Job Description

Job Advert- Carer Support Coordinator Health

Employer Carers' Support East Kent (CSEK)

Reporting Line: Team Leader - Health

Hours/Contract Term: 37.5 hrs/Permanent

DBS: Enhanced DBS

Location: Based at the Kent & Canterbury Hospital and some working from home, hybrid

Salary 24,864

About the role

A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a Carer Support Coordinator -Health to join our team working from the Kent & Canterbury Hospital. Reporting to the Team Leader - Health, this role is pivotal to raising awareness of Carers, their needs and our services and providing information and support to deliver best outcomes for Carers

Being at the Kent & Canterbury Hospital for much of your working week will enable you to

Identify Carers as early as possible

Ensure Carers are proactively offered support

Actively involve Carers in plans for hospital care and discharge for the person they look after

Connect to support in community

The rest of the week will be working from home, following up with Carers and professionals to see how things are progressing and to put in any further support to help Carers in their caring role.

You will work collaboratively with internal and external colleagues to achieve this. This is a great opportunity to work closely within the NHS hospitals to support the hospitals with discharges from the hospital and ongoing support to Carers.

The service aims to provide up to two weeks practical support to Carers following hospital discharge.

If you are looking for an exciting opportunity where no two days are the same, where you will start your day by reviewing priority cases, for Carers in need of help, working through problems for them, it is a very rewarding role, working in a friendly supportive team

To be successful you will have:

Good standard of numeracy & literacy

Experience of engaging with people with a wide range of health and social care needs

Experience of dealing with confidential and sensitive issues

Awareness of the needs of Carers and those with care needs

Awareness of the voluntary and statutory sectors

An understanding of the challenges for Carers at the time of a health crisis

Knowledge of current legislation and developments relating to health and social care and the Care Act.

Ability to make informed decisions to ensure the best possible solutions and outcome for Carers and the cared for person

Ability to work within professional boundaries in a non-judgemental way

Problem solving skills

Resilience, ability to readily adapt to changing situations and the management of day-to-day work pressures

Experience of providing information to enable individuals to make informed choices

Ability to assess Carers needs and involve individuals in decision making and support planning

Ability to communicate effectively

Ability to empathise with carers circumstances and manage emotional and difficult situations

Ability to present information in a variety of way to meet the needs of different people

Ability to manage expectations and work within boundaries and limitations of the role

About Carers' Support East Kent

Carers' Support East Kent is a charity that provides Carers with the information and support they need. Our services are available to people looking after a relative or friend, who due to physical or mental illness, age related difficulties, disability, or an addiction, cannot manage without their support.

Caring can be rewarding but also challenging. Each situation is different, but we know that caring brings practical, physical, and emotional challenges. We care about the health and well-being of Carers and provide information, support, and signposting/referral to services to help with those challenges.

We provide information and support for Carers and carry out statutory Carer assessments on behalf of the Local Authority.

To be considered for the role please submit an up-to-date CV and covering letter including a supporting statement of no more than 2 sides of A4 outlining your suitability for the role according to the person specific. We cannot consider applicants if these are not provided

Valid Driving Licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes, to be insured for business use purposes is essential for this post

Please do not apply if you have applied for this post less than 6 months ??

We may close this job opportunity early if we receive enough applications.

Carer Support Coordinator - Health

TITTLE

Carers Support Coordinator-Health

SALARY

24,864

CONTRACT TYPE

Permanent

DBS

Enhanced DBS

HOURS

37.5 hrs

EMPLOYED BY

Carers' Support East Kent

RESONSIBLE TO

Team Leader-Health

LOCATION

Hybrid working

,

The Kent & Canterbury Hospital and working from home.

OVERALL, JOB PURPOSE

To identify Carers through our Carers Hospital Service and work with other Health services and teams, as part of the Health and Care Partnership in East Kent to provide Carers with the information and support they need.

This role involves:

working as part of the Rapid Transfer Team within the acute hospitals in East Kent and with other services providing health and care, including but not limited to Community Health Service providers & GP Practices, Social Care and VCSE Services.

raising awareness of Carer's Rights and the importance of identifying and supporting Carers needs

working as part of multi-agency teams to coordinate care and support to meet the needs of Carers

promoting our Charity and the support it provides for Carers

CARER SUPPORT COORDINATOR - HEALTH, KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

CORE DUTIES

Work as part of multi-agency teams to:

identify Carers within East Kent Hospitals and other healthcare settings

facilitate successful hospital discharge/work to avoid re-admission both where a patient is a Carer or the person the Carer supports is a patient

meet Carers needs and personal outcomes through provision of information, support and assessment to Carers. This will include facilitating brokered services and personal budgets as appropriate to meet their needs and making referrals to other agencies.

Promote the importance of recognising and supporting Carers and CSEK's services and support for Carers at every opportunity

To achieve this, you will:

Develop positive relationships and work as part of multi-agency teams with Health, Social Care and VCSE partners and CSEK colleagues.

Attend multi-agency meetings e.g. hospital hub meetings and multi-disciplinary meetings in other health care settings and input into discussions and decisions about care, support and discharge.

Meet with Carers as appropriate at the hospital/in healthcare settings or in their homes/community venues. (Risk assessments to be carried out as appropriate)

Gather and share as appropriate, information about the Carer, the person they care for and their circumstances to inform the discharge and assessment process and support the Carer's needs.

Process and make referrals to and from other agencies (both statutory and non-statutory) on behalf of Carers to meet identified needs or agreed outcomes.

Complete agreed actions and communicate updates to Carers and colleagues/partners in a timely manner, to ensure co-ordinated support for Carers.

