Situations Vacant ....... Working for Wesley

CURRENT VACANCIES: How you can be a part of the Wesley team......
Foster Parents
Both Full and/or Part Time
Team Leader
Youth Foster Care Team (Part-Time)
HOUSE PARENTS
Both full time and part time relief positions available.
Interested?
Registered Nurses - Part-time positions available
Wesleyhaven Village. Naenae. Lower Hutt.
Where it is about people – not profit.
What is it like work for Wesley Community Action? Here is what some staff think …

"Working in a place that is enjoyable, respectful and professional is important. At Wesley Community Action we try to live up to this ideal, and strive to create a working environment that brings out the best in our staff. Despite the stressful times in our jobs (yes we all get these), staff at Wesley enjoy being a part of the team. Wesley people are special."

David Hanna Director

CURRENT VACANCIES: How you can be a part of the Wesley team......

Arising from growing recognition and demand for the valuable Social Services provided by Wesley Community Action we are pleased to offer these exciting opportunities to join our awesome team.....

Foster Parents

Both Full and/or Part Time

‘Work from home’ opportunities in the Wellington; HuttValley, Porirua, KapitiCoast, Levin, and Palmerston North areas.

Wesley’s Foster Care programme has a proud reputation and leads the way in supporting young people who have experienced great challenges in their lives. We are expanding this long established service and need additional caring foster parents to join our team and provide one-on-one care.

This is an opportunity to make a real difference in an individual teenager’s life by caring for that young person in your own home on either a full time and/or part time basis.

As a salaried employee you will become be part of a progressive and professional team, yet have the convenience of working from your own home. In addition you will receive 24 hour on call back-up, professional training and development.

The ideal applicant will have;

Experience as a parent or caregiver

A suitable home to provide care for a teenager

No other dependent children living with you

The time, energy and skills to dedicate to a young person

Interested? For further information and details of how to apply, simply refer the ‘Further Information’ section below.

Team Leader

Youth Foster Care Team (Part-Time)

Do you want to make a significant contribution to young people getting their lives on-track? Do you enjoy leading a team of people to provide an excellent service? We are looking for an experienced and dynamic professional person to lead our 12 social work and care giving staff provide specialist foster placements throughout the Wellington, Horowhenua and Manawatu districts.

This is challenging and rewarding work – and our dedicated team need someone who can support and guide them.

If you have strong experience supervising a team in the youth care / development sector, then this could be the ideal position for you. Do you have;

· A relevant qualification (social work or equivalent discipline)

· Senior experience of supervising a team

· Experience of Foster Care service provision

· An excellent understanding of and ability to establish a rapport with young people,

· A good understanding of the impact of trauma and abuse on the behaviours of young people.

· Working knowledge of the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act 1989.

· Competent at managing self care issues.

· A sense of humour.

· Current, clean full drivers licence.

Interested? For further information and details of how to apply, simply refer the ‘Further Information’ section below.

HOUSE PARENTS

Both full time and part time relief positions available.

This is a unique opportunity to make a difference in a young persons life

Wesley Community Action is seeking special couples as house parents to work alongside our team. The position is paid, while your partner is able to work elsewhere. Accommodation and utilities come as part of the package, as does training, supervision and team meetings.

Wesley manages 2 such homes. Each home has 3-4 young people, plus a youth worker, social worker and 24 hour on-call support. Part time or relief positions are also available.

Ideally you should have no dependent children living with you, a current full and clear drivers license, good health and had experience of parenting, working with, or caring for youth.

The ideal applicant will;

be open to personal challenge, change and growth

see that positive change is always possible

work in partnership to form safe relationships with young people

be an outstanding role-model to young people

work honestly and openly and compassionately

be resilient in setting clear boundaries and stick to them

work well in a team AND be self motivated

cope with pressure in a positive way

Interested?

For Further information and to apply for these exciting opportunities....

Please contact;

Andrea McKenzie, Manager Youth Services

Wesley Community Action. PO Box 9932 . WELLINGTON. 6141.

Phone; (04) 385 3727 xtn 889

Email Andrea.

Applications close; Monday 24 November 2008.

Registered Nurses - Part-time positions available

Wesleyhaven Village. Naenae. Lower Hutt.

Where it is about people – not profit.

