Recruitment

2 x Lead Practitioner (Young People and Self-Directed Support) vacancies
Hours : 2 x 31 hour posts
Duration : Fixed Term until 31st March 2021 (ongoing employment dependent on funding)
Salary : £29,206 per annum pro-rata (FTE 39 hours)
Closing Date : Monday 29th April 2019

We have two part time vacancies for Lead Practitioner posts within Thistle’s young people’s team (Thistle YP – previously ‘InterAct’). These will be based at Thistle Centre of Wellbeing, Craigmillar, with travel within Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian, and occasional travel across Scotland.

Do you want to create a more equal society, and enable young disabled people to have fulfilling, valued lives, walking shoulder to shoulder with everyone else? Thistle YP puts young people at the centre of decisions made about their lives, working alongside them to discover and progress what matters to them.

These exciting posts will play a crucial role in helping young disabled people and their families find their direction and stay on course for a life that makes sense to them after school. As part of Thistle’s new self-organised young people’s team you’ll get involved in every aspect of our work with young people. You might be alongside young people and families as an informal advocate as they navigate the system, whilst helping them to broker imaginative solutions for the future using both paid and non-paid resources. You might also be coordinating drama sessions within schools, setting up work traineeships, developing young people as ‘changemakers’ to influence change for others, or coordinating large group planning or peer support for families. You’ll have access to support to develop your skills; the team is supported by a Thistle Coach and the Thistle Hub (learning, HR, finance etc).

To get a sense of some areas of our work with young disabled people, please watch our short film at: InterAct film 2015

Some of the main responsibilities for these roles are:
• Person centred, strength-based work with young disabled people and their families to take greater control and move into the adult life that makes sense to them
• Collaborating with project partners to deliver a range of approaches to enable young disabled people to envisage their future direction and take greater control of their life
• Providing informal advocacy to support young people and families to navigate social care and education systems, ensuring their voice is central to decisions made
• Brokerage – supporting young people and families to identify, understand and access options, resources and supports (including financial) in line with their aspirations and hopes
• Continually gather quality evaluative material and stories, and use learning both in reporting and to influence change around inclusion and opportunities for young disabled people
• Holding an overview of all Thistle YP activities and ensuring these are planned and delivered

Some of the main tasks rotated regularly around team members are:
• Education – manage and support partnerships with theatre company and schools across Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian. Develop relationships and work with senior and front line education partners.
• Big Plan – liaise with schools, young people and families to recruit teams for Big Plan, coordinate and link with families throughout. Recruit and support Group Supporter volunteers. Coordinate facilities needed for plan and liaise with facilitation partners.
• Changemaker – coordinate and develop opportunities for young people and families to contribute their lived experience to influence change for others. Identify and work with interested individuals, supporting their learning to develop confidence and ability to influence change.
• Traineeships – coordinate with traineeship partners to provide interested young people with work opportunities on an ongoing rotational basis. Set up initial visits, link past and current participants, link with employers’ quality systems and provide ongoing additional support to participants to
• reflect on learning and link to their hopes for the future.
• Families – coordinate family forum and bi-annual Support your Way sessions with partners, supporting families to access peer support and understand funding choices
• Strategy – raise the profile of the work and influence change at local and national level. Represent the work at relevant fora, and maintain active links with local authority and third sector partners.
• Financial sustainability – monitor project budget and spending, liaise with finance to report on a bi-annual basis. Identify ongoing funding opportunities to sustain and develop work.
• Team development –identify training needs and plan training, organise and facilitate reflective practice, maintain contact with coach and organise team coaching meetings.

Have you worked with people in ways that are person centred, asset based and outcome focused? Do you have an understanding of health & social care systems and processes? Do you have the ability to negotiate multiple perspectives, keeping what matters to the person at the heart? Have you worked with people to access community resources, looking beyond traditional services?

If so, we would like to hear from you!

Some of our other staff benefits include…..
 a contributory pension
 The “Refer a Friend Scheme” which pays £150 for every successfully recruited person that a staff member recommends (this is paid once the employee has completed their 6 month probation period.
 Free access to the Thistle Gym.
 FREE membership* of the HSF Health Plan which gives, amongst other things (join once probationary period has completed)
o money back for everyday healthcare costs,
o a GP advice line,
o shopping discounts.

Thistle Foundation is an Equal Opportunities Employer

The successful candidate will be subject to a PVG check which will be paid for by Thistle.