Residence Support Service
Recruitment & Information Pack 24 May 2010
Residence Support Service, University of Southampton An exciting opportunity has arisen for you to work in the University of Southampton’s new Residence Support Service. As member of Student Services you will be based in the heart of our Halls of Residences. You will provide our student community with support, advice and information to maximise their student and life experiences.
Life in the University of Southampton’s halls of residence is vibrant and diverse. Every year around 5500 students of varying ages and backgrounds are able to call our properties their home. The provision of friendly support, advice and guidance being accessible to our residents in their home to promote their wellbeing is therefore the key to what we do.
Residence Support Supervisor (6 posts, full time, night workers) Salary: Level 3 £22,236 - £26,523 (plus unsocial hours allowance) The role of a Residence Support Supervisor will be varied and diverse, just like our community in halls of residence. You will have excellent communication skills, be able to supervise a small team and have a passion for good customer service to work with your colleagues to develop a comprehensive and coordinated support service for students in halls. You will have an understanding of University life to be able to relate to the issues which our students may encounter. You will need to be enthusiastic, proactive and passionate in your approach to both supervising staff and supporting students and recognise when to signpost and refer residents on to external agencies.
Residence Support Assistants (24 full time posts, 6 fixed term posts , night workers) Salary: Level 2B £18,117 - £21,565 (plus unsocial hours allowance) The role of a Residence Support Assistant will be varied and diverse, just like our community in halls of residence. You will need to be enthusiastic, proactive and passionate in your approach to supporting people to offer appropriate and timely advice and guidance to residents. You will understand when to signpost and refer residents on, be able to prioritise your work and reprioritise quickly when responding to an incident. You will also need to have excellent communication skills, experience of customer service, be able to work within a team and have an understanding of living in a residential setting to relate to the issues which our students may encounter.
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A night in the life of Residence Support Assistant As a Resident Support Assistant you will experience every night as very different in halls, each is exciting and interesting in itself with varied incidents and situations emerging as students contact the service for advice and support. The duties you will be asked to carry out on a daily basis to drive the development of the service will be as follows:
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run ‘drop-in’ services for residents to pop in and discuss any concerns they have, either about themselves or their fellow residents visit your specified flats to make sure that residents are well and enjoying their time in Southampton organise induction events and maintain contact with all residents throughout the year by compiling newsletters and run group sessions make yourself available to the residents and be the friendly face of the university, dropping by and stopping to chat in the corridors when you are walking around the site follow up on any registers of concern that may have come in from the University’s First Support Team, the student crisis team who respond quickly to get the right support to students in all types of difficulty follow up on vulnerable students (under 18 or those with a disability) to see how they are doing respond to calls from residents and incidents that occur, possibly alcohol related, and which may result in students being warned about their behaviour (or fined in the worst cases)
In addition to the duties above the Residence Support Teams will be available to the residents throughout the night, getting involved in and attending the Students Unions activities, being in common social spaces and assisting with halls management to run campaigns about environmental issues e.g. recycling, noise management etc.
The role will sometimes involve distressing and difficult situations which arise when students become unwell, particularly in the case of mental health issues or health protection concerns (e.g. meningitis). In these circumstances Residence Support Teams will liaise with external support providers, community mental health teams, G.P surgeries, health protection, the Police and Ambulance crews to provide appropriate support to all our residents.
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A night in the life of Residence Support Supervisor As a supervisor of our Residence Support Team you will experience every night as very different in halls, each is exciting and interesting in itself with varied incidents and situations emerging as students contact the service for advice and support. The duties you will be asked to carry out on a daily basis to drive the development of the service will be as follows:
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supervise a small team of Residence Support Assistants, conduct appraisals, monitor absence and leave as well as any performance related issues co-ordinate ‘drop-in’ services across the halls sites for residents to pop in and discuss any concerns they have, either about themselves or their fellow residents monitor visits to flats and checks on students by your Residence Support Assistants making sure that staff are out and about around the site promoting the friendly face of support in halls ensure a timely response to calls from residents and the incidents that occur by the Residence Support Assistants, stepping in when necessary to make decisions or to attend the incident as well to support staff in their roles proactively work with the Student’s Union elected officers for each halls to plan campaigns, events and social activities for residents work collaboratively with reception and security staff to provide a safe and study conducive environment for all our residents manage the disciplinary process to warn and, in the worst cases, fine students when appropriate (within the halls regulations)
In addition to the duties above the Residence Support Teams will be readily available to the residents in common social spaces, getting involved in and attending the Students Unions activities, and assisting with halls management and Student’s Union to run campaigns about environmental and health issues e.g. recycling, noise management, sexual health, safer drinking and alcohol awareness. Your role as supervisor will be to drive these initiatives to ensure the residents are able to access the best possible service across the halls sites.
