Social Support Worker

As part of the Trust’s staff wellbeing strategy a new dedicated support service has been developed and will be led by the trust Social Work department in conjunction with existing wellbeing and staff support services. If you are passionate about colleagues and have great knowledge on support services we want to hear from you to become a part of our project team.

The overall aim of the project is to develop a more proactive approach, eventually working with voluntary and statutory sector organisations, to support the wider social needs of staff employed within our organisation.
We required a registered Social Worker and a Social Support Worker to join a wider wellbeing service that aims to improve organisational responses to staff support.

we propose to employ one Support Worker to set up a social support service for staff that would sit alongside and complement the occupational health and health & wellbeing services. This service would focus on helping people engage with the wider social care system and provide advocacy support for members of staff, clarifying their rights, outlining good practice , preparing people for important meetings, developing pathways for targeted community led interventions and improving organisational awareness as to social themes and the impact on employment.

We wish to build on the existing wellbeing infrastructure created by Trust Wellbeing Leads and launch two new posts overseeing a new staff wellbeing project involving a formal partnership between King’s and Impact on Urban Health, a subsidiary of the GSTT Charity.

Please note these posts are initially funded for 12 months and therefore successful applicants will be employed under a fixed term contract for the duration of the project.

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King’s to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King’s is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone’s contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust’s carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Main Duties and Responsibilities
To communicate frequently with staff members so as to be able to identify their needs and attend to them accordingly
To work with individuals in the development of subsistence plans to support those whom are experiencing or at risk of experiencing financial hardship
To foster relationships with third sector organisations and link staff members and their families into appropriate charitable organisations where appropriate
To work with local partners, to develop pathways for staff members to access support and other appropriate services that are local to our hospital sites
To contribute in the assessment of housing, financial and other social themes for staff and their families whom require the oversight of a support worker
For those with identified need in the areas of housing, financial and employment to derive objectives and plans to improve outcomes in these areas for persons likely to benefit from support worker intervention
To facilitate group work and drop in sessions that disseminate best practice around housing, immigration, healthy relationships and other social themes into the workforce
To assist the wider wellbeing services in promoting existing trust offers and the accessibility of existing staff support forums
To conduct initial conversations with staff identified as benefiting from the service, to review outcomes and provide practical advice and signposting
To work with the project leads in the evaluation of the service through the completion of surveys/patient follow ups/outcome reviews
To contribute to/attend reviews and multi-disciplinary meetings and support with the recording of minutes/action trackers