Support Assistant (Category 2.5 Sheltered Housing)

Portsmouth City Council; Portsmouth; On-site; GBP 11,000 - 14,000; Full time

Job summary

Portsmouth City Council is recruiting a Support Assistant for a Category 2.5 Sheltered Housing Scheme at St Johns Court. You will join a team under the Scheme Manager, with induction and ongoing training to support residents.

You will assist with daily tasks, meals, and personal care when needed, document care plans, manage basic cash handling, and help run social activities. Flexible 22.5 hours weekly, including early mornings, evenings and some weekends.

Qualifications

• Must be caring and able to communicate well with residents.
• Ability to assist with domestic tasks and personal care in emergencies.
• Good numeracy and written communication skills.
• Comfortable working in a sheltered housing environment and handling cash.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day help to residents as needed.
• Liaise with care agencies, Adult Social Care, GPs, chemists and families.
• Conduct safety checks and support Scheme Manager in activities.
• Serve meals and handle cash where required.
• Document residents' support plans and update records.
• Promote social activities within the sheltered scheme.
• Work 22.5 hours per week on a rota, including weekends and bank holidays.

Skills

Caring nature

Active listening

Professional approach

Written skills

Numeracy

Domestic help experience

Personal care assistance

Moving and handling

Team player

Independent working

IT skills (Word/Outlook)

Flexibility

English speaking

Tools

Microsoft Word

Outlook

Job description

You will be working in a Portsmouth City Council Category 2.5 Sheltered Housing Scheme. The current vacancy is at St Johns Court, although you may be required to work in another Category 2.5 sheltered scheme if there is a need.

You will be part of a Support Assistant team under the supervision of the Scheme Manager who will provide you with the induction and guidance that you need to gain confidence in the role. This is in addition to other training available to assist you in your personal development.

As a Support Assistant, you will provide residents with day-to-day help according to need. This for example may involve domestic help or personal reassurance. Where support is needed, you will liaise with care agencies, Adult Social Care, GPs, chemists and families of residents. You will need to be able to deal with any emergencies and on occasions, this will involve assisting some frailer residents with personal care issues, as well as being able to manage challenging behaviour from time to time.

You will spend time with residents to understand their support needs, documenting your learning on residents' support plans as well as updating residents' records at the time as appropriate. You will be involved in the serving of meals to residents, and this, as well as some other activities, will require you to handle and account for cash collected from the residents.

Part of your duties will be to assist the Scheme Manager with ensuring the security of the building and the carrying out of various health and safety checks. You will also support the Scheme Manager in promoting and facilitating social activities in the sheltered scheme.

You will be working 22.5 hours per week as part of a rota, Monday to Sunday including Bank Holidays, with the earliest shift commencing at 7am and the latest ending at 10pm. There will be periods of time when you are working alone in the scheme. You will be expected to work flexibly to meet the demands of the service and to cover leave and other staff absence to ensure the delivery of the sheltered housing service.

Skills:

You need to:

• Have a caring nature, enjoy talking to people and have good listening skills.
• Have a professional approach to your work.
• Have good written skills and basic numeracy.
• Be prepared to provide domestic help to residents who require support, and in an emergency, with their personal care.
• Be physically able to participate in moving and handling tasks.
• Be a good team worker, have the confidence to work alone and to deal with challenging situations in a calm manner.
• Have basic IT skills - e.g. basic use of Microsoft Word and Outlook.
• Be flexible and reliable. Although mainly working in one scheme, you will be prepared to work in other schemes to meet the needs of the service. You also need to be flexible with your hours in order to meet the demand and needs of the service within the scheme in which you are working.
• The ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.