Job Vacancy: Assessment and Support Executive

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Specialisterne Ireland logo

Assessment and Support Executive

Specialisterne Ireland is a specialist employment and support service for young adults with autism and similar challenges such as Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, ADHD etc. It is seeking to recruit an Assessment and Support Executive to work with neurodiverse candidates to prepare them for fulltime employment. And, also to work with students for internship employment placements. This position is to boost Specialisterne’s support services throughout Ireland. The person appointed will be responsible for the assessment and support of neurodiverse candidates, preparing them for employment and supporting them in that employment.

The new Executive will report to the Operations Manager and will support the Specialisterne team generally while overseeing their own active case load. Specialisterne this year with the Support of the Dormant Account Funds and other supports is seeking to support up to 180 neurodiverse candidates from across Ireland to gain skills for long term employment. It is currently working with over 60 people who are already in employment and 50 others at various stages of assessment. The initial contract will be for 12 months with the potential for this to be extended, subject to successful review and funding.

Specialisterne is a professional organisation providing the highest level of advice and support in line with good organisational policy and regulations.

Job Purpose: The Assessment and Support Executive will be responsible for successfully identifying, assessing, placing, and supporting neurodiverse people with autism or similar challenges in employment.

REQUIREMENTS:

  1. At least 2 years’ experience of working with people who are neurodiverse ideally coupled with a relevant qualification in psychology, education, disability, social work, human resources or a relevant related field.
  2. Experience in providing support services to neurodiverse individuals.
  3. Knowledge of the best practices in support services to individuals with developmental disabilities.
  4. Knowledge of recruitment and employment practices applying to people with disabilities would be an advantage.
  5. Experience of providing support to such people.
  6. Excellent interpersonal skills: demonstrated ability to interact professionally with neurodiverse people, families, other Specialisterne team members and other organisations.
  7. Strong administrative, computer, organizational, written, listening and verbal communication skills
  8. Experience with web content creation and a working knowledge of social media would be an advantage.
  9. Ideally possess a full driving licence.

Responsibilities:

  • Work with the Specialisterne team and other partner organisations to identify individual candidates for whom the Specialisterne model would suit.
  • Interview preparation skills and mock interview with candidates.
  • Provide detailed assessment of candidates’ potential for work. This includes observing individuals social and technical skills, discussing your observations with your colleagues and with the candidates themselves, recommending developmental plans to enable candidates reach their potential in terms of employment, monitoring progress and providing further advice as needed and completing appropriate paperwork.
  • In cooperation with candidates to create achievable employment development goals and to monitor progress towards those goals.
  • On the job support to candidates, their employer, and a work ‘buddy’ on site or virtually.
  • Produce and manage all paperwork associated with a candidate’s support.
  • Provide support for candidates and their families and attend relevant meetings or other events.
  • Conduct assessments and make referrals to other organisations or professionals to ensure individuals receiving services are receiving the best advice and support.
  • Provide consultation and training to potential employers.

Remuneration will match the skills and experience of the successful candidate.

Please forward your CV to peter.brabazon@specialisterne.com Website at www.specialisterne.ie

By Monday 9th August at 6pm

Specialisterne Ireland CLG is an Equal Opportunities Employer. Charity Number: 20200622

Supported for Growth by “The Ireland Funds”

 

Working from Home tips for Candidates – Security

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Protect your personal data (tips from our Partners at Pobal.ie):

Devices

• Take extra care that devices are not lost or misplaced.
• Make sure all devices have necessary updates- including operating systems and software/antivirus updates.
• Ensure your computer, laptop etc. is used in a safe location where you can keep sight of it and minimise who else can view the screen.
• Lock your device if you have to leave it unattended for any reason.
• Make sure your devices are turned off, locked, or stored carefully when not in use.
• Use effective access controls; multi-factor authentication, strong passwords etc.

Emails

• Follow any applicable policies in your organisation around the use of email.
• Use work email accounts rather than personal ones for work-related emails. If you have to use personal email make sure contents and attachments are encrypted and avoid using personal or confidential data in subject lines.
• Before sending an email, double check that you are sending it to the correct recipient.
• Covid-19 phishing scams – attackers are taking advantage of the pandemic by sending phishing emails. These can do real harm to your organisation. If you receive such an email, evaluate it and verify email with the sender before interacting with it.

Network Access

• Where possible only use your organisation’s trusted networks and comply with any organisational rules and procedures about network access, login and, data sharing.
• If working without network access, ensure locally stored data is backed up securely.

Paper Records

• Where working remotely with paper records, take steps to ensure their security and confidentiality, such as by keeping them locked in a filing cabinet or drawer when not in use, disposing of them securely (e.g. shredding), and making sure they are not left somewhere they could be misplaced or stolen.
• If you’re dealing with records that contain special categories of personal data, you should take extra care and only remove such records from a secure location where it is strictly necessary. See https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/organisations/know-your-obligations/lawful-processing/specialcategory-data for more details on special categories of data.
• Where possible, you should keep a written record of which records and files have been taken home, in order to maintain good data access and governance practices.

Working from Home tips for Candidates – Wellbeing

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Breaks:

• Take regular breaks as you would on-site in their entirety, don’t cut them short. Breaks serve an important function in improving concentration and focus, and allow us to stand and stretch when spending time working at a desk.
• Spend lunchtime doing something immersive, for e.g. do some jobs around the house or cook dinner etc rather than putting the TV on, as it helps to keep the brain in focus.

Reach out for support:

• Don’t’ be afraid to increase the frequency of check-ins with your managers and Specialisterne staff should you have any questions/ need support, so that you don’t feel isolated and can remain productive
• Outside of working hours keep in touch with friends/colleagues on non-work-related topics so as not to feel isolated.

Don’t burn yourself out:

• While it is really important that you are strict with yourself and stick to your schedule, don’t over-do it as burn out often happens when people forget to finish work and end up working extra hours.
• If possible, get some fresh air e.g. in the garden or go for a short walk outside of working hours

Working from Home tips for Candidates – Workspace

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It is important that you look after yourself while working from home during this time. When we work from home it is easy to get into bad habits and become immersed in work, and this can be counter-productive. Or you may experience the opposite and find it hard to focus and remain as motivated as you would on-site. To avoid this, we suggest a few things around expectations and best practices for remote working:

Workspace:

• Candidates need to have a clear workspace with comfortable seating and no distractions. If you find something is distracting you (e.g. personal mobile phone), this should be put away during working hours.

Routine:

• It is very important to keep a regular routine while working from home. Try to get up at the same time as normal and get dressed/have breakfast and then go for a little walk in the place of your normal commute to the office.
• Set a schedule and stick to it. This might mean setting an alarm as a reminder.
• Your work day hours are the same as normal, and candidates should still take his/her lunchbreak as normal.