Qualified Vision Rehabilitation Specialist

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association; Atherton; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days annual leave

Real Living Wage Employer

Flex pot for flexible benefits

Buy/sell annual leave

Discounts and cash-back scheme

Excellent pension scheme with employer

Job summary

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in Atherton (Greater Manchester) invites applications for a Vision Rehabilitation Specialist. The role focuses on empowering people with sight loss to develop mobility, independence and wellbeing through personalised assessment and tailored rehabilitation programmes.

We expect a person-centred, independent yet collaborative approach, with travel across Greater Manchester, Cumbria and Lancashire.

Qualifications

• Qualified as Mobility Instructor or Rehabilitation Worker.
• Able to meet travel requirements (driving licence or alternatives).
• Able to undertake physical demands including walking long distances daily.

Responsibilities

• Build trusted relationships with people living with sight loss and assess goals and support needs.
• Conduct holistic assessments of mobility, independence, wellbeing and functional vision.
• Develop and deliver tailored rehabilitation and training programmes to build confidence and independence.
• Support clients to use assistive technology, equipment and services to achieve goals.
• Regularly review progress and adapt support plans for positive outcomes.
• Collaborate with colleagues and partner organisations to maximise impact.
• Mentor colleagues and maintain accurate records respecting safeguarding and data protection.

Skills

Mobility Instructor

Rehabilitation Worker

Travel readiness

People with sight loss experience

Colleague mentorship

Education

Mobility Instructor qualification

Rehabilitation Worker qualification

Job description

Unleash your potential - Your Career. Their Independence

Come and join us as a supportive and confident Vision Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) and be part of something life‑changing - helping people with sight loss live the life they choose.

As a Qualified Vision Rehabilitation Specialist (VRS) at Guide Dogs, you’ll empower and enable people with sight loss to develop the skills, confidence and independence they need to live the life they choose. Through personalised assessment, rehabilitation and wellbeing support, you’ll help individuals adapt to changing circumstances and achieve their goals at home, work and within their communities. The Vision Rehabilitation Specialist will be an expert in vision rehabilitation, independent living skills training, holistic assessment, and supporting people with sight loss to build confidence, resilience and independence. Our Vision Rehabilitation Specialists play a huge part in ensuring everything we do enables us to deliver on our purpose and exceed expectations.

This role sits within the Atherton Team with regular travel across Greater Manchester, Cumbria and Lancashire. You will work 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm. Some flexibility is required to occasionally work outside of core hours, including evenings and, on rare occasions, weekends.

Key Responsibilities

• Build trusted relationships with people living with sight loss, taking a personalised approach to understand their goals, strengths and support needs.
• Carry out holistic assessments of mobility, independence, wellbeing and functional vision to identify the right support for each individual.
• Develop and deliver tailored rehabilitation and training programmes that build confidence, independence and everyday life skills.
• Support clients to use assistive technology, equipment and other services that help them achieve their goals.
• Regularly review progress with clients, adapting support plans to ensure positive outcomes are achieved.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues, partner organisations and local services to provide seamless support and maximise impact.
• Share your expertise by supporting and mentoring colleagues while maintaining accurate records and adhering to safeguarding and data protection requirements.

You

You'll have a person-centred and empowering approach to supporting people with sight loss to develop their mobility, independence and wellbeing. You'll enjoy working independently and collaboratively across communities and multi-agency environments, with a dedicated focus on delivering tailored rehabilitation programmes and achieving meaningful outcomes for clients, whilst being committed to helping people live the life they choose with confidence, dignity and independence. You'll act with integrity and honesty in everything you do.

Skills and Competencies

• Qualified as either a Mobility Instructor or Rehabilitation Worker - please refer to the Essential Education/ Qualifications criteria within the attached Job Description
• Able to meet the travel requirements of the role. This may be through holding a valid full UK driving licence or alternative arrangements such as Access to Work support or public transport, if suitable for the role location.
• Able to undertake physical demands of the role, including walking long distances daily for extended periods of time, in all weather conditions. Be able to handle equipment and specialist resource required for the role.
• Proven post qualification experience of working with people who are blind and partially sighted.
• Proven experience of liaising effectively with other professionals / agencies.
• Has proven skills and approaches to work with people who have additional needs.
• Be willing to register with the Rehabilitation Workers Professional Network.

We wouldn't be able to change the lives of people with sight loss without our people. That's why it's important for us to provide a variety of benefits that reward our colleagues in a way that suits them and recognises the hard work and contribution that they make.

• 26 days annual leave. After three years of continuous employment, this increases to 28 days plus bank holidays.
• Real Living Wage Employer
• Flex pot - equal to a proportion of your annual salary to use on our wide variety of flexible benefits
• The option to buy and sell annual leave
• Discounts and cash-back scheme
• Excellent pension scheme (We will match your pension contributions plus 2% up to a maximum of 9% employer contribution)
• And lots more!

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Behind Every Guide Dog Is Someone Like You - We're passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that celebrates and values diversity. Bring your whole self to work regardless of age, disability, gender identity or reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. We don't want you to 'fit' our culture, we want you to enrich it.

Safer recruitment

Guide Dogs follow Safer Recruitment practices to ensure we are safeguarding the vulnerable people we work with. As part of this, we require a full work history with any gaps accounted for & a minimum of 2 professional referee details fully covering the past 5 years. If you are applying for a disclosure role, please note that you will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check and sign up to the DBS update service.

At Guide Dogs, we believe in fair and equitable hiring practices. A criminal record will not automatically disqualify an applicant from consideration for a position. Each case will be evaluated individually. We encourage all candidates to disclose relevant information, and we assure you that it will be handled confidentially and fairly.