The Residence Support Teams will sometimes need be involved in distressing and difficult situations which arise when students become unwell, particularly in the case of mental health issues or health protection concerns (e.g. meningitis). Your role as supervisor in these situations will be to assess the level of risk and ensure that the Residence Support Teams are both supported by and liaising with external support providers, community mental health teams, G.P surgeries, health protection, the Police and Ambulance crews to provide appropriate support to all our residents. You will also be the point of escalation to Senior Managers if and when necessary.
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How do you apply? If you are interested in our exciting opportunities you should complete an application form and apply directly to the University of Southampton’s Human Resources department.
Please visit our recruitment web page www.southampton.ac.uk/jobs for application details, job descriptions and person specifications for both roles
When on the site you should click on ‘Find a Job’ and search for either of our vacancies:
Residence Support Assistant
Residence Support Supervisor
The Closing date for both positions is 12noon, 13th June 2010
What happens next? If your application is short listed you will be invited to attend an assessment centre, this will take place on the 23 or 24th June 2010.
If successful at the assessment centre you will be invited to attend an interview. These are due to take place between 5-9 July 2010.
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Working at the University of Southampton There are many other benefits which contribute to the overall quality of life and work for our staff at the University of Southampton:
Childcare The University has a nursery on the main campus, to accommodate children of staff and students from age 4 months to 5 years. Places can be booked by application to the day nursery manager; there is a maximum of 108 children per session. There are also holiday play schemes for children aged 4 to 12 years.
University facilities Staff have access to a number of facilities throughout the University including the recently extended library and the brand new swimming pool and gymnasium. Arts, leisure and entertainment facilities include the Turner Sims Concert Halll, the John Hansard Art Gallery and the Nuffield Theatre which is discounted to staff.
Travel Unilink is a bus service provided at a discount by the University for students and staff. It links all the University sites and covers the whole of the city of Southampton.
Parking For those who must use a car to travel to the University, there is a relatively small charge for most staff (which can be deducted from monthly salary) for access to the private car parks on the University campus. It operates on a first come basis.
Financial Benefits to staff - Pension scheme The University offers final salary pension schemes to all new staff. PASNAS and USS are the main schemes and provide excellent benefits on retirement or leaving. All schemes are tailored to meet the needs of the University sector, including provision for career breaks. The employee and the University make percentage contributions to the schemes and rates may vary from time to time and between schemes.
Health scheme All staff have access to a private health care scheme through AXA PPP. This provides an optional discounted health care scheme for employees with reduced rates for individual or family membership.
Staff Discounts All staff have access to discounts on a wide range of goods and services at discounts varying from 5% to 50%. This includes restaurants, legal services, travel, local shops, entertainment, health and fitness facilities, hair and beauty services and many more.
Free Eye Tests All staff who use Display Screen Equipment are entitled to eye tests paid for by the University provided they apply before booking their test.
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About Student Services Student Services is a Professional Service working across the University of Southampton to provide a better student experience. The Residence Support Service sits within Student Services and shares the following Vision and Mission:
Vision and Mission Working together to enrich our students’ experiences
Vision The Student Services vision is to be recognised as a world leader in the delivery of student centred services in the context of the Higher Education environment which values first class research, education and enterprise.
Mission We make it our business to work together to do best what matters most to our students and their experiences in the Higher Education learning environment and in the wider community of which they are a part, to ensure their successful future.
Your involvement As a member of the Residence Support Service you will be an integral part of the Student Services Team, we are a team of individuals committed to providing student focussed services in partnership with others in and around the University.
For further information about the services included within Student Services please visit our website:
www.southampton.ac.uk/studentservices
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Contact us For an informal discussion about the opportunities available for you, or for any other details please contact:
Alison Beard Head of Support Services (Counselling, First Support, Residence Support)
28 University Road Highfield Campus Southampton SO17 1BJ
Tel:
023 8059 7671
Email: A.Beard@soton.ac.uk Web:
www.southampton.ac.uk/studentservices
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