Employment Development Worker - Learning Disability Charity

About this role

Job Description - Employment Development Worker Job Title: Employment Development Worker (EDW) Reports to: Dare to Dream Team Leader Salary: £26,936.00 per annum Contract: Full-time permanent Hours of Work: 35 hrs per week, Monday-Friday, 07:45 am- 3:15pm Some evening and weekend work may be required. Location: Enterprise Lodge, Stockdove Way, Perivale UB6 8TJ. This role will involve travel within Ealing and surrounding boroughs, including journeys using public transport. About Ealing Mencap Ealing Mencap is a leading charity dedicated to supporting individuals with learning disabilities and additional needs, along with their families. Our mission is to build an inclusive community where everyone feels they belong, reducing loneliness, promoting independence, and ensuring that people’s voices are heard. About Dare To Dream Dare to Dream supports adults with learning disabilities to build confidence, independence and skills for work and everyday life. We call the people who use the programme trainees. The programme provides practical learning, creative activities and opportunities to take part in employment, volunteering and community life. Role Purpose Support trainees to work towards their goals through practical activities and individual support. Involve trainees in deciding what they want to achieve and how they learn best. Work with colleagues, employers and other organisations to develop suitable opportunities for learning, volunteering and paid employment. Help trainees learn tasks, settle into opportunities and build independence. Main Responsibilities • Build trusting relationships with trainees. Help them choose goals based on their interests, strengths and support needs. • Listen to trainees and involve them in decisions. Use clear words, pictures or demonstrations to help them understand and take part. • Plan and lead individual and group activities, including creative activities. Change activities when needed so everyone can join in. • Teach skills for work and everyday life, such as shopping, travel planning, reading, writing, using numbers and technology. • Help trainees find suitable jobs, write CVs, complete applications and prepare for interviews. • Build relationships with employers and find suitable jobs, work experience and volunteering opportunities. • Help trainees prepare for work, learn tasks and settle in. Work with them and their employer to agree support and solve problems. • Work with families, carers, colleagues and other organisations to support trainees’ goals. Respect trainees’ choices and privacy. • Support trainees during community activities and journeys, following their support plans and agreed safety arrangements. • Keep clear, accurate records of attendance, goals, progress and agreed actions using Charity Log and Google Drive. • Review trainees’ progress with them. Help update support plans and risk assessments when needs or risks change. • Act promptly if someone may be unsafe. Report concerns about safety, harm or abuse, as well as incidents and complaints, and ask the appropriate manager for help. • Work as part of the team, share ideas and help improve activities. Take part in meetings, supervision and training, and carry out other reasonable tasks appropriate to the role as agreed with the Team Leader. • Show Ealing Mencap’s values in everyday work: Included, Support, Kindness, Teamwork and Honesty. Person Specification - Employment Development Worker • Experience, gained through paid work or volunteering, of supporting people with learning disabilities or additional needs to develop skills, build confidence or work towards personal goals. • A genuine commitment to helping adults with learning disabilities build confidence, develop skills and live more independently. • Able to listen carefully, communicate clearly and adapt information to meet different needs. • Able to involve people in decisions and respect their choices, interests and goals. • Able to plan and lead individual and group activities that meet people’s needs. • Able to teach practical tasks in small steps and support people to practise. • Able to help trainees prepare for work, including writing CVs, completing applications and practising interviews. • Able to build positive relationships with employers and other organisations to develop work, volunteering and learning opportunities. • Able to work well with trainees, families, carers and colleagues. • Able to stay calm under pressure, work as part of a team and ask for help when needed. • Able to organise activities, manage time and follow up agreed actions. • Confident using IT, including Google Workspace, and able to use or learn Charity Log to keep accurate records and reports. • Understands safeguarding, risk assessments and support plans, and knows when to report concerns. • Able to keep personal information safe and maintain professional boundaries. • Holds an NVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care or equivalent, or is willing to work towards it. This job description is not an exhaustive list of duties and should only be seen as a general guide. As duties and responsibilities of this post may change and develop over time, this job description is subject to amendment.