Team Manager Sensory Team

Job responsibilities

Job Context

Sensory Team operates on a countywide basis. The team delivers a range of assessment, rehabilitation, and support services to people with sensory needs, including D/deaf people, people with visual impairment and people with a dual sensory loss. The team operates with a mix of Social Workers, Rehabilitation specialists and Communicator Guides. The team also works closely with colleagues in the Prevention & Access team, who support people with sensory needs with equipment and prevention services. The Sensory Team will co-ordinate safeguarding concerns with people whose primary needs are related to a sensory impairment.

Enhanced DBS clearance is required. This role involves spoken communications, so a confident use of English language is required.

Services in the Discharge Hub, Community Social Care and Occupational Therapy Teams will operate over 7 days, 8.00am-8.00pm Monday to Sunday. The specific requirements regarding operational working hours will be determined by service and operational team requirements, on a local basis. Therefore, you will be expected to work on a weekend and extended hours, subject to service needs, on a rota basis.

Manage specific portfolios and have responsibility for developing and disseminating specialist practice, process and performance knowledge and skills to staff within the team and provide specialist advice.

Ensure the effective delivery of asset and strength-based approaches to assessment and review, care management and reablement services for adults with care and support needs and carers within the service area.

Ensure the proactive and positive management of risk with adults with care and support needs and carers.

Ensure that eligibility criteria for social care is applied fairly and consistently across the service area.

Ensure that appropriate information, advice, and guidance is available to adults with care and support needs, carers and those adults who do not meet the eligibility criteria to prevent, reduce and delay future needs in the service area.

Work proactively to enable care and support staff within the service area to develop innovative and creative solutions to meet adults, adults with care and support needs, and carers outcomes and wellbeing.

Proactively work towards embedding personalisation into practice within the service area including but not limited to individual budgets, direct payments, self-assessment, and self-directed care.

Allocate work, provide professional supervision and development to ensure appropriate values, standards, and competence are maintained.

Ensure that practice encompasses the principles of recovery and supports adults with care and support needs and their carers to maximise their independence.

Ensure the implementation of multi-agency safeguarding policy and operational guidance in the service area and will manage and co-ordinate safeguarding cases in accordance with multi-agency policy, Making Safeguarding Personal and operational guidance.

Report any significant concerns, complaints, or legal issues to the line manager.

Be aware of any legal issues within the service area requiring advice from legal services.

Work with the team to ensure that:

The independence and safety of adults with care and support needs and their careers in North Yorkshire is maximised.

Assessments of need are undertaken with adult with carer and support needs and their carers using the Directorates procedures

Appropriate solutions are developed to meet the adult with care and support needs or carers preferred outcomes within specified resources

Clear, concise, and timely records of cases, care packages and actions are maintained in line with the Directorates policies and systems for file maintenance.

Ensure that solutions and support have considered all appropriate funding streams and the financial resources of adults with care and support needs and their carers have been maximised.

Work with the line manager to contribute to the development of local resources to maximise community inclusion. Liaising with local, universal, and other services to promote peoples access to them.

Participate in training, developmental and project activity including multi-disciplinary and multi-agency activity as agreed with the line manager.

As agreed with the line manager, represent the Directorate in court proceedings and with other agencies as required.

Ensure that the resources of the locality are used in a planned way in order to maintain an efficient and cost-effective service which takes full account of both changing needs and resource availability.

Provide professional support and advice to adults with care and support needs and their carers on how their needs could be partly or wholly met by access to universal and other non-care services.

Deputise for the line manager as required within the Service Area, the Business Unit or wider Directorate

As agreed with the line manager, represent the Directorate at appropriate intra and inter agency meetings, promoting, liaising, consulting, and engaging with adults with care and support needs, carers, and partners from the independent and voluntary sector.

Contribute to the modernisation and development of the workforce.

Contribute to the analysis of all community needs across the Locality.

Contribute to working towards integration with health partners

Job Purpose

The core focus of this job is to support the Service Manager in the delivery of services, through the supervision of staff, responsibility for delegated aspects of budget management and contributing to practice and performance improvement. To manage specific portfolios and will have responsibility for developing and disseminating specialist practice, process and performance knowledge and skills to staff within the team and will provide specialist advice.

Operational Management

Provide effective leadership, advice, and support to other staff in relation to the service area.

Provide supervision and management oversight to staff within the team, undertaking the allocation of workload, monitor performance and resolve workload issues as they arise

Provide appropriate challenge to the decisions of other staff within the team to retain a focus on performance and objectives.

Deliver project, training and development activity as required, including multi-disciplinary and multi-agency activities.

Deliver targets as set down in the service and team plans.

Ensure applicable risk assessments/moving and handling plans are completed, as appropriate

Resource Management

Carry out people management processes such as recruitment, development, and absence management, setting targets, providing feedback on performance, and effectively addressing development and learning issues.