Advocate for Carers as appropriate, this may include for example Best Interest meetings in person or dialogue with the Carer and health professionals at the hospital/in a healthcare setting.

Support Carers to develop confidence and skills

Process and make referrals to and from other agencies (both statutory and non-statutory) on behalf of Carers to meet identified needs or agreed outcomes.

Ensure records and databases are updated in a timely manner, in accordance with all established policies, procedures and guidelines and produce written reports as required.

Develop and maintain a network of contacts across the statutory, voluntary and independent sector in order to increase own effectiveness and knowledge of services and activities for Carers locally

Work as part of the CSEK team to:

represent the organisation at meetings or events

support continuity of delivery of services to Carers by supporting other activities/tasks for example in periods of peak demand/absence of colleagues

contribute to case studies, impact reports and newsletters to promote CSEK's services and support

identify gaps and trends in services to help shape future developments/sharing of information with stakeholders

As an individual:

Be proactive and have a "can-do" attitude

Proactively manage your own health, wellbeing, and resilience to ensure you can provide consistent, quality support to those who use our services.

Work to standards of best practice and embed our values in your work and practice.

Keep abreast of internal policy updates and of new or emerging legislation, policy and best practice in areas of health & social care of relevance to Carers

Ensure all organisational policies and procedures are adhered to, including (but not limited to) Safeguarding, Confidentiality, Equal Opportunities, Data Protection and Health & Safety, including lone working

Attend and contribute to CSEK's team meetings and events on a regular basis to share information, experience and contribute to the overall success of CSEK.

Other

Any other duties in line with the overall responsibilities of the role and CSEK services and at the request of the Management and/or Senior Leadership Team.

This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of duties but is intended to reflect a range of duties the post holder will perform. The job description will be reviewed annually and may be amended following discussion with the post holder, to consider changes and developments

Any appointment will be subject to satisfactory references and an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Confidentiality

Due to the nature of this work the post holder will often be party to highly confidential and very personal matters - they must therefore be committed and able to always maintain the very highest standards of confidentiality.

Person specification

Experience

Essential

Good standard of literacy & numeracy

Experience of working with people with care needs and/or Carers

Experience of dealing with confidential and sensitive matters

Experience of working to policies and procedures

Experience of engaging with people with a wide range of health and social care needs

Desirable

Experience of advocating on behalf of others

Experience of multi-agency and a partnership working approach

Experience of working within a hospital/healthcare environment

Qualifications

Essential

A good standard of general education, literacy and numeracy

Ability to demonstrate relevant experience

Desirable

NVQ/QCF in a relevant subject e.g. Health & Social Care, Advice & Guidance

Knowledge

Essential

Awareness of the needs of Carers and those with care needs

Experience of using Microsoft Office programmes and database or information systems

An awareness of the voluntary and statutory sectors

An understanding of the challenges for Carers at the time of a health crisis

Knowledge of current legislation and developments relating to health and social care and the Care Act.

Desirable

Some understanding of key issues and developments across Health & Social Care

Knowledge of welfare benefits and services available to Carers

Awareness of how care funding works and applies to Carers and those with care needs

Knowledge of current legislation and developments relating to the Care Act

Knowledge of Carer's rights

Knowledge of energy support available

Skills and abilities

Essential

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with ability to manage difficult and emotional situations empathetically and be approachable and non-judgemental.

Ability to develop positive professional relationships with other services/organisations

Highly organised working methods with an ability to write and update clear & accurate records

Ability to use IT effectively including email, Microsoft Office programmes e.g. Word, Excel, Teams and experience of using data bases

Ability to maintain confidentiality

Ability to use your initiative and work independently and as part of a team

Ability to plan, prioritise and manage workload/competing demands.

Solution focussed / problem solving ability

Emotional & physical resilience, ability to readily adapt to changing situations and the management of day-to-day work pressures

Good self-awareness and commitment to continuous professional development

Committed and enthusiastic

Decision Making & Mental Skills

Essential

Problem solving skills

Emotional & physical resilience, ability to readily adapt to changing situations and the management of day-to-day work pressures

Experience of providing information to enable individuals to make informed choices.

Ability to assess needs and involve individuals in decision making and support planning.

Desirable

Experience of providing support involving complex family dynamics and relationships that have a bearing on the lives of Carers

Interpersonal & Communication Skills

Essential

Ability to work effectively as part of a team and on own initiative

Ability to empathise with Carers circumstances and manage emotional and difficult situations

Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of people

Personal Qualities

Essential

Integrity (high standards of integrity, honesty, and fairness to help to deliver an excellent service to Carers)

Strong interpersonal skills, approachable, open and non-judgemental, ability to develop rapport with Carers, co-workers and professionals

Service focused (to respond to the needs of Carers in a timely and appropriate manner to maintain the required level of service)

Committed and enthusiastic

Organised and flexible

Physical Skills

Essential

Ability to sustain a demanding work schedule, lone working and work outside office hours if required

Initiative & Independence

Essential

Ability to work independently, organise, plan and manage own workload

Ability to prioritise work and deal with competing demands

Ability to liaise effectively and to influence others in a professional manner

Other Skills & Competencies

Essential

Able to follow processes and record data and information accurately

Awareness and commitment to equal opportunities and diversity, able to work to our high organisational standards and meaningful application of these principles in relation to carers, work colleagues and other organisations

Other

Valid Driving Licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes, to be insured for business use purposes.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: 24,864.00 per year

Benefits:

Company pension
Licence/Certification:

Driving Licence (required)
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 05/12/2025