Purpose of the Post.
• Ensure that the people of Gwynedd are at the heart of everything we do.
• Helping vulnerable individuals to live their lives in the way they want to live.
• Assess the needs of adults and their carers in accordance with the requirements of the Social Care and Well-being Act 2014 and other relevant legislation and guidelines.
• Providing an Information, Advice and Support service to citizens to enable them to meet personal objectives.
• Helping people identify solutions, prevent dependency and promote independence.
• Providing information regarding the supportive resources available in the community, from the third sector, the Council and the Health Board in order to enable citizens to live as independently as possible and improve their quality of life.
• Ensuring that the needs of individuals are met in accordance with the Council's safeguarding arrangements and the statutory responsibilities.
Responsibility for functions . e.g. staff, budgets, equipment
• Finance - Providing practical and appropriate advice and guidance to service users to facilitate effective financial management in the Service.
• Equipment – Responsibility for any specialist equipment used to carry out the job
Main Duties
Level 1 – Newly Qualified Occupational Therapist (General Duties)
• Practice within the relevant legislative frameworks and guidance that underpin the provision of social services in Wales
• Apply the Code of Professional Practice as a registered professional
• Consolidate and develop the skills and knowledge gained through formal qualification through mentoring and guidance of experienced practitioners.
• Attend relevant first 3 years in practice workshops and complete the Consolidation Programme. Work with mentor to develop practice.
• Actively participate in regular reflective supervision and consult with your line manager and other experienced colleagues. Continue to develop your social work practice through ongoing reflection.
• Manage and be accountable for your own work
• Work collaboratively within multi-disciplinary and multi organisational teams, networks, and systems with guidance from your line manager and other more experienced colleagues.
• Exercise professional judgement and decision making increasing in complexity within the first 3 years of practice through mentoring and supervision from your line manager or guidance from more experienced colleagues.
• Manage ethical issues, dilemmas, and conflicts, with guidance and support increasing in complexity during the 3 years.
• Prepare and present professional reports and records through guidance from your line manager and more experienced social workers, ensuring information is correct, consistent and shared safely and appropriately
• Support and empower people to participate in decision making processes
• Advocate with and on behalf of, individuals, families, carers, groups and communities
• Work collaboratively with people in need of care and support, their carers and other professionals increasing in complexity throughout the 3 years
• Undertake strength-based assessments and practice in a way that promotes self-determination, independence and empowerment under the guidance of your line manager or other experienced colleagues and co working on more complex cases.
• Undertake outcome focussed assessment using a ‘What Matters ‘conversation to identify what is important to that individual, eligible needs and to develop outcome focussed plans that facilitate care and support with guidance from you line manager and other more experienced colleagues and co working on more complex cases.
• Prepare, produce, implement, and evaluate plans with individuals, families, carers, groups, communities, and professional colleagues under guidance from your line manager or more experienced social workers.
• Identify, assess and investigate an Adult or Child at risk in accordance with relevant legislation and the Wales Safeguarding Procedures guided by line manager or more experienced colleagues and co-working on more complex cases.
Level 2 – Occupational Therapist (General Duties)
• Practice within the relevant legislative frameworks and guidance that underpin the provision of social services in Wales
• Apply the Code of Professional Practice as a registered professional
• Maintain up to date knowledge and maintain own professional development
• Develop social work practice through supervision and reflection
• Manage and be accountable for your own work
• Work collaboratively within multi-disciplinary and multi organisational teams, networks, and systems
• Exercise professional judgement and decision making in complex situations
• Manage ethical issues, dilemmas, and conflicts in complex situations
• Prepare and present professional reports and records ensuring information is correct, consistent, and shared safely and appropriately.
• Support people to participate in decision making processes
• Advocate with and on behalf of, individuals, families, carers, groups and communities
• Work collaboratively with people in need of care and support, their carers and other professionals in complex situations
• Undertake strength-based assessments and practice in a way that promotes self-determination, independence, and empowerment.
• Undertake outcome focussed assessment using a ‘What Matters ‘conversation to identify what is important to that individual, eligible needs and to develop outcome focussed plans that facilitate care and support.
• Prepare, produce, implement, and evaluate plans with individuals, families, carers, groups, communities, and professional colleagues.
• Identify, assess and investigate an Adult or Child at risk in accordance with relevant legislation and the Wales Safeguarding Procedures,
Level 3 – Lead Occupational Therapist (General Duties)
• Practice within the relevant legislative frameworks and guidance that underpin the provision of social services in Wales
• Apply the Code of Professional Practice as a registered professional
• Maintain up to date knowledge and maintain own professional development. Support colleagues with their development through mentoring.
• Develop social work practice through supervision and reflection. Support colleagues at different points in their career with ongoing reflection through individual or group reflective practice activity
• Manage and be accountable for your own work
• Work collaboratively within multi-disciplinary and multi organisational teams, networks, and systems. Advising colleagues on complex areas of work through the mentoring role.
• Exercise professional judgement and decision making in complex situations.
