Support Assistant

Coventry City Council; England; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Part time

Job summary

A local government authority in England is seeking compassionate support workers for Brandon Wood Farm, a facility for adults with learning disabilities and complex needs. The role involves outdoor work and caring for animals, offering part-time hours spread across Monday to Friday. Ideal candidates should have excellent communication skills and a flexible, patient approach. The position is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, requiring a satisfactory DBS check. This is part-time work with a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

Competitive rewards and benefits package

Guaranteed interview scheme for specific groups

Qualifications

• Must be able to spend most of the day on your feet.
• Enjoy working outdoors in all weather conditions.
• Ability to demonstrate and adapt communication skills as needed.

Responsibilities

• Support individuals displaying challenging behaviors.
• Identify and respond to the changing needs of service users.
• Care for animals at Brandon Wood Farm.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Ability to support individuals with complex needs

Flexible and patient approach

Job description

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

We have a simple vision and strategy that defines what we are trying to achieve, our purpose and our approach which underpin the principles of Adult Social Care, and we continue to work in support of this.

In a simple sense all our work, at whatever level should continue to support the strategy of: Providing support, in the least intrusive manner possible, based on the assets, resources and abilities that are available to people.

Our Values

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do.

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

What is the job role?

Brandon Wood Farm is a day opportunity for adults with a learning disability, autism and/or complex needs, located on the border of Coventry and Warwickshire. We support people that may not be able to access community activities due to their complex needs and behaviours. This is why the unique tranquil spacious setting gives us the opportunity to support people who are sensitive to sensory overload.

Our garden areas allow service users to grow vegetables, fruit and plants. We also have a small number of farm animals that service users/staff care for. Additionally, we have some indoor groups that will require your imagination and planning skills.

We are currently recruiting for three positions offering 24, 30 and 31.5 hours per week spread across Monday‑Friday, within the service hours of 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM.

All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Who are we looking for?

You will need to be able to spend most of the day on your feet, enjoy working outdoors in all weathers, have a flexible, patient, and non‑judgemental approach to your work, be able to use influencing skills, and able to demonstrate and adapt excellent communication skills.

In further detail, your key duties and responsibilities will be to:

• Able to appropriately support individuals who may sometimes display behaviour that challenges the service.
• Able to identify and respond to the changing needs of people who use services and communicate this or any areas of concern to the appropriate person.
• Able to support individuals/groups to care for animals at Brandon Wood Farm
• Always treat the person with dignity and respect, and involve them in the decision‑making about their support.

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long‑term health condition

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview dates: 3rd & 4th February

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting‑edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.
At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies