Location: Vision Ireland Office, John's Hill, Waterford.
Contract type: Full time, permanent
Working hours: 37 hours per week, 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday. Hybrid option available for 2 days per week.
Closing date: 5pm on 19th February 2025
Vision Ireland Services is an organisation which provides support and services nationwide to people experiencing sight loss. We also provide a range of services to public and private organisations to ensure their services are accessible to people who are blind and vision impaired.
About The Role
The CRW will work with children who are blind and vision impaired within the South-SouthEast area and surrounding wider areas. The successful candidate will, along with their colleagues on the Children and Young Persons Team, work collectively to support and contribute to national initiatives and caseloads; therefore, you will be required to travel while carrying out your daily duties.
Purpose of the post
To provide a quality and professional service to children with vision loss and their families to moderate the impact of vision loss and ensure children are supported to achieve their potential.
Key Relationships:
Internal:
* Children with vision loss and their families
* Colleagues within the Vision Ireland children's team
* Colleagues within Life Cycle Teams & departments
* Other Vision Ireland colleagues
* Vision Ireland Volunteers
External:
* Referral agencies
* Visiting Teacher Service
* Schools & colleges
* Early Intervention & School Age teams
* Other statutory and voluntary bodies
Responsibilities
* To liaise with referrers and manage intake of referrals of children according to Vision Ireland's agreed protocols.
* To provide in-depth functional impact assessment at baseline and ongoing, with all children deemed appropriate for referral to Vision Ireland services.
* To independently manage a caseload of children using a tiered approach to intervention based on assessed needs.
* To advise and/or deliver intervention programmes to children with vision loss, ranging from universal, targeted and/or individualised solutions and strategies which include the following areas:
* Development/enhancement of independent living skills
* Maximising residual vision
* Development of compensatory skills
* Communication skills & assistive technology
* Safe and independent travel skills
* Environmental adaptation
* To provide an appropriate level of emotional support and demonstrate empathy to families and children and refer on for further support where necessary.
* Support the co-ordination of group activities where required, e.g., group learning, peer support etc., and facilitate the inclusion of volunteers in such activities.
* Provide relevant and appropriate information regarding all aspects of sight loss and how it impacts function to support families in maximising their child's potential.
* Liaise with government, statutory and voluntary bodies in the promotion of the needs and rights of people with vision impairment and their families.
* Work in partnership with families and other professionals in all stages of service provision to ensure optimal outcomes for children with vision loss.
* To develop and maintain your own knowledge base and skills and to contribute to the team learning.
* Take an active role in the development of Vision Ireland services for children working both independently and collaboratively within a skill mix team.
* To contribute to policy and assist in the setting & monitoring of standards as well as evaluation of practice & service.
* Maintain case and work records to the standards required within the Organisation and comply with all Vision Ireland policies in relation to electronic record keeping, file maintenance, information sharing, confidentiality, health and safety etc.
* To be aware of and adhere to Vision Ireland and statutory Child Protection measures.
General:
Be cognisant of and conform to all the Vision Ireland policies & procedures.
Selection Criteria
Essential:
* 3rd level qualification in OT/other allied health or education related qualification
* Knowledge of working with people with disability or in education
* Strong report writing & record-keeping skills
* Willingness to travel to other Vision Ireland locations and/or community settings as required
* Excellent Communication Skills (professional Standard Of English Required)
Desirable:
* Experience working within the health & social care sector, particularly relating to vision impairment is a distinct advantage.
* Experience working with children with a disability
* Knowledge of, or experience in special education
* Knowledge and skills in vision habilitation
Our Values
Vision Ireland's core values give effect to our vision and permeate our mission and inform all of our actions to ensure that we achieve the highest standards in everything we do.
Inclusive Approach: Vision Ireland listens to people who use our services, staff members, volunteers and all other stakeholders and collaborates with them in the design and delivery of our services and all related activities.
Choice: Vision Ireland acknowledges and respects the right of people to make choices about their lives. We will do everything in our power to support people who are blind and vision impaired in exercising this right.
Openness and Accountability: Vision Ireland carries out its work in an open manner and is accountable to all stakeholders for our actions and decisions.
Pursuit of Excellence: Vision Ireland is committed to attaining excellence in everything we do through our policies, procedures and staff.
Accessibility, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: Vision Ireland is committed to creating an inclusive environment where diversity is celebrated, and everyone is afforded equality of opportunity.
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