Under the guidance of the Unit Manager the Officer will support, promote and develop the service to increase the number of Shared Lives carers who would be able to support service users in range of settings across Bedford Borough.

Work with Teams, Professionals and Carer’s to widen the service user groups that Shared Lives will support. The post will involve working in various locations in Bedfordshire.

The post is for 37 hours and may involve working evenings and weekends.

• Promote the service across the authority.
• Recruit Shared Lives carers across the Borough
• Look at a range of Communication tools to promote the service.
• Ensure the service is working in line with regulatory responsibilities.
• Develop the skills of carers to meet the changing needs of service users.
• Engage in feedback from service user groups.
• Safeguard carers and service user.
• Adhere to policies and procedures of Bedford Borough Council.

Shortlisting Criteria: 

• Must have a good standard of education. NVQ level 2 or 3 in Care or equivalent.
• Experience in Shared Lives or related Care Sector setting or similar experience of working with people with disabilities.
• Good organizational, coordination, project management, IT and time management skills.
• Be able to demonstrate good communication, written and oral skills when dealing with a range of professionals, carers and service users.
• Ability to work with, present to arrange of professionals and service user groups to promote the ethos of Shared Lives.
• Understanding and experience of recruitment processes.
• Ability to work alone in a range of settings and able to work on own initiative and under pressure.
• Commitment to principles of equality and diversity and empower the needs of different service user groups.
• Ability to follow policy and procedures and apply to own working practice.
• Driving License and use of a car for business purposes, or be able to otherwise demonstrate the ability to travel to sites around the Borough in an efficient manner.

Closing Date: 1st April 2025

Interview Date: 17th April 2025

How to apply

When you are ready to apply, click on ‘Apply for Vacancy’; you will be asked to upload a CV and answer some application questions.  The application questions require a yes/no response.  Please make sure your CV shows how you meet the requirements for the role you are applying for, the job profile below will show the essential selection criteria.  An optional CV template is provided below.  

Please note:

The Council will not normally re-employ ex-employees in receipt of:

· a severance payment (within 12 months of leaving)

· a local government pension (applies to Senior Officers only) unless the appointment is business critical

Bedford Borough Council are proud to support the Armed Forces Covenant, Disabled Applicants and Care Leavers Covenant. For more information please visit https://www.bedford.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/why-work-us/working-culture-and-commitments