Befriending and Assessments Officer 'KiT'

The Link Visiting Scheme is a growing local charity whose mission is to reduce chronic loneliness and social isolation in Wokingham Borough, to promote friendship and improve the health, well-being, and independence of our older residents. Our stakeholders include our clients who we call "Link Friends", our fantastic team of volunteers and the generous organisations and individuals who fund our work.

A core aspect of our pathway consists of establishing one-to-one connections between a Link Friend and a volunteer, either face to face or over the phone. We are looking for a highly personable and confident individual with a passion and belief in the importance of friendship and connection and the transformational effect this can have on an individual. This role will include working with individual Link Friends to develop a personalised plan to ensure we can meet our target of reducing, delaying, and preventing the need for statutory services. An understanding of the challenges facing vulnerable adults is essential along with the ability to liaise and communicate effectively with our team, volunteers, family members, voluntary sector colleagues and partners in the statutory sector.

CORE ASPECTS OF THE ROLE

Working with Link Friends

® Through home visiting, ensure completion of thorough assessments of new and existing Link Friends, highlighting any issues with the manager and assessment team

® Working with the assessment team and volunteer manager ensure the careful matching of the volunteer with the Link Friend as part of our existing processes

® Through regular phone calls and visits and working with volunteers, develop a longterm relationship with a caseload of our most highly vulnerable Link Friends to ensure ongoing support is accessible for them and to prevent an escalation of needs leading to crisis

® With a thorough knowledge of the voluntary sector and to prevent an escalation of need, effectively signpost Link Friends to organisations

® Ensure the strict implementation of our safeguarding policies and procedures.

Working with the team

® Commitment to ensuring equality and diversity, helping all to feel included

® Thorough risk assessments are performed and implemented for the safety and benefit of staff, volunteers, and Link Friends

Monitoring

® Using our outcome tools ensure information is collected, updated on our database, and evaluated for monitoring purposes

® Collect anecdotal evidence via written case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of our service

® Liaison with family members, carers, and other health professionals to deliver best outcomes for service-users, Our mission is to reduce chronic loneliness and social isolation in Wokingham Borough, to promote friendship and improve the health, well-being, and independence of our older residents. We celebrate and honour our senior citizens and offer a range of friendship services enabling them to establish new relationships and feel they can be an integral, important part of the community again.

Through improving the lives of this frequently over-looked group of people, we also support carers, local health and public services and residents who serve as volunteers and so contribute to the well-being of our wider community. Working within our pathway from loneliness to social integration, key services include:

® In-home befriending where we carefully pair older people with volunteers to form meaningful and lasting friendships

® Group and community-based activities and events designed to enable older people to broaden their friendship networks and connections with the wider community

We currently support some 500 older people in our community every week, helped by over 360 volunteers. We are a long-established local charity with an excellent reputation. We work closely with the borough and local councils, healthcare providers and other local charitable organisations. Demand for our services has increased considerably since the start of the

® Experience of working with older people either in a paid or voluntary capacity preferred.

® Knowledge of the voluntary sector and experience either as a paid employee or volunteer

® Personal or professional experience of people living with dementia preferred

Skills and abilities

® Excellent interpersonal skills both written and in person

® Excellent understanding of confidentiality and professional boundaries

® Ability to work independently, and as part of a small team and to prioritise workload with timescales and targets

® Ability to handle difficult situations with sensitivity

® Confident and proficient IT skills. This role involves confident use of excel and our database.

® Full drivers' licence and use of a car

£25,000 - £27,000 a year - Permanent