Occupational Therapist/Community Resource Worker

Vision Ireland; Waterford; Hybrid; EUR 40,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Vision Ireland invites applications for a full-time Community Resource Worker/Occupational Therapist to support children with vision impairment across the South-East from Waterford. The role blends occupational therapy, special education insights and family-centred planning.

You will travel to community settings as required and contribute to safeguarding, assessments and service delivery in line with Vision Ireland’s policies.

Qualifications

• 3rd level qualification in Occupational Therapy, Special Education or Vision Loss
• Qualification in Rehabilitation or Orientation & Mobility with particular experience relating to vision impairment
• Experience working with children with a disability and/or sight loss

Responsibilities

• Liaise with referrers and manage intake of referrals according to Vision Ireland’s agreed protocols.
• Provide in depth functional impact assessment at baseline and ongoing for appropriate referrals.
• Independently manage a caseload of children using a tiered intervention approach based on assessed needs.
• Advise and/or deliver intervention programmes for children with vision loss including universal, targeted and/or individualised strategies.
• Develop and maintain knowledge base and contribute to team learning.

Education

3rd level qualification in Occupational Therapy, Special Education or Vision Loss

Qualification in Rehabilitation or Orientation & Mobility with particular experience relating to vision impairment

Experience working with children with a disability and/or sight loss

Job description

Occupational Therapist/Community Resource Worker

Vision Ireland

Location: Hybrid / Waterford, Ireland
job type: Permanent / Full-time
Sector and subsector: Medical & Healthcare | Occupational Therapist
Salary: Negotiable salary

Location: Vision Ireland office, John's Hill, Waterford city, Co Waterford.

You will be expected to travel within the South-East region as/when required to carry out your duties.

Contract type: Full time, permanent

Hours: 37 hours per week, Monday - Friday

About The Children & Young Persons (CYP) Team

Vision Irelands Children and Young Persons Team supports children from birth, through early years and education, providing assessments and individualised intervention plans to help maximize children’s potential. The CYP team aims to meet the distinctive needs of visually impaired learners by following what is known as an “additional” “specialist” or “expanded core” curriculum.

The team have a vacancy for a full-time, permanent Community Resource Worker/ OT (CRWOT) to cover the South-East region.

The successful candidate will possess a recognised third level qualification along with knowledge of vision impairment. The CRW will work with children with vision impairments within the South-East region and surrounding areas, travelling to community-based settings or other Vision Ireland locations throughout the course of their work, when necessary.

The successful candidate will be subject to garda vetting in accordance with Vision Ireland’s Garda Vetting policy.

The Role of Community Resource Worker (CRW)

The purpose of the CRW role is to provide a quality and professional service to children with vision loss and their families to moderate the impact of vision loss and ensure children are supported to achieve their potential.

The CRW, along with their colleagues on the Children and Young Persons Team, work collectively to support and contribute to national initiatives and caseloads, travelling within the South-East region and wider areas while carrying out your daily duties.

Third level qualification in Occupational Therapy, Special Education or Low Vision is essential. Experience of working with children with a disability and/or sight loss is an advantage.

Key Relationships

Internal

• Children with vision loss and their families
• Colleagues within the Vision Ireland children’s team
• Colleagues within Life Cycle Teams & departments
• Other Vision Ireland colleagues
• Vision Ireland Volunteers

External

• Referral agencies
• Schools & colleges
• Early Intervention & School Age teams
• Other statutory and voluntary bodies

Duties & Responsibilities

• To liaise with referrers and manage intake of referrals of children according to Vision Ireland’s agreed protocols.
• To provide in depth functional impact assessment at baseline and ongoing, with all children deemed appropriate for referral to Vision Ireland services
• To independently manage a caseload of children using a tiered approach to intervention based on assessed needs.
• To advise and/or deliver intervention programmes to children with vision loss, ranging from universal, targeted and/or individualised solutions and strategies which include the following areas:

• Development/enhancement of independent living skills
• Development of compensatory skills
• Safe and independent travel skills

• To provide an appropriate level of emotional support and demonstrate empathy to families and children and refer on for further support where necessary.
• Support the co-ordination of group activities where required, e.g., group learning, peer support etc., and facilitate the inclusion of volunteers in such activities. (These activities may necessitate occasional stays away from home.)
• Provide relevant and appropriate information regarding all aspects of sight loss and how it impacts function to support families in maximising their child’s potential.
• Liaise with government, statutory and voluntary bodies in the promotion of the needs and rights of people with vision impairment and their families.
• Work in partnership with families and other professionals in all stages of service provision to ensure optimal outcomes for children with vision loss.
• To develop and maintain your own knowledge base and skills and to contribute to the team learning
• Take an active role in the development of Vision Ireland services for children working both independently and collaboratively within a skill mix team
• To contribute to policy and assist in the setting & monitoring of standards as well as evaluation of practice & service.
• Maintain case and work records to the standards required within the Organisation and comply with all Vision Ireland policies in relation to electronic record keeping, file maintenance, information sharing, confidentiality, health and safety etc.
• To be aware of and adhere to Vision Ireland and statutory Child Protection measures

General

• Be cognisant of and conform to all the Vision Ireland policies & procedures

Above responsibilities reflect the current service requirements and may be subject to amendment to meet the changing needs of the service.

Selection Criteria

Qualifications

• 3rd level qualification in Occupational Therapy, Special Education or Vision Loss
• OR
• Qualification in Rehabilitation or Orientation & Mobility with particular experience relating to vision impairment

Experience

• Experience working with people with disability or experience supporting children in a special education setting.
• Experience in functional assessments with children with strong knowledge base of child development

Other essential requirements

• Strong report writing & record-keeping skills
• Willingness and ability to travel to other Vision Ireland locations and/or community settings as required
• Excellent communication skills (professional standard of English required)
• Experience working with children with a disability and/or sight loss
• Knowledge and skills in vision habilitation is a distinct advantage.

Our Values

Vision Ireland’s core values give effect to our vision and permeate our mission and inform all of our actions to ensure that we achieve the highest standards in everything we do.

Inclusive Approach

Vision Ireland listens to people who use our services, staff members, volunteers and all other stakeholders and collaborates with them in the design and delivery of our services and all related activities.

Choice

Vision Ireland acknowledges and respects the right of people to make choices about their lives. We will do everything in our power to support people who are blind and vision impaired in exercising this right.

Openness and Accountability

Vision Ireland carries out its work in an open manner and is accountable to all stakeholders for our actions and decisions.

Pursuit of Excellence

Vision Ireland is committed to attaining excellence in everything we do through our policies, procedures and staff.

Accessibility, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Vision Ireland is committed to creating an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated, and everyone is afforded equality of opportunity. It is our policy to recognise people as a key resource required for successful attainment of the organisation’s mission. In support of this, it is important to remember that differences between people, whether devised from their different backgrounds and personalities, cultures and/or their different abilities, can be a source of strength to the organisation.

We welcome, encourage, and embrace people of all backgrounds including those with disabilities. Accessibility plays a huge part of ensuring that all our employees and service users, can access our systems and services, with ease and respect, in a supportive environment, enabling all to effectively engage our services and achieve our goals whether they are an applicant for employment or an employee requiring special facilitation.