Short Breaks Officer

South Ayrshire- Carers Gateway South Ayrshire Short Breaks Officer - Unity - £##### per annum.

Part time working 14 hours per week including some evening and weekend work - position available on permanent basis – based in South Ayrshire.

21 HSC are currently looking to recruit a Short Breaks Officer for a charitable organisation based in South Ayrshire. The charity provides a variety of support to people who are vulnerable, disadvantaged or a risk of exclusion across the West of Scotland.

The Short Breaks Officer enables unpaid