Job Description

EMPLOYERS

Rayleigh and Rochford Association of Voluntary Services [RRAVS]

Castle Point Association of Voluntary Services [CAVS]

 Job Title:               Community Support Advisor

Reporting to:         RRAVS CEO  / Executive Assistant, CAVS

Place of work:       Southend Hospital /employer offices (RRAVS Rayleigh, CAVS Benfleet,)

Salary:                   £16,264 per annum

Hours:                   25 hours per week – contract to 31 March 2026

Purpose of Post
Assisting residents who live in Rayleigh and Rochford District/Castle Point/ on returning home from an admission in hospital.

Liaising with Southend Hospital staff (discharge department and the frailty wards) to assist with patients prior to discharge to identify and discuss issues that may need to be considered to support their immediate needs and wellbeing once home, as well as further avoiding readmission back into the acute hospital setting.

Developing trusted conversations with patients, their family or carers will be key and will focus on ‘What Matters To Me and Making Every Contact Count.  Providing a friendly and personalised service to support non-clinical or domiciliary care needs.

Underpinned by the teams at RRAVS and CAVS, who actively work to understand the assets present in their locality, this role will contribute to the development of a more holistic integrated service, helping individuals, as well as healthcare professionals to support the transformation agenda, with a focus on prevention and wellbeing.

Main Duties
There will be four Community Support Advisors aligned to both RRAVS and CAVS, two predominantly based in the hospital setting and the other two in the office of the organisations. (Six roles in total).  The Community Support Advisors will work closely together in providing support and care to ensure that a patient’s needs will be identified whilst in hospital, addressed and met upon returning home.

The Community Support Advisors will not be replacing the roles of the clinical or social care professionals but will be intrinsic to working with them and other external community support services, as appropriate to the needs identified.

The Community Support Advisors will liaise with discharge and social care professionals to contribute to the required support needed for those patients who are being considered for discharge.  The Community Support Advisors will be of assistance in identifying non-clinical or social care requirements that need consideration for both the return to their home and potentially for the longer term thereafter. Support may include initial shopping, prescription collection, signposting to other agencies if there are financial or other factors that are adversely worrying the patient.

The Community Support Advisors will establish prior to discharge whether the family members will be taking an active part in the support and care of the individual upon returning home.  Where the family will be actively caring for their relative, the Community Support Advisors will be a contact point for them when they return home, which will reassure them of discharge care, as well as providing a non-clinical contact point, should they have any questions once their relative is home.

If a person returning home has no family member to assist, the Community Support Advisors will discuss with the patient any issues or concerns that they wish to raise.  They will the action directly appropriate resources with external community support provision and/or link with other professionals, as appropriate.

In addition to the support being provided pre-discharge, the Community Support Advisors will make contact with the resident two days after returning home to ‘check-in’ to ensure all is well.  Thereafter further calls will be made after seven and thirty days to ensure welfare.  The resident will have been given the contact number of the Community Support Advisors upon discharge, so that they have a trusted non-clinical point of contact, once home.

As appropriate and according to the resident’s wellbeing, the Community Support Advisor will identify if the resident would like to engage in being connected to community groups for practicable and emotional support, activity, and companionship.

Person Specification
Candidates will have a caring, confident and personable approach that encourages patients to discuss their circumstances, needs and concerns.  Good communication and listening skills will be an imperative not only for the patient but also to ensure that relationships with team members and other professionals are developed.

It will be important to be self-starting, flexible and adaptable and to have a natural ability to be responsive to circumstances that will change continuously because of the nature of individuals’ and system needs.

Strong administrative skills will be required, as will the need to ensure that confidentiality is held in the highest regard and always maintained by following process and procedures that will feature in this role.

Candidates will be required to have their own transport and be familiar with the geography of the district that they are supporting.

Hours would be either 10am – 3pm or 11am – 4pm – Monday to Friday for the hospital role and 9.30-2.30 – 3 days per week for the office role

A DBS check will be undertaken for those successful applicants.

Interested applicants should email info@rravs.org.uk to request an application form and specify which position they are applying for.

Closing date: 5pm on Tuesday 10 June 2025

Interviews: Week Commencing 16 June 2025