Community Support Officer - Llanharan, United Kingdom - Hope Rescue

Hope Rescue

Verified Company

Llanharan, United Kingdom

2 weeks ago

Posted by:

Tom O´Connor

beBee Recruiter

Description

About the post
Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of dogs and dog owners in our communities? Would you like to play a key role in delivering and shaping an exciting new Hope Rescue project to support communities in South Wales? Do you thrive in a dynamic environment, working with animals and people, where every day brings new challenges and rewards? Are you looking for a unique opportunity for career growth and profession development?

As a Community Support Officer, you'll join Hope Rescue's new Community Programme aiming to support dogs and their owners to stay together where it is mutually beneficially and to promote positive, responsible ownership that benefits both dogs and people in our communities across South Wales.

You will play a key role in both delivering and shaping this exciting pilot project.

In this diverse role, you will be responsible for offering guidance and support through community outreach events, providing 1:1 support to dog owners who struggling both with their pets welfare and their own and supporting other professionals to improve their practice to better meet the needs of dogs and owners.

We are looking for someone with skills and experience of dog welfare, behaviour and training using positive reinforcement techniques, who also enjoys engaging with and supporting members of the public.

If you are a highly motivated, creative, empathic individual who would relish the opportunity to be an integral part of developing a new project, with the aim of making a real difference to the most vulnerable dogs and owners at a community level, we want to hear from you

Requirements:

Providing advice, support and guidance to dog owners and other members of the public both in community settings and one-to-one.

Coordinating and planning community outreach events and activities.

Supporting professionals and other members of community organisation to better identify and respond to the needs of dog owners through their work and to develop their practice on dog related issues that affect communities.

Contributing to development and evaluation of Hope Rescue's Community Programme.

Main Responsibilities

Provide advice, support and guidance to dog owners and other members of the public at a range of community outreach events in relation to dog welfare, behaviour and positive, responsible pet ownership.

Identify, coordinate and deliver community outreach events in partnership with other external organisations and agencies.

Provide one-to-one advice, support and guidance to dog owners in crisis and with additional support needs in relation to dog welfare, behaviour and positive, responsible pet ownership.

Manage referral requests from partner organisations whose service users are in need of one-to-one support with their dogs.

Identify support needs of dogs and owners and create and maintain support plans.

Keep regular, accurate records in relation to individual case work, community work, progress, feedback and impact.

Identify and promptly raise any animal welfare or safeguarding concerns with the Community Programme Manager.

Liaise and collaborate effectively with external partner organisations and contribute to developing strong partnership relationships.

Work collaboratively with other teams across Hope Rescue to ensure the best quality service is provided and that learning from the community programme is shared.

Provide advice and guidance to partner and community organisations around dog welfare and safety issues and work with them to develop good practice.

To plan, design and facilitate training and learning sessions for partner organisations and community groups, utilizing a range of interactive approaches both in-person and digitally.

Contribute to the development of the community programme and its monitoring and evaluation.

Keep up-to-date with knowledge and skills related to canine and community issues that will be relevant to the role.

Actively participate in supervision, meetings and training events as required within hours of work.

Essential
A full driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes.

A recognised Animal Welfare/Behaviour qualification - significant relevant experience may be considered.

At least 2 years' experience working within a welfare, support, community or safeguarding role
- either with animals or people.

Experience handling, training and providing care for dogs.

Experience of working independently with strong organisational skills to manage and prioritise a varied and complex workload.

Experience of clear, accurate, timely and record keeping and case management.

Experience of working in partnership to ensure effective communication and collaboration and to build positive long-term relationships.

Experience in giving advice, guidance and support to public and/or clients.

Sound knowledge of dog welfare and ability to identify poor or deteriorating welfare and how to rectify this.

Ability