Overview

Despite the challenges that Adult Social Care has faced within the last 12 months, our approach in Buckinghamshire has not been to take shelter and wait for the storm to pass. Instead, we have chosen to transform and restructure Adult Social Care so we can respond to a crisis as well as build for the future. We have created more roles in Social Work and Occupational Therapy; we are adapting to work much more closely with the community and support people near to where they live; we have developed a new career progression framework to encourage staff ambition and development; finally, to establish the conditions to deliver outstanding practice, we have reduced the numbers that managers supervise and the caseloads the team have, to allow for more contact with our residents.

Initiated in 2019, our strength-based practice model, ‘Better Lives’, has been improving outcomes linked to independence, developing social connections, and improving areas that are important to the residents we support. Now in 2021, we are looking to refresh our Better Lives Strategyand develop our aspirations further.

About us

In April 2020 Buckinghamshire Council became the UK’s newest council. Meaning the residents of Buckinghamshire will be now be served by a single, unitary council. Buckinghamshire is an ambitious, rapidly growing county, and our economy is one of the strongest in the country.

We are looking for motivated, ambitious and inspiring people to join us on our journey.

About the role

To ensure the highest standards of service are provided to the residents of Buckinghamshire, Occupational Therapists will ensure:

• Work in accordance with the Better Lives framework
• Promote and deliver goal-based support people to achieve greater independence
• Promote equality as an integral part of a role and treat everyone with fairness and dignity
• Provides a proactive personalised approach to the delivery of care and practice
• Respond to people’s needs in a timely manner
• Focus on improving people’s well-being
• Give people greater choice and control over the care that they receive
• Take account of people’s risks and safety at all times, identifying mitigations to reduce that risk
• Support people to achieve the outcomes that are most important to them using all available resources and taking responsibility for the public purse
• Provide personalised information and advice, safeguarding, assessment, support planning and review to individuals/families and their carers

Any-Desk:

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements*.

• subject to current Government Covid-19 Guidance

About you

Naturally, you will be a great people person, familiar with working to a strength-based approach where you think outside of the box and enable people to prevent, reduce or delay the need for care. Bringing your in-depth knowledge of the latest legislation and statutory guidance, you’ll work independently and with colleagues to support adults and their families. Persistence and an adaptable approach is needed in an outcome focused way with partners such as health services, community sector, housing, care providers and other stakeholders.

If you'd like to hear from our current Occupational Therapy team, visit our Bucks Careers pages Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Other information

Interviews will take place Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons.

Part time hours may be considered.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

You will be required to apply for a DBS at an enhanced level. Further information about the DBS Scheme can be found at GOV.UK

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidanceand the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice(see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining us, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

We know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Business Unit

Our Occupational Therapy services have undergone a significant transformation in the last few years. As we adapt to working more closely with the community and supporting people near to where they live, we have created more roles in the team to fulfill the demand for Occupational Therapy support. In 2020/21 alone, 6,399 residents were provided with equipment to help them feel safe and confident in their homes and remain as independent as possible.

We have developed a new career progression framework to encourage staff ambition and development, and to establish the conditions to deliver outstanding practice, we have reduced the numbers that managers supervise and the caseloads the team has. This has allowed us to have more contact with our residents.

If you are a great people person, familiar with working to a strength-based approach where you think outside of the box and enable people to prevent, reduce or delay the need for care, Occupational Therapy is one of the most rewarding services in our Adults and Health directorate.

We recognise and reward you

In these challenging times, we must remain connected as a team. From day one, you’ll be offered a ‘buddy’ who will be a friendly face to support you through your induction and new working world. The wellbeing of our colleagues is very important to us and we encourage you to take control of your work-life balance and adopt a flexible approach where possible.

We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements.

Benefits of working for Buckinghamshire:

• Competitive salary inclusive of Market Factor
• ‘Golden Hello’ lump-sum payment of £2000 paid on successful completion of your probationary period
• Up to 25 days’ annual leave (plus bank holidays) rising to 30 days (plus bank holidays) after more than 5 years’ service
• An attractive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Relocation allowance up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)
• New Car Lease Scheme
• Development opportunities in key areas of specific lead roles, giving you the opportunity to learn new skills and to develop your practice
• Travel discounts with Arriva
• Access to our corporate health and wellbeing services offering free confidential advice on a wide range of issues
• Discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops, Microsoft Home Use Programme, gym memberships and much more: https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/