If you are passionate about caring for older people then Wesleyhaven offers you a competitive salary, an enjoyable working environment, and a supportive management team with an organisation that has an enviable record of success in the ‘not for profit’ sector

Two positions are now available;

1.) 32 hrs pw is available in our Continuing Care Hospital on morning and afternoon shifts. An interest in becoming an OSH advocate would be valued.

2.) 25-30 hrs pw mainly in the rest home with possible back-up in the Continuing Care Hospital. Flexible hours or job-sharing are possible from a starting point of 5-6 hours per day from 3-8 or 9pm on Mon-Fri and 9-2 or 3pm Sat-Sun.

For both positions responsibilities include shift leadership, individualised resident care, decision making and documentation. A current practicing certificate along with experience or interest in care for the elderly is required. Other skills sought include; excellent communication, teamwork and computer literacy.

For an application form, contact the office at Wesleyhaven, 249 Rata St, Naenae. Lower Hutt or (04) 567 8766 or; Email

What is it like work for Wesley Community Action? Here is what some staff think …

SUE LEGGE

When Susan moved from Nelson to the Hutt valley in October of 2003 she joined our team at Wesleyhaven village as a caregiver in the Strand Rest Home. Here are her thoughts on her job and working for Wesley…

“I really love working here with the elderly and the staff are a good lot of people to work with. I enjoy the hands on work with the residents and the fact that we have very good routines set up for them. The job is full of variety with training, learning about medications, helping out with meals and taking people out to appointments. I also fill in for the activities coordinator and that’s fun. So you see it is busy, but that’s okay because of the people and the variety.

I enjoy the little on-going jokes I have with various residents and when I have spare time I will play the piano in the lounge. Even though I’m not very good the residents get right into it and gather round to sing or just listen.

I give my best to my job and it is appreciated by the residents”.

OKESENE FARAIMO

Since July 2005 Okesene has been our Family Support Social Worker based at Wesley Community Action in Porirua. Here’s what he has to say about his experience of working for Wesley…

“Great experience. Getting out there and meeting the diversity of the community of Porirua. It is awesome getting the know people and my big buzz is helping people through their issues. It (WCA) is an awesome organisation with awesome people”.

PAULINE BROADBENT

Pauline has been part of the WesleyCare Community team since April 1992. She is a community worker who works alongside older people and people with mental health issues of middle age. Her experience of working for Wesley …

"I work in the Newtown office of our WesleyCare Community Service and I am a Community Worker. I work with older people who have complex needs. I provide social and community support to enable the older person to continue to live at home and to prevent inappropriate admission to rest home. I really enjoy my job and I like working with older people and can’t imagine doing anything else. The people I work with are also great, they are very supportive and we are a great team. We are all good friends as well so what more could you want. WCA is a good place to work at, we have a good reputation, and we are well known and respected in the community. We also have a good netball team which I am happy to support, but not play in!"

LIZ McMILLAN

Working for Wesley Liz (or Lizzie) has been working with young people living at Te Wharewhakapakari for over ten years. Here are her thoughts on working for Wesley.

“It’s been a wonderful experience. Wesley has always been very supportive of me, encouraged me to strive toward bigger goals, and to keep developing. I know myself I owe Wesley a lot for my own personal and professional development. The organisation has always been very Strength’s Based allowing people like me (no qualifications) to step forward to work in the industry and grow. The support for my training has been huge; Wesley fully supported me in every way to complete my social work Diploma. I love what Wesley represents, and the people who represent Wesley, it’s truly about commitment. I am proud to be a Wesleyan”.

GWYNETH ARMITAGE

Since October 2005 Gwyneth has been part of the team at Wesley in Porirua as a volunteer/unpaid advocate and foodbank distributor.

“My experience of Wesley has been very supportive and friendly, they made sure I got all the training needed so I can do the job. It’s really good to be able to build up relationships with the people who come in and to make a difference in their lives.

I joined in time to see all the Christmas activities at Wesley. It’s really good to see the community spirit behind the Christmas food bank collection (Stuff the Bus) and the enthusiasm of the Wesley people behind it. The Christmas Variety show at Wesleyhaven also showed the enthusiasm and dedication of Wesley workers to make things better for people. They enjoyed themselves and that really came across”.

How do we create this ‘special’ working environment?

We aim to highlight the strengths we all bring to our job. This is about being honest and respectful in our relationships with each other.

We support people in their professional training and development.

We laugh a lot … most of the issues we are dealing with are stressful;–humour is a healthy tonic.

We are committed to reviewing what we do and how we do it. This helps us learn how we can do a better job next time.