About Us
Enable is a charity dedicated to improving people's wellbeing and strengthening local communities. Core to our work is the development of strong working relations with councils, charities and other organisations to deliver, health leisure and community services and events that enrich people's lives.
Benefits
- Flexible working hours & a hybrid working environment.
- 30 days of annual leave (plus 8 bank holidays) pro rata, 3 additional free days off at Christmas
- Life Insurance
- Reward Schemes (Reward Hub Membership, wellbeing budgets and cycle to work)
- Mental Health & Wellbeing Perks (Yoga, activities, massages, monthly talks)
- Free Gym Membership
Social Prescribing Link Worker
Reports to: Social Prescribing Manager
Based: Wandsworth
Salary: £16,587.50 per year (FTE: £33,175)
Contract: Part time (20 hours per week) - Permanent
DBS: Enhanced
Role Overview
As a Social Prescribing Link Worker, you will be empowering people to improve their health and wellbeing by connecting them to community support. This could include helping people with a range of things such as managing stress, loneliness, finding social groups, learning new skills, physical activity or getting information on employment, benefits, housing and legal advice.
The successful candidates will join our Enable Social Prescribing Team which has experience of delivering community support across Wandsworth. The role will support Primary Care Networks within Wandsworth and work closely with GP’s and other healthcare professionals, contributing to the NHS commitment to personalised care.
This is an exciting opportunity to join our growing team and be part of an innovative social prescribing model which includes Link Workers based in primary care and adult social care, as well as Specialist Community Link Workers. Enable Link Workers will be excellent communicators, passionate about social prescribing and dedicated to reducing health inequalities in the local area.
Job Purpose
- Provide social prescribing support and deliver one to one appointments to people with a range of social needs.
- Develop strong working relationship with health and social care professionals.
- Build and maintain relationships with local voluntary and community sector organisations to ensure people can access the right support.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Person-centred care and support
- Deliver effective social prescribing appointments using a holistic and person-centred approach that helps people focus on what matters to them.
- Empower people to take control of their own wellbeing by building their confidence, motivating them to set goals and creating personalised action plans.
- Signpost and refer people to local voluntary, community and statutory services that help meet their needs.
- Support people to overcome their personal barriers to access VCSE organisations and follow up to ensure they are satisfied, able to engage, and receiving good support.
- Treat everyone with dignity, and respect diverse cultures, religions, ways of life and other personal characteristics at all times.
Communication and Collaboration
- Build excellent relationships with primary care/adult social care teams, providing regular updates, sharing knowledge of local VCSE organisations and working together to develop the service.
- Provide support and develop partnerships with local VCSE organisations, community groups, and statutory services to make safe and effective onward referrals.
- Work with the Enable Health and Wellbeing Team and local partners to identify unmet needs within the community and gaps in service provision.
- Promote the social prescribing micro-commissioning fund and support VCSE organisations to apply.
- Act as a champion of social prescribing, increasing awareness and promoting its benefits to a wide range of audiences.
- Work with a team of volunteer buddies to provide additional support to clients.
Service Quality and Development
- Collect and record outcome, monitoring and impact data using required systems, contributing to the evaluation of the service.
- Manage own case load to ensure clients receive appropriate levels of support and expectations are met.
- Gather client feedback to evaluate the quality of the service and to inform service changes and developments.
- Identify how the service could be developed and improved and, drawing upon knowledge of service delivery, make suggestions about how social prescribing could be embedded to a greater extent across Wandsworth.
- Keep up to date with key changes in the health and social care sector to shape and develop the service, including those relating to good practice and policy.
- Lead by example by demonstrating excellent customer service, delivery skills, organisation and professionalism.
- Complete Quality Assurance Assessments for VCSE organisations accepting social prescribing referrals to ensure they are safe, effective, and have the support they need to be part of social prescribing.
- Work with your line manager to identify your own support needs and undertake continual personal and professional development.
General Responsibilities
- To comply with all of Enable's Codes of practice and conduct, including policies and procedures concerning data protection, health and safety and safeguarding.
- To be committed to the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion for others, both colleagues and clients.
- To create and maintain a safe, supportive and welcoming environment where all people are treated with dignity and their identity and culture are valued and respected. Report any instances of inappropriate behaviour or discrimination.
- Ensure data is kept securely in line with data protection law and Enable LC’s procedures.
- To be fully aware of the principles of safeguarding as they apply to children and vulnerable adults in relation to your work role. Always follow safeguarding procedures and ensure that your line manager is kept fully informed of any safeguarding concerns.
- To carry out any other reasonable duties and responsibilities that contribute to the overall function of the team, appropriate with the grading of the post.
Person Specification
- Experience in a role that involves delivering face-to-face support in a relevant health or social care environment.
- Experience adopting a person-centred approach to meet the needs of service users and of empowering them to make informed choices.
- Experience of working with people of all ages with a range of social needs.
- Experience of working with the VCSE sector, including with volunteers and small community groups.
- Motivational interviewing, behaviour change, or health coaching qualification (desirable) or willingness to undertake training (essential).