Senior Vocational Assessor & Widening Participation Coordinator

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Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT) are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics.

We are committed to recruiting to our values. Leading One Culture of Care underpins our values by creating an environment, tone and behaviours across all parts of the Trust that are fundamentally rooted in compassionate care.

We are open to considering a wide range of flexible working arrangements. There are opportunities to flex the days of the week, hours and times of work and place of work including: part-time, job-share, flexible working hours and the possibility to work from home when appropriate. Please talk to us during the interview process to discuss any flexibility that you may require.

We received our Silver Award from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme which is helping actively promote SaBRE - Supporting Britain's Reservists and Employers. This means that we provided its statement of intent to support all Defence personnel and we welcome application to work for us. Find out more - Why Choose CHFT?

Our Future Plans

The Department of Health and Social Care has awarded capital funding to invest in local health services at both Calderdale Royal Hospital and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. This is a significant investment and an opportunity to enhance services for our populations in Calderdale and Huddersfield and West Yorkshire for generations to come. To find out more, please visit https://future.cht.nhs.uk/

Job overview

The Widening Participation Team are seeking a passionate and driven Senior Vocational Assessor & Widening Participation Coordinator to join their existing Team of training professionals.

CHFT hold Employer Provider status and are Ofsted rated 'Good' for our Health Care Support Worker (HCSW) level 2 apprenticeship provision, this role will contibrute to maintaining this status.

The role will include the assessment and steer of the Health Care Support Worker Apprenticeship Programme and the involvement in the delivery of Widening Participation Pathways, playing a key role in delivering the Trust People Strategy including our 'Grow your own' approach.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will play a key role in widening access in to employment and development via the Apprenticeship programme and dedicated Widening Participation pathways.

The successful candidate will hold:

• RQF/NVQ Diploma Level 3 / 4 (or equivalent) in Health-related field
• Level 3 Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA) Assessor Award (or equivalent)
• Possess or willingness to undertake Internal Quality Assurance Level 4 Qualification
• Hold Maths & English in Grade 9-3 or Equivalent

Working for our organisation

We employ more than 6,500 staff who deliver compassionate care from our two main hospitals, Calderdale Royal Hospital and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary as well as in community sites, health centres and in patients' homes. We also are incredibly proud to have almost 150 volunteers here at CHFT.

We provide a range of services including urgent and emergency care; medical; surgical; maternity; gynaecology; critical care; children's and young people's services; end of life care and outpatient and diagnostic imaging services.

We provide community health services, including sexual health services in Calderdale from Calderdale Royal and local health centres. These include Todmorden Health Centre and Broad Street Plaza.

We continue to modernise and invest in our health services to build on our strong reputation. Foundation trusts are public leaders in improving quality in health services. They are part of the NHS - yet decisions about what they do and how they do it are driven by independent boards. Boards listen to their Council of Governors and respond to the needs of their members - patients, staff and the local community.

