Enabling Independence Officer (Occupational Therapy Team)

About the Borough

The London Borough of Sutton is situated less than 30 minutes by train from Central London, with direct connections to London Victoria and London Bridge. Found in zone 5 with good transport links in and out of London, Sutton boasts award winning parks and open spaces, low crime rates, affordable housing and great schools. As well as high levels of resident engagement and satisfaction, providing quality services and success in addressing our financial challenges, whilst involving residents in key issues and high street changes.

Sutton is continuously investing in the health, wellbeing and education of our residents and the future generation, as set out in the “Ambitious for Sutton” corporate plan. We are home to the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research. Together with the development of the London Cancer Hub, Sutton will be the world’s leading life-science district, specialising in cancer research and treatment. Our vision will create around 13,000 jobs while contributing £1.2bn to the UK economy each year, a vibrant community of scientists, doctors and innovative companies intended to deliver real benefits for cancer patients and drive economic growth. With the regeneration of the local areas with new homes and schools, Sutton is passionate about working closely with our residents and vulnerable groups to help them maintain their independence and create a balance between support and independent living.

The Council is seen as a driving force within the South London Partnership of five outer south west London boroughs focused on strategic growth, regeneration and investment. As we strive to improve our services and spaces for our residents as set out in the ‘Ambitious for Sutton’ corporate plan, Sutton aims to shape the future of the borough and adapt to the needs of its residents to make our Borough a great place to live, work and raise a family.

About the Service and Team

Guided by the Team Manager and Principal Occupational Therapist, the new Occupational Therapy Hub in Sutton unifies Occupational Therapy and Sensory services within social care. The Hub will provide professional leadership and support for practitioners, while offering career development opportunities, including apprenticeships and a unique Preceptorship for new or returning therapists. Sutton is proud to be one of the only London boroughs to have launched an Occupational Therapy Preceptorship, to support and develop people who are newly qualified or returning to practice. The Hub focuses on strength-based assessments to enhance independence and well-being, covering a wide range of support from reablement, assessments for disabled facilities grant, optimal care, to housing needs assessments, making it a comprehensive service for the community.

About the Role and Our Ideal Candidate

We are seeking Enabling Independence Officers (EIO) to join our Occupational Therapy Team at Sutton Adult Social Care. The role is based in the Occupational Therapy Hub (OT Hub), primarily completing occupational therapy assessments and reviews. Our goal is to empower adults to live as independently as possible, and we are looking for individuals with the necessary skills to help us achieve this mission. As an EIO within the OT Hub, you will utilise your Trusted Assessor skills and experience to deliver strength-based and preventative support for our residents.

Your duties will include:

• Conducting assessments with our residents to ascertain their occupational therapy needs.
• To ensure the provision of effective advice and guidance following assessments.
• Providing appropriate equipment and minor adaptations to enable our residents independence.
• Making recommendations for simple major adaptations.
• Collaborating with social workers, healthcare providers, and the NHS to ensure that our service users receive the best possible care in accordance with the Care Act.

With the guidance and support of Occupational Therapists and OT Managers within the OT Hub, you will be responsible for managing a caseload of residents with occupational therapy needs, and compiling support plans to inform your interventions. Your role will be vital in enhancing our residents' quality of life and wellbeing individuals. If you are passionate about making a difference, have strong interpersonal skills to build effective relationships and can show empathy and sensitivity towards individuals facing difficult circumstances, we want to hear from you.

Adult Social Care is undergoing a significant transformation to address the rising demand for our services. We're implementing wide-ranging changes to improve care for adults and create positive working environments for our staff. We have new leaders and experienced managers who bring innovative ideas to the service and are driving meaningful changes throughout your service delivery. Our goal is to deliver exceptional care that enhances outcomes for our community whilst providing an inclusive, diverse and stable environment for staff to grow their career.

We expect the successful candidate to have:

• Trusted Assessor Level 3 training and/or experience - we offer the opportunity to train and reach Assessor Level 4
• Prior experience in conducting assessments in an occupational therapy setting
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and policies pertaining to social care and occupational therapy
• Ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary team.
• Excellent communication skills to effectively interact with residents, their families, and relevant professionals
• An understanding of issues related to safeguarding and protection of adults.
• Continuous professional development to stay updated on best practices in the field of social care and occupational therapy

Learning and development will be supported by your supervisor and the wider management team. You will receive regular supervision to encourage reflective practice in identifying areas of improvement. As a Borough, we are committed to building a workforce that is empowered with knowledge to work autonomously and provide the valuable care service to the residents of our community. We want you to be a part of our journey.

Our Offer to You

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits to enable staff to achieve a work life balance, some of which include:

• A generous annual leave entitlement of 26-31 days plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply) depending on service and grade
• Enhanced Maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption and dependents leave
• Two volunteering days per year
• Flexible Working - Smarter Working Scheme (dependent on the role)
• Adjustable and agile working arrangements using Google Chromebooks
• Learning and development portal offering a range of courses
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Confidential health & wellbeing and counselling support

Application Process

Apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application and check your CV details have been uploaded correctly in the relevant sections.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

As part of our award winning Diversity Programme we anonymise all applications received to reduce conscious and unconscious bias enabling every application to be reviewed on the knowledge, skills and experience shown in your application. We encourage our interview panels to be as diverse as possible (age, cultural, neurodiverse etc.) to reduce bias where possible. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.

Additional Information

We are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough and we strive to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and instil a sense of belonging in our staff. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce, therefore we welcome applications from under represented groups.

To support our workers and their families we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are also proud to be a disability confident employer and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role. As an accredited London Living Wage Employer all our employees are guaranteed the London Living Wage regardless of their length or type of contract.

The UK has a points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance. Sponsorship availability varies and is subject to eligibility requirements and budget limitations. As a result, we cannot guarantee sponsorship for all roles and will evaluate sponsorship requests on a case-by-case basis.