* Contract type: Permanent
* Working hours: 28.8 hours per week
* Posted on: 18 March 2025
* Location: Fairmount House, Bull Hill, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 7AH
Description
We are committed to the development of our workforce. This position is only available to applicants who already work for Surrey County Council. We thank you for your interest in our roles and would encourage you to review our vacancies which are open to all.
This role has a starting salary of £20,807.47 per annum (pro rata to £35,730 FTE), working 28.8 hours per week, 33 weeks per year from September – June.
We are excited to be hiring a new British Sign Language Interpreter to join our fantastic Physical and Sensory Support (PSS) FHE 16+ (Post 16) team. The team is based in Leatherhead but your work will be across Surrey (requiring your own car) and once our Leatherhead office closes later in 2025 your base will be one of Woking, Reigate or Weybridge, depending on which is closest to your home.
Rewards and Benefits
* An extensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) to support health and wellbeing
* Up to 5 days of carer's leave per year
* Paternity, adoption and dependents leave
* A generous local government salary related pension
* Lifestyle discounts including gym, travel, shopping and many more
* 2 paid volunteering days per year
* Learning and development hub where you can access a wealth of resources
About the Team
Physical and Sensory Support (PSS) is a targeted specialist education service for defined and vulnerable young people.
The FHE16+ Team within PSS consists of 25+ staff including student support workers (SSWs), BSL interpreters, and advisory teachers for sensory impairment.
The SSW post is a peripatetic role, providing specialist notetaking and communication support to students with sensory impairment (deaf and/or vision impairment) in colleges and universities in and around Surrey.
About the Role
The BSL Interpreter/SSW post is a peripatetic role, providing BSL interpreting and communication support (including notetaking) to students in colleges and universities in Surrey, at Surrey County Council buildings, and occasionally remotely (online).
In the role you will be required to work in partnership with a team of other professionals as part of Physical & Sensory Support (PSS) with vulnerable young people in educational settings, providing curriculum access to Further and Higher Education courses. The FHE 16+ team is the post-16 traded service area within the wider Physical and Sensory Support.
According to your individual skills and qualifications, you will be providing BSL interpreting and communication support to students in colleges and universities around Surrey, as well as to colleagues in the team. You will occasionally be interpreting for deaf parents at school events and for deaf work colleagues attending training and occasional online or in-person work meetings.
As this is a joint interpreter/SSW role, your main role will be as a BSL interpreter, but there will be times when you will also provide specialist notetaking support in-class to both deaf and visually-impaired students in colleges and universities on the occasions when there are no suitable interpreter bookings. If required, you will be given in-house notetaker training leading to a full Level 3 professional notetaking qualification.
You will be required to communicate and liaise with FHE 16+ colleagues, students, as well as college and university staff to facilitate quality assurance with regard to support and student achievement. You will attend work meetings as required and undertake continual professional development (CPD) training during work hours.
You will need to have use of your own car to travel to different bookings during the work day, covering bookings between the hours of 9am and 5pm during 33 weeks of the year from September to June.
Shortlisting Criteria
To be considered for shortlisting for this position, your application will clearly evidence the following:
* Qualified BSL/English interpreter status, regulated by NRCPD (RSLI) OR
* Trainee BSL/English interpreter status, regulated by NRCPD (TSLI) with a level 6 qualification in BSL OR
* Level 6 BSL qualification and on a recognised BSL/English interpreter training course with the view to becoming TSLI/RSLI
* An ability to support students in further or higher education as a notetaker, or a willingness to undergo training.
* Awareness of the communication and access requirements of deaf people
* Willingness to learn about supporting students with visual or multi-sensory impairment
* Good communication and organisational skills
* Good IT skills, with experience using MS Word, Outlook and calendars
* Flexibility to support students across Surrey from 9-5pm, with use of own car for business purposes.
* Ability to support students remotely (on occasions), working from home as necessary.
Contact us
Please contact us for any questions relating to the role. This could be to discuss flexible working requests, transferable skills or any barriers to employment.
For an informal discussion please contact James Fitzgerald by email or on MS Teams.
The job advert closes at 23:59 on 06/04/2025 with interviews to follow.
We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.
Our Values
Our values are as important as our abilities and shape who we are as an organisation. Discover more about our values.
Our Commitment
Surrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applicants where:
* The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
* The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form
Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.
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