Care Assistant (Casual)

If you share our values and are excited about making a significant impact at Riverside, please ensure you attach a current CV and covering letter. At Riverside we recruit to potential not just on skills and experience, so we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all the essential criteria on the job description.

The difference you will make as a Casual Care Assistant

You will provide assistance to residents in need of physical personal care and carry out individual tasks in line with residents support plans, to maintain or improve their quality of life and to be able to recognise signs of distress in residents.  You will work with the team to identify and assess positive ways to reduce distress and give residents control over their lives wherever possible.

Some of your responsibilities will include:

• To provide assistance and/or guidance where needed with personal care, e.g. taking medicines, shaving, and intensive personal or intimate care in circumstances where this is required.
• To carry out tasks including shopping, cleaning, ironing, cooking, collecting benefits and/or prescriptions, and escorting to attend appointments whilst promoting individual independence
• To monitor the physical and emotional health of customers and take necessary action
• To participate in and monitor care plans

About You

We are looking for someone with:

• Experience of working in a customer focused, residential environment, offering personal care to a diverse group of people 
• Compassion, patience, and empathy
• Flexibility to cover shifts, sometimes at short notice
• A strong customer focus
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal
• Approachable with a positive attitude 
• Excellent team player who can work flexibly to meet business requirements

Why Riverside?

One Housing Group is now part of Riverside. At Riverside, we’re a housing association with a difference – enhancing the everyday for all our customers. For 90 years, we’ve been revitalising neighbourhoods and supporting communities by providing the homes they need to live full, fulfilling and rewarding lives. 

We have a portfolio of over 75,000 affordable residential and retirement homes across the UK. Our work ranges from homelessness services to social care, employment support to retirement living, and we need the best people on board to help us.

Working with us, you’ll enjoy:

• Competitive pay & generous pension 
• Investment in your learning, personal development and technology
• A wide range of benefits

Diversity and Inclusion at Riverside: 

We are inclusive. At Riverside, we value diversity in all its forms. We foster a workplace where all individuals are respected, empowered, and heard. Our commitment to inclusivity drives our success and enriches the lives of our customers and colleagues. 

Riverside is a Disability Confident Employer and operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for any applicant who declares they have a disability. If the applicant meets the minimum requirements for the role (as set out in the role profile and/or person specification) they will be guaranteed an interview.

Role profile 

• Work as part of a committed and compassionate team, delivering an outstanding experience to customers whilst being supported by your colleagues and Line Manager
• Recognise and identify each individual customer’s needs to ensure a person-centered approach and that the customer is at the heart of everything we do by:
  • Delivering and enabling customers to meet the aspirations within their individual support plans, whilst keeping up-to-date information on customers’ changing needs
  • Providing direct personal care to customers in line with Care Quality Commission (CQC) definitions including showering, shaving, toileting, continence management and personal hygiene (training provided)
  • Helping customers to go to bed, wake up, dress and maintain their personal appearance.
  • Safely helping with customer’s mobility difficulties and using assessed equipment, aids or other manual handling equipment
  • Administering and supporting medication for customers
  • Assisting with preparation of meals, snacks and drinks where necessary
• Working with customers to provide light general household domestic duties, for example - cleaning, laundry, ironing, etc.
• Helping customers with the management of their personal affairs when this is part of their individual support plan e.g. reading letters, managing utilities, handling small amounts of money for shopping
• Communicate clearly, building trusted relationships with customers and their wider support network (family, friends, GPs, Social Worker, etc.)
• Provide companionship to customers, engaging in conversation to build genuine and trusted relationships
• Encourage customers to participate in social activities and feel part of the community
• Ensure customers are safe at all times by carrying out all of your duties within Riverside’s Policy and Procedure framework e.g. health & safety, equal opportunities, cash handling, etc
• Take pride and initiative in working with customers to meet their needs, creating a safe, comfortable and respectful living environment
• Maintain detailed, accurate records of care and medication support provided, as well as tasks undertaken
• Promptly respond to and report any concerns relating to the care, support, well-being or behaviour of customers to a manager, making comprehensive records, ensuring customer confidentiality is observed at all times
• Recognising any signs of abuse and immediately reporting them to a manager, ensuring local safeguarding procedures are followed
• Record all complaints and proactively talk through the complaints procedure with customers
• Deliver your role in line with the Riverside company values - “Our Riverside Way”

Other Information

• You will be required to work a range of shifts on a 24 hour, 7 days per week rota basis
• You will undertake regular training to enable you to deliver your role safely
• From time to time you may be required to undertake additional duties and responsibilities of an equivalent nature, in consultation with your Line Manager

Person specification

Essential

• Experience of working in a team and communicating positively with other people
• Experience of being able to organise tasks and plan accordingly whilst dealing with people
• Be caring, empathetic, flexible and have a resilient, can-do attitude
• Able to use initiative and have confidence to make and act on decisions
• Basic administrative skills & IT Skills (including proficiency in Microsoft Office)

Desirable

• Awareness of CQC standards
• Experience of providing direct care to a diverse group of customers