• Support colleagues at different points in their career to develop confidence around professional judgments through the mentoring role.
• Manage complex ethical issues, dilemmas and conflicts in complex situations.
• Support social workers at different stages of their careers with managing more complex issues through the mentoring role.
• Prepare and present professional reports and records ensuring information is correct, consistent, and shared safely and appropriately. Support social workers at different stages of their career with developing their report writing and record keeping skills through the mentoring role.
• Support people to participate in decision making processes
• Advocate with and on behalf of, individuals, families, carers, groups and communities
• Work collaboratively with people in need of care and support, their carers and other professionals in complex situations, supporting colleagues with advice and guidance at different stages in their career.
• Undertake strength-based assessments and practice in a way that promotes self-determination, independence and empowerment and support colleagues with advice and guidance at different stages in their career. Support social workers at different points in their career around this area of work through the mentoring role.
• Undertake outcome focussed assessment using a ‘What Matters ‘conversation to identify what is important to that individual, eligible needs and to develop outcome focussed plans that facilitate care and support.
• Prepare, produce, implement, and evaluate plans with individuals, families, carers, groups, communities, and professional colleagues. Support social workers at different points in their career around this area of work within a mentoring role.
• Identify, assess and investigate an Adult or Child at risk in accordance with relevant legislation and the Wales Safeguarding Procedures. Support social workers at different points in their careers with developing their skills and decision making around working in safeguarding within a mentoring role.
• Be a role model and share good practice, advice and support to enable team colleagues, less experiences social workers to develop their careers. This will include mentoring, co-working on cases and supporting the services quality assurance be auditing and sampling files and practice and advising social worker colleagues on specialist areas of work within the mentoring role.
Local Duties
Undertake manual handling work and teach families/carers how to use the equipment safely.
Address the sensory side with children introducing strategies to help with the difficulties.
Delivering workshops all over Gwynedd to parents on awareness of what the problems of sensory processing are and how this can look .
Promote sensory awareness within Gwynedd council/specialist schools and events such as eisteddfodau etc through workshops/presentations.
Work closely with RSL's and grants department to achieve small and major modifications to extension standard.
Being part of meetings that senior employees usually attend as there is no senior representative on behalf of our profession when it comes to children. This would look at Derwen OT stucture, meetings to discuss money from an equipment perspective.
A detailed assessment of the child and all the family to ensure that a New Modification / move/property meets the needs of all the family and not just the individual.
Have an extensive awareness of the complex cases and some very rare conditions to understand the needs of the child, work jointly with a large number of agencies to come to understand the condition and level of care required, special equipment etc.
Using a detailed knowledge pool of how the condition is affected by other difficulties e.g. how 'sensory integration' correlates with conditions such as autism and how this feeds into an assessment and understanding of the young person's behaviour.
Refer ahead with a detailed request for modifications or support to move through Housing Options / New Property planning. Visit empty houses and support the family with further assessment on empty properties and refer for further adaptations if suitable.
Attend specific meetings of grants, conversions, special housing
Work closely with housing agencies and developers to create a specific plan for families and children with disabilities that reaches the child's long-term future care needs of an adult. Collaboration at a housing strategic level. Complete house developments. Visit building site and share specific views of equipment / socket site etc.
Jointly assess with other agencies/professionals e.g. physio / health OT to find a solution with equipment / moving and handling/ movement within the property and outside to ensure the right equipment / adaptation is provided.
Collaborate with a special equipment 'rep' e.g. a special bath, and more unique equipment and visit family and young person to assess with the right equipment for the need.
Use sensitivity with unexpected conditions and work with family to cope with diagnosis and how to support them with future care needs.
Provide a detailed and complete assessment with a comprehensive report on cases in the field of child protection / legal challenge.
Refer to other agencies and charities to support equipment application / provision of general household and specialist equipment e.g. washing machine / bakery etc, energy charities, support moving out of properties for a period during conversion work.

Additional Duties
• Responsibility for self-development.
• Ensure compliance with Health and Safety rules in the workplace in accordance with the responsibilities noted in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Council’s Health and Safety Policy.
• Operate within the Council’s policies in relation to equal opportunities and equality.
• Responsible for managing information in accordance with the Council’s information management guidelines. Ensure that personal information is treated in accordance with Data Protection legislation.
• Commitment to reducing the Council’s carbon emissions in accordance with the Carbon Management Plan, and to encourage others to act positively towards reducing the Council’s Carbon Footprint.
• Undertake any other reasonable duty which corresponds to the salary level and responsibility level of the job.
• Responsibility to report any concern or suspicion that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused.
Special Circumstances . e.g. the need to work unsociable hours, special working arrangements etc.
• Working unsocial hours occasionally as required.
• There will be an expectation for the post holder to be part of any arrangements that are established on a rota basis.
The above indicates an outline of duties only, in order to give an idea of the level of responsibility entailed. This job description is not exhaustive in detail, and job duties may change from time to time without changing its fundamental n