To apply, please go to our website www.colabexeter.org.uk/join-the-team
Purpose of Role
Demonstrating our values of welcome, compassion and collaboration, we are seeking individuals who are able to communicate clearly, respectfully and effectively with a diverse range of people, adapting their approach to suit different needs and contexts. The role requires building positive, professional relationships at all levels and contributing to an inclusive, welcoming environment for everyone engaging with CoLab. Our Welcome Team are proactive, engaging positively to get involved with and collaborating with all aspects of our work.
Many visitors visiting CoLab present with complex needs, often uncertain which services they require, or what support provision is available to them. As part of our Welcome Team, we actively engage with our visitors in a sensitive and non-judgemental manner, to ascertain their individual situation, ensuring every visitor is actively listened to, signposted and ensuring facilitation of their access to appropriate support is achieved. The Welcome Team Co-ordinator will liaise with hub organisations and external agencies to direct individuals to appropriate support services, projects and opportunities, in addition to acting as a central point of contact for agencies within the hub supporting each individual.
In addition to the frontline navigator duties above, the Welcome Team Coordinator holds day-to-day responsibility for the Welcome Team staff, the visitor spaces within the hub, and the systems and reporting that keep the Welcome function running smoothly. The role acts as first point of escalation for the team and as a key link between the Welcome Team, other CoLab teams, and external partners.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
Welcoming Visitors
- Ensuring all our visitors are greeted in a welcoming, non-judgemental, friendly yet professional manner, whilst being aware of professional boundaries.
- Ensuring high levels of customer care and support are delivered.
- Prioritisation of the visitor experience, working closely with team members and other hub organisations, directing visitors to appointments and working collaboratively to ensure that visitors' needs are met appropriately.
- Ongoing demonstration of our values of compassion, welcome, collaboration, and ambition when dealing with visitors, including those presenting with complex needs and challenging behaviours.
- Model and maintain high personal and professional boundaries at all times.
- Able to demonstrate professionalism in an approachable, friendly, patient, and compassionate manner when communicating with visitors, whilst always maintaining effective professional boundaries.
- Utilising practical and professional judgement to deal with escalating and challenging situations, understand and contribute to developing risk assessments and implement control measures and procedures as required.
- Follow and contribute to the development of safe systems of work, incident reporting, risk management policies and procedures, and sensitively manage disclosure.
- Maintain high professional standards in relation to dealing with complex needs and reporting concerns and safeguarding issues.
- Work within the CoLab Team to develop, record and report on visitor information, for example, information relating to numbers of people accessing the hub. Understand the sensitive balance required when gathering visitor information to direct people to their appointment and when gathering visitor data.
- Deal with challenging situations calmly, professionally, empathetically and appropriately, gaining assistance of trained staff when dealing with any complaints and challenging or escalating situations to ensure safety and safeguarding procedures/policies issues are upheld and adhered to.
Staff Team Management
- Day-to-day line management of the Welcome Team Navigators
- Planning, building and maintaining the staff rota, ensuring appropriate cover is in place at all times, including for annual leave, sickness and other absence.
- Organising and arranging cover at short notice to ensure continuity of the welcome and reception service.
- Conducting regular one-to-one supervision sessions with team members, providing support, guidance and constructive feedback.
- Carrying out staff appraisals, agreeing objectives and supporting ongoing personal and professional development.
- Managing annual leave and sickness absence processes for the team in line with CoLab policies, including return-to-work conversations and escalation where required.
- Supporting recruitment, induction and onboarding of new Welcome Team members, volunteers and work experience students.
Visitor Spaces
- Holding overall responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Atrium and pods, ensuring these visitor spaces are welcoming, safe, clean and fit for purpose.
- Identifying and escalating any facilities, health and safety, or maintenance issues affecting visitor spaces.
- Placing and managing orders for hospitality/hospital supplies relevant to the Welcome Team and visitor spaces.
- Ensuring the Atrium and pod areas run smoothly on a daily basis to ensure effective use of space for visitors and hub partners.
Cross-Team Working, Data and Reporting
- Acting as a key point of contact for cross-team working and communication with colleagues across CoLab and with external partner agencies based in or linked to the hub.
- Chairing the weekly Welcome Team huddle, ensuring actions are captured and followed up.
- Managing data reporting for the Welcome Team, including collating and submitting visitor and service data accurately and on time, and understanding the sensitive balance required when gathering and reporting visitor information.
- Responsible for reviewing and updating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) relevant to the Welcome Team, ensuring they remain accurate, current and accessible to staff.
Team Work
- Work as part of the localised and wider CoLab team, ensuring service delivery objectives are met and required meetings and ongoing contacts are attended.
- Undertake any other reasonable duties as commensurate with the role as required.
Key Successes and Behavioural Factors
Demonstrating our values of compassion, welcome, collaboration and ambition, the post holder will be committed to empowering people to make positive choices and work towards behaviour change in their lives. They will be proactive, optimistic, and committed to the opportunities created through collaborative partnership working.
Person Specification
With an approach that aligns to our values of compassion, welcome, collaboration,ambition and social justice, the post holder will be able to demonstrate the following:
Skills, Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Organised with the ability to manage and prioritise a range of duties, including staff and resource management.
- Able to communicate effectively with colleagues at all levels and both internal and external stakeholders.
- Demonstrate a high degree of communication skills in person, written and verbal.
- Possess good general IT skills to record and distribute required information, including data reporting.
- Ability to work safely and responsibly in line with organisational policies and
procedures.
- Experience of maintaining confidentiality and sensitive client information, with the ability to act responsibly and professionally as a point of contact in relation to individuals you are working with.
- Experience of staff supervision, rota management and/or day-to-day team
co-ordination.
Desirable
- SIA Licence (or willingness to undertake the training within 6 months).
- Knowledge or understanding of techniques used to support people in crisis such as solution focused dialogue and de-escalation techniques.
- Good knowledge of local support services and agencies that work with our client group.
- Experience of chairing meetings and managing data or SOP documentation.
Personal Qualities and Values
Essential
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of duties. You may be required to
undertake additional duties consistent with the nature and level of the role and the broader objectives of CoLab.
- A compassionate and friendly communicator, with the ability to relate to people from diverse backgrounds.
- Adaptable with the ability to be calm, sensitive and solution focused when dealing with difficult, challenging and emotive situations.
- Person centred, empathetic, approachable with the ability to reach out to visitors arriving at CoLab for support.
- A flexible attitude with the ability to think actively under pressure and have a practical attitude to problem solving.
- An understanding of the need for (and limits to) confidentiality, and ability to
professionally manage disclosure.
- Non-judgemental with a commitment to and understanding of respecting equality and diversity.
- Ability to work effectively as part of a team, contributing ideas and solutions and supporting colleagues in the team as required.
- Able to recognise your own limits and boundaries and reflect constructively around opportunities and challenges within the role
- Able to seek support where required and commitment to attend training and team meetings as part of your own personal development.
- Confident and fair in a line-management role, able to motivate and support a diverse staff team.
Safer Recruitment & Compliance
- Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.
- Appointment may be subject to a DBS check at the appropriate level for the role.
- We are committed to making reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.
Fixed-term Employment Protection
Fixed-term employees will be treated no less favourably than comparable permanent employees, in accordance with the Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less
Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 and applicable employment law.
CoLab is committed to equality of opportunity and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
Pay: £31,939.00 per year
Work Location: In person