Foundation trusts provide what the health service wants, yet are also free to invest quickly in the changes to the local community needs, in striving to be the best, and in putting their patients first.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
• To provide pastoral & study support, information, advice, and guidance to individuals working towards Health BTEC qualifications and monitor their progress in line with Awarding Body Guidelines.
• To be responsible for an agreed caseload of learners and be accountable but manage own time effectively.
• Teach, train and assess across a range of subjects within the clinical apprenticeship / health BTEC to a range of learners including existing staff, as required.
• Create, deliver & update training programmes in line with legislation, local policies, and current affairs.
• Prepare all necessary material to carry out the teaching, training, and assessment of apprentices.
• Provide one-to-one tutorials, peripatetic assessments, classroom-style workshops, observation of performance / sign-off on competence, reviews and the assessment of learners at CHFT. Taking individual situations into consideration and adapting to the non-routine aspects and training as a learner requires.
• To deliver high quality training to individuals and groups ensuring that learners progress and achieve their qualification in a timely manner.
• To undertake responsibility for the full apprenticeship standard for a caseload of learners including training and assessment both remotely using the designated e-portfolio system, and in the learners' place of work.
• Produce progress reports for learners across all relevant programmes and disseminate the information appropriately.
• Assist in the implementation and interpretation of new apprenticeship standards and understand the requirements and how the apprentice can prove competence for the unit standards.
• Assess an apprentice's competence and knowledge against the apprenticeship standards through the review of written questions, projects, assignments, and face-to-face competency-based assessments.
• Managing situations personal to the learners (such as safeguarding) giving support and referring to other services like Care first to support the learner's needs and well-being whilst ensuring appropriate follow-up.
• To work in a clinical setting, alongside learners, to observe their practice and make an informed assessment decision.
• To develop and deliver a range of activities to ensure quality pastoral and proactive study support and advice throughout to ensure learners, students and interns are supported to complete their learning aims.
• Give feedback on performance following observation of practice taking ownership of the assessment decision made.
• Gather and produce suitable evidence for individual portfolios in various formats to meet the needs of the learner. These may include written, voice recordings and filming of non-patient activities where appropriate.
• Raising awareness of Widening Participation, including apprenticeships, both internally and externally through regular attendance to appropriate forums and meetings
• Follow agreed intervention and escalation processes to address issues with learners who are at risk of falling behind.
• Escalate concerns beyond own scope of practice to line manager in a timely fashion.
• To ensure responsibility for the delivery and quality assurance of the assessment process, to ensure the internal verification of samples of work/workplace assessments of individuals' competence and performance meet relevant quality standards (local, national, and/or external).
• To assist in the preparation for Awarding Body visits and discussions throughout contractual compliance.
• To deliver Widening Participation activities to ensure a continuous pipeline of new recruits into CHFT entry pathways, including the induction of work experience & work placement students.
• To ensure the Trust maintains its Employer Provider status and BTEC Quality Centre status by monitoring and maintaining standards, ensuring problems are identified and addressed efficiently.
• To assist in initiatives that supports the BTEC and Apprenticeship & Widening Participation Strategy.
• To attend meetings and external training as required.
• To plan, deliver and support marketing events and exhibitions to showcase widening participation opportunities.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• RQF Diploma Level 3 / 4 (or equivalent) in Health-related field
• Level 3 Assessing Vocational Achievement (AVA) Assessor Award (or equivalent)
• Possess or currently working towards Internal Quality Assurance Level 4 Qualification
• GCSE grade 9-4 in Maths & English (or equivalent)

Desirable criteria

• Teaching qualification (or equivalent)

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant practical experience in an acute healthcare setting, meeting the diverse needs of individuals
• Experience in an acute healthcare setting including recent Internal Verification & Quality Assessment (IQA)
• Knowledge of Widening Participation initiatives
• Understanding of BTEC Process and the Apprenticeship Standards
• Ability to deliver face to face teaching sessions using a lesson plan.
• Ability to caseload, organise and prioritise work to meet strict deadlines

Desirable criteria

• Experience of developing external partnerships that support Apprenticeship and Widening Participation priorities
• Experience of analysing complex information and making judgment on complex tasks
• Experience of preparing learners for EPA (End Point Assessment)
• Familiar with E-portfolio system OneFile.

Communication

Essential criteria

• Good interpersonal skills and ability to contribute to internal / external settings promoting Widening Participation activities
• Ability to coach and mentor a range of stakeholders including new assessors, support roles and learners
• Communicate effectively with all levels of staff
• Ability to motivate and coach performance

Our vision is to provide One Culture of Care for one another in order that we can provide compassionate care for the people who use our services. We are passionate about creating a workplace where we work together to get results, encouraging colleagues to have their say, in order to co create the change we want to see. We take pride in the diversity of our workforce that's why we encourage applications from all. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants.

Please ensure your application is submitted with referees who can verify your employment/education history over the last three years and include valid email addresses for them. We will request electronic Factual Employment References from your previous employers. These references will be requested before you are issued with an unconditional offer of employment letter.

If you are appointed to a post, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system. The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer.

You may be required to undertake a DBS. The Trust will administer the DBS check on your behalf and will recover the cost (Enhanced £54.40, Standard £26.40 or Basic £26.40) from your salary when you commence in post (including Internal staff). You will also be required to participate in the DBS Update Service and pay the £16 cost per year. This is a condition of your employment.

CHFT is part of the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT), a collaborative of the NHS hospital trusts from across West Yorkshire and Harrogate working together to provide the best possible care for our patients.

If you have any questions please contact ask.recruitment@cht.nhs.uk for assistance.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• Senior Vocational Assessor & WP Coordinator (PDF, 536.3KB)
• Job Description Appendix A (PDF, 259.2KB)