Personal Advisor

Job Title:

Personal Advisor

1. Context and Purpose of the Job

Hold an allocated caseload and be responsible for the provision of direct services to care leavers. Personal Advisors will be responsible for managing some complex and high risk cases and delivering high quality practice in all allocated cases to improve outcomes for young people 18 years 24 years old and ensure a multi-agency approach to supporting vulnerable young people by working to national legislation, policy and guidance within the borough's procedures and team/service plan objectives and standards. To be responsible for recording all activity on ICS accurately and in a timely manner so that departmental records are consistently correct and all activity can be properly accounted for.

Complete Pathway Assessments and Plans and provide practical and supportive services based on those assessed needs, subsequent plans and risk manage complex cases held. Provide individual personal support and advocacy to young people based on an assessment of their learning and personal development needs. Negotiate by agreement to refer young people to partner agencies for on-going support.

The young people will have a wide range of strengths, difficulties and challenges. Some will be self-motivated, pro-active and require less support than others but with many challenges for the Personal Advisor to support with. Other Care Leavers will require a high level of support and risk management. There will be occasions where language barriers, anger management issues, mental health conditions and lack of engagement will be encountered. Therefore Personal Advisors should possess the ability to work alone as well as part of the team, be pro-active as well as creative and be able to respond to shifting dynamics, levels of need and risk in all circumstances.

2. Key accountabilities/duties/responsibilities:

The seven key roles of a Personal Advisor are to:

• engage with young people to identify and address their needs, strengths and risks, complete Pathway Plans, offering information, advice, guidance, risk management and support on learning and career options and personal development opportunities, with a view to raising the aspirations and outcomes of each young person;
• to motivate, promote and sustain life quality improvements with each young person via creative direct work and utilising appropriate agencies and other linked professionals;
• work with and support education and training organisations and employers in meeting the needs of young people;
• develop and/or use a network of voluntary, statutory and community agencies, and commercial bodies to ensure a coherent approach to support for the young person;
• work with parents, carers and families to support young people in accessing learning and other personal development opportunities;
• manage information effectively to facilitate the process of meeting the needs and risks of young people;

• review and reflect upon own individual professional practice to achieve continuous improvement and actively engage and respond to monthly key performance data requirements

Key Accountabilities Specific for This Post:

• Provide structured and individual support to young people using the Pathway Planning process to create an individual plan with agreed personal development targets.
• For Level 1 Personal Advisor, the ability to undertake Age Assessments and Human Rights Assessment is essential.
• Actively engage young people in decision making about their future choices and enable their development into effective adults by providing impartial support, advice and guidance.
• Identifying the appropriate manner in which to communicate with young people, and their parents and carers, specifically where special needs or risk has been identified and traditional communication methods are unsuitable
• Work within a diverse range of formal and informal settings to support young people and manage risk.
• Manage a caseload of young people, regularly review their progress and assess the level of support required through regular review of pathway Plans.
• Work with parents, carers and families to ensure that they are appropriately engaged in the support process.
• Develop a thorough understanding of available local provision and make appropriate referrals. Respect professional boundaries within specialist support services while putting the young persons needs first, monitor and track their progress providing additional support as necessary.
• Act as an advocate on behalf of young people and support them in their interaction with learning and social support agencies.
• Develop areas of expertise with respect to particular young peoples needs, risks or circumstances as appropriate.
• Identify needs, risk and strengths and help provide and inform the provision of imaginative learning programmes aimed at those not engaged in learning.
• To be available for supervision and appraisal by the relevant line manager in order to assess the progress of work, make decisions about the management of cases, plan future activity and provide information about work undertaken.
• Manage a caseload as well as actively support cases held by social workers.
• Be available for the duty rota system to enable effective cover for all of the teams cases.
• To be actively involved in the development of the team, enhancing service quality and provision.
• To undertake any other duties deemed appropriate for the role.

4. Promotion Of Corporate Values

• To ensure that customer care is maintained to the agreed standards according to the councils values
• To ensure that a high level of confidentiality is maintained in all aspects of work.
• To encourage and develop optimum performance from staff and underline the corporate approach to customer needs as reflected in the councils structure and style.

5. Flexibility

In order to deliver the service effectively, a degree of flexibility is needed and the post holder may be required to perform work not specifically referred to above. Such duties, however, will fall within the scope of the post, at the appropriate grade.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Knowledge, training and experience

• Children Act 1989 and 2004 and DOH Guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children. (E)
• Child Abuse enquiries. (E)
• Children Leaving Care Act 2000 (E)
• Housing Legislation (D)
• Mental Health legislation (D)
• Welfare Benefits (D)
• Immigration Legislation (D)
• Direct Work with Young People (E)
• Assessment Skills and Managing Risk (E)
• Integrated Childrens System (D)
• Experience of working with young people and families in a variety of settings. (E)
• Experience of statutory work including Child Protection and Risk Management. (D)

Skills

Planning, organising and controlling skills

• Effective organisational skills. (E)
• Relevant IT skills and ability to use electronic recording systems. (E)
• Effective needs and risk assessment, planning and decision making skills which incorporate the management of risk. (E)

Communication and influencing skills

• Ability to work in partnership with other professionals and families.(E)
• Ability and commitment to work as a member of the team with a flexible and creative approach towards carrying out duties. (E)
• An ability to establish and maintain appropriate professional boundaries with colleagues, partner agencies and service users. (E)
• Good written, presentation and verbal reasoning skills. (E)

Initiative and Innovation skills

• Ability to manage complex and risky situations, change and stress. (E)
• Ability to evaluate and prioritise information received and take timely and appropriate action to ensure young people are safe. (E)

Special Requirements

• Holds current driving licence. (D)
• Willingness to work beyond office hours as and when necessary. (E)
• Ability to travel. (E)

Place of work