Job description – support worker for Barry Wakefield
Barry Wakefield has Parkinson’s. He intends to continue working for as long as possible in his work as a trainer and facilitator. The symptoms of his condition make all day to day activities difficult and there are some aspects of his work, such as moving equipment around, which are particularly problematic.
The Support Worker will be employed to assist and support in a number of ways in order to help ensure that the work is done effectively and efficiently.
Functions
- An undertaking to access training in any aspect of the work required
- Driving between base and venue to transport equipment
- Loading and unloading equipment
- Setting up and taking down equipment at the start and finish of sessions
- Moving equipment around during sessions
- General care and maintenance of equipment
- Assisting with communication with clients
- Assisting in communication with other professionals
- Writing up notes from meetings and from discussions
- Maintaining a personal log of work done
- By mutual agreement, such other duties as might be seen to fall within the remit of the role.
Conditions of Service
The support worker will work an average of 30 hours a week. There will need to be flexibility regarding the hours worked in any one week. There will also need to be flexibility regarding start and finish times and the days of the week which are worked.
There is a high proportion of weekend working.
There will be a probationary period of 3 months. After that the need for the role is expected to last for at least 3 years although the duties may have to be renegotiated within that time.
Rate of pay.
Remuneration will be at the rate of £7.50 per hour – to be reviewed annually.
Payment to be made monthly in arrears
Person spec
The person appointed will have the following
- Ability to load and unload, set up and take down a variety of equipment including drums and other instruments, PA equipment and audio visual equipment. It would be useful if the person appointed is already familiar through experience with this type of equipment - but on the job training will be available to a suitable candidate without such experience
- A full driving licence. Experience of driving a variety of vehicles would be useful.
- Good communication skills
- IT skills including dealing with email
- The ability to type and to produce clear and coherent notes
Training opportunity
If a suitable candidate is found the following training opportunity can be offered alongside the above position.
In order to take advantage of this training opportunity the support worker will be expected to be available for a further five hours per week on average. In return he or she will have access to the full programme of training offered by the TDF subject to satisfying the progression requirements at each level of training. This training is outlined in the attached documents. The hours worked as a volunteer will satisfy the essential practical elements of the training.
This combined opportunity of working as a support worker and being trained in all aspects of the work of the TDF is unique. It should be considered by anyone interested in the developing field of therapeutic drumming, in creative expressive communication in therapy, in community music or in the use of expressive communication in education or health and social care settings. The training consists of a raft of courses taking students from introductory level through to a practitioner level qualification through part time study over two to three years.