Undertake professional monthly supervision of staff as well as annual staff appraisals, ensuring that all team members are appropriately appraised and supervised.

Ensure effective and robust financial management systems are in place and adhered to, in order to deliver against budget.

In the line managers absence make critical decisions regarding financial resources and people management.

Support the line manager in delivering transformational change, through effective modelling of positive behaviours and delivering innovative solutions to service delivery and development.

Deliver high standards of performance against agreed indicators.

Ensure value for money and efficiency targets are met

Partnerships

Liaise with statutory and voluntary agencies and work within a broad range of services.

Represent the team/service at intra and inter agency meetings.

Effectively promote your role in sustaining good relationships across agencies.

Strategic Management

Act as a recognised expert within a specialist field. E.g., Occupational Therapy or Social Work within adult services

Develop and implement policies and procedures at team level.

Contribute to the development of practice and policy within the team and across the service.

Contribute to the annual business planning process and to service planning including the identification and achievement of team objectives.

Communications

Communicate effectively with other practitioners and professionals to ensure required outcomes are achieved.

To represent North Yorkshire Council as required with internal and external customers.

Respond and contribute to complaints and concerns within agreed timescales

Systems and Information

Use of appropriate databases and systems to ensure effective delivery of the service and, as appropriate, to quality assure the work of other professional and support staff.

Effectively evidence management oversight of critical decisions and practice.

Encourage the team to share information and best practice.

Ensure service information is available to service users, their families, and the general public as appropriate.

Safeguarding

To be committed to safeguarding and promote the welfare of children, young people and adults, raising concerns as appropriate.

Qualifications

Essential

• A professional social care or health qualification e.g., Social Work, Occupational Therapy with current registration with relevant professional body
• An Occupational Therapy qualification is required to manage OT Teams with current registration with relevant professional body.
• For Sensory Team a qualification in British Sign language at Level 2 or equivalent experience.

Desirable

• Post Graduate Qualifications for:
• Best Interest Assessor
• Approved Mental Health Professional
• Practice Educator
• Management Qualification

Experience

Essential

• Thorough knowledge and understanding of Care Act compliant practice, including effective assessment, support planning and review (including Mental Capacity Act).
• Thorough knowledge of statutory requirements, including requirements in respect of carers, equality and anti-discrimination legislation, maintaining a safe working environment, data protection and confidentiality.
• Significant knowledge of community services for adults with care and support needs and their careers and personalisation and associated legislation.
• Knowledge and understanding of how Equality & Diversity, Dignity & Respect and Human Rights will apply
• Comprehensive understanding of Adult Safeguarding policy and practice
• For OT Team Manager - Thorough knowledge of Moving and Handling legislation and regulations.
• Comprehensive experience and understanding of the delivery of effective social care practice.
• Comprehensive experience of working within Adult Safeguarding practice and guidance.
• You can show experience of using Problem solving skills uses creativity and innovation to generate solutions to problems that offer best value
• Demonstrable experience of supervision/professional consultation in a management, consultative or practice education role
• Demonstrable experience of initiating the appropriate statutory and other actions required to undertake adult protection investigations. Demonstrable experience of undertaking safeguarding investigations.
• Experience of working positively in a changing environment.
• For Sensory Team Manager Experience of working in sensory services and understanding of the barriers faced by people with sensory needs.

Desirable

• Substantial experience as a senior practitioner in a relevant professional field
• Experience of managing the recruitment and selection process
• Some experience of staff management skills including recruitment and selection, performance management and development (may have been obtained when supervising a student etc.)
• Experience of budget management
• Experience of implementing effective auditing and quality assurance processes
• Demonstrable experience of managing performance, supervising, appraising, and developing staff.
• Demonstrable experience of chairing safeguarding meetings.

Occupational Skill

Essential

• Ability to manage, supervise and support a diverse range of staff
• Developed practice skills for this portfolio area, including the ability to engage and communicate with service users and with a range of other stakeholders
• Effective written communication skills communicates effectively in writing to produce documents in a range of formats and styles to suit a range of audiences. Completes accurate written records.
• The ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.
• Risk management skills you assess and manage risk effectively
• Resilience
• Ability to organise and prioritise workloads effectively, and to meet necessary timescales
• Good IT skills including use of email, intranet, internet, word, excel and inputting data.
• Financial/budget skills ability to process and/or monitor financial information to support the line manager.
• Decision making skills can make decisions which may involve difficult choices or considered risks within own area of responsibility.
• Ability to make decisions based on relevant information and which may involve choices and considered risks.
• Problem solving skills uses creativity and innovation to generate solutions to problems
• Ability to set targets, manage performance, and appraise staff across different activity areas.
• Ability to monitor services and practices to ensure agreed standards are maintained and intervene constructively where necessary
• Ability to support, challenge and motivate staff
• Ability to present, explain and negotiate the services activities and objectives in a wide range of contexts

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).