Imago is a long established, well respected and effective charity working across Kent, Medway, East Sussex and London to deliver a range of services to individuals, voluntary and community organisations, the public and private sector.
Our mission is to promote, develop and facilitate social action, support independence and empower communities. User and volunteer engagement, leadership and involvement in decision making are core principles.

We deliver a wide range of services in partnership with funders, public sector commissioners and private sector sponsors to children and young people, older people, carers, and volunteers.

Underpinning our work is a commitment to excellence, evidencing impact and safeguarding vulnerable people.

Imago offers a competitive remuneration package consisting of salary, contributory pension, healthcare benefits and 25 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays.

Full training will be provided for the right applicant, a compassionate and positive outlook and a desire to make a difference to the lives of young people in Kent is more important than previous experience

Current Vacancies:

3 x Full Time vacancies across East Kent

Purpose of Role:
To work with colleagues to successfully deliver and develop a range of exemplary, innovative and responsive services to support Young Carers and disabled children. To provide proportionate and holistic assessments of the needs of disabled children and to develop support plans. To run a range of respite activities for disabled children accessing our Short Breaks programme.

Main Duties:
• Receive referrals from the Central Hub and assess level of need

• To support disabled children and their families to plan how they would like to live their lives and create support plans to achieve these outcomes, reviewing regularly

• Deliver local ‘Chill Clubs’ that are focused youth groups

• Signpost appropriately in accordance with agreed action plan

• Identify local universal respite and short breaks for disabled children

• Support disabled children to access mainstream community services

• Recruit and manage volunteers to support disabled children

• Work with community partners to identify opportunities for disabled children

• Assist with and ensure any Safeguarding concerns that occur within the project are dealt with appropriately with the support of Imago’s Safeguarding Lead

• Give a voice to disabled children through awareness raising and identification

• Work in partnership with the Young Carers team, education, health, youth services, voluntary sector, early help, social care providers to ensure they comply with the related legislation, and are able to identify, assess and support Young Carers and disabled children within their own setting

• To undertake regular evaluation of the services provided ensuring that Young Carers experiences are at the heart of evaluation

• Keep up to date with issues affecting disabled children [both nationally and locally]

• Attend training, team meetings and regular supervision

• Any other tasks and responsibilities that may be identified as necessary as the service evolves and develops

• Support the effective delivery of all activities during each session

• Develop effective relationships with parents/staff/volunteers where appropriate

• Assist with the training and development of a team of young volunteer buddies

• Encourage the participants and volunteers to join in with activities and interact with the group

• Support with the planning for each short break activity

• Consult with young participants and volunteers to ensure service is user led

• Support with completion of risk assessments where required for short break activities

• Assist with the completion of required monitoring for each activity

Qualities/skills:

• Ability to work independently, organising work to meet targets, objectives and deadlines

• Ability to stay calm in a crisis and be measured in your response; be non-judgemental and measured in your actions

• Excellent oral communication and level of numeracy, literacy (GCSE A–C or equivalent or demonstrable experience)

• A commitment to equal opportunities, diversity and making services accessible to all sections of the community

• Excellent computer skills, including the use of social media

• Hold a current driving licence and have access to own transport is essential

Desirable Experience:

• A desire to work with young people on a one to one basis and in groups

• A broad understanding of the issues affecting young carers and disabled people

Post is subject to references and an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check

Please either submit your CV with a short covering note outlining your CURRENT SALARY

Imago recognises that many people in our society experience discrimination or lack of opportunity for reasons that are not fair. These include: race, religion, creed, colour, national and ethnic origin, political beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability (including mental illness), HIV status, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity/paternity status, responsibility for dependants, appearance, geographical area, social class, income level or criminal record.
Imago aims to create a culture that respects and values each other’s differences. Imago sees these differences as an asset to our work as they improve our ability to meet the needs of the organisations and people we serve. We proactively seek to increase opportunities for inclusion, and celebrate diversity across our organisation and within the communities we serve.