<p> VOCAL Advocacy</p><p>JOB DESCRIPTION</p><p>Job Title: Support Planning Project Lead </p><p>Responsible To: Vocal Manager</p><p>Salary: £26,500 per annum (pro rata)</p><p>Hours: (part time) 20 hours per week </p><p>Holidays: 5 weeks per annum + statutory holidays (pro rata)</p><p>Location: Base in Dartington/ work from home</p><p>1 Key Purpose of Job</p><p>To promote, develop and deliver a quality support planning project to adults with learning disabilities and/or communication difficulties living in Devon and Torbay who wish to control their personal budget. Project funding for is for 2.5 years.</p><p>2 Dimensions</p><p>Staff: Management of staff and volunteers Budget: management of non-pay project funding</p><p>3 Key Result Areas</p><p>To develop a support planning service and to ensure -  Adults with learning disabilities and/or communication difficulties are enabled to have more choice, more control and more independence and are able to exercise their rights.  That this is enabled by the use of multimedia and other specialist tools for communication with people with complex needs  Staff and volunteers are regularly supervised and given appropriate line management and practice guidance.</p><p>4 Key Duties  Responsibility for the development of an independent support planning and brokerage service to adults with learning disabilities and/or communication difficulties living in Devon and Torbay.  Develop appropriate systems, quality standards and risk management processes for this new service, which enshrine its independence and ensure freedom from conflicts of interest.  Develop a comprehensive bank of information and resources about support planning and personal budgets  Market the project in a variety of ways to engage potential users of this new service  Co-produce support plans with clients, monitor and evaluate them  With Vocal’s management committee, develop outcome measures which provide appropriate information about the effectiveness of the service.  Operate a risk register for the project’s activity  Recruit and train support planning facilitators and volunteer community connectors  To give appropriate line management, practice guidance and regular supervision to staff and volunteers  Ensure that all communication is accessible and appropriate to individual needs..  Ensure all personnel adhere to safe working practices.  To manage a non-pay project budget and use VOCAL resources in a cost effective and efficient way.  Raise awareness and understanding of VOCAL’s work within the South & West Devon community.  Keep accurate and up-to-date activity records and statistics.  Provide regular monthly reports to the Manager and/or as required.  To give presentations to organisations, funders and potential users of the service.  In the absence of the manager fulfil delegated duties/tasks including attendance at and facilitation of meetings.  Under direct supervision of manager or management committee investigate complaints as per Vocal policy.  To undertake additional duties as required, commensurate with the level of job.</p><p>5 Key Working Relationships</p><p>Clients / Staff / Volunteers / Manager Statutory, Voluntary and Independent Agencies Families / Carers Funders / Customers 6 Other Information</p><p> All staff must commit to Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discriminatory Practice.  The post-holder is expected to familiarise themselves with and adhere to all VOCAL’s Policies and Procedures.  The post-holder must comply with VOCAL’s Health and Safety requirements.  All applicants who are offered employment will be subject to a check from the Disclosure and Barring Service before the appointment is confirmed. Criminal convictions will only be taken into account when they are relevant to the post.</p><p>June 2015 Support Planning Project lead Person Specification</p><p>Feature Sought Essential Desirable Measure Ability to enable people to Skills and identify their needs, and Application Effectiveness assess the most appropriate Form solution and/or provider and Interview address risks Undertake risk assessments and produce an action plan to manage risks identified, so that people are able to retain choice and control Ability to provide guidance and support to people on how to be informed consumers/purchasers of services and support and empower clients to broker their own support needs Ability to keep clear concise and objective records and analyse statistical information, identifying and reporting trends. </p><p>Report writing skills.</p><p>Be able to use different media to support communication. </p><p>To be able to communicate and interact positively and supportively with people, their colleagues and parents, carers and other professionals including commissioners of the service.</p><p>Able to use a computer. </p><p>To be able to manage working alone without direct supervision and a proven ability to manage a wide and changing case load. </p><p>Use of a car/ own transport</p><p>To have understanding of Knowledge of systems within Knowledge issues related to disability and Statutory Authorities. Application disadvantage. Comprehensive knowledge of Form knowledge and understanding local community information, Interview of the Mental Capacity Act networks and resources 2005 wide knowledge of housing understanding of the options, including local social personalisation agenda and housing and supported the concept of, and housing providers approaches to, person-centred Understanding around planning potential issues of “conflicts Knowledge and understanding of interest”. of the Care Act 2014 To have understanding of organisational systems required within a project to ensure safe effective delivery , including record keeping, quality standards / monitoring and risk registers Experience / To have experience of working Experience of setting up a Achievements with people with new service from scratch Application communication difficulties or Form learning disabilities, their Relevant academic Interview families and support networks. qualifications and/or training.</p><p>Proven ability to build a team Experience of developing with paid and volunteer staff support plans Experience of managing staff Experience of costing and and volunteers pricing services to be brokered either by the Experience of producing individual or on their behalf. information and guidance for Experience of developing or clients (for example on how to implementing organisational choose services, being an processes and record keeping employer and money Experience of operating risk management) registers</p><p>Experience of developing and Experience of investigating implementing person centred complaints plans</p><p>Personal Qualities Passion for upholding people’s Application rights. Form Interview Able to work on own initiative and as a member of a team.</p><p>Possess excellent organisational and time management skills.</p><p>Ability to work flexibly and under pressure.</p><p>Confidence to support people to question and challenge decisions.</p><p>Ability to constructively engage with management in supervision </p>