personal development targets agreed through the Personal Development Review Process, learn from experience and are committed to continuous improvement individually and as an employee of the Council, ▪ work with colleagues to meet your team's key performance indicators, support a culture of team working and ensure the team functions successfully in support of the Council's corporate and service objectives. ▪ meet the behaviours and competencies adopted by the Council in the way in which they achieve their objectives and carry out their work. ▪ A priority for the Council is the protection of vulnerable people, ensuring they are able to live as independently as possible. The post-holder will promote and engage with Council's responsibility to safeguard the welfare of children, young people and adults, and protect their right to be safe from harm. ▪ Expected to undertake all relevant training requirements specifically to the role including formal Hearing / Investigating Officer training relating to Disciplinary / Grievance policies and procedures. What are your conditions of Service The conditions of service are those laid down by Shropshire Council, which have been adopted and amended as necessary from those laid down by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services. Your primary work base will be at Shropshire Council Head Office in Shrewsbury with the requirement to regularly work from home. Your post is subject to the following: ▪ The post is Permanent for 37 hours per week, ▪ Normal office hours are 7am - 7pm Monday - Friday with a minimum lunch break of 30 minutes. ▪ The post is subject to the Council's annualised hours scheme as implemented within the specific work area. This post carries eligibility to join the Local Government Pension Scheme. Information about this will be sent with any formal offer of appointment. Annual leave entitlement is a pro rata flat rate scheme of 207 hours (28 days) annual leave plus bank holidays, with five days extra awarded to those staff with five years local government service giving an entitlement of 244 hours (33 days). Two days of an employee's allowance (pro rota for part time staff) must be taken at Christmas for any potential Christmas closures. Employees who work in a building/service which is required to open over the Christmas period, the two days leave (pro rota) can be carried over into your next leave year but must be used by the end of March. The appointment is subject to three months' notice in writing on either side. The appointment is subject to six months' satisfactory probationary service during which time the notice period will be one week on either side. Smoking is not allowed in Council buildings, in Council vehicles or in any Council place of work. It is a condition of your appointment that you provide a suitable vehicle for the performance of your duties and that this is readily available for use during normal working hours. You are entitled to claim for reimbursement of the costs of travel on council business at the rate of 45 pence per mile. What pre-employment checks will we undertake? The appointment is subject to receipt of the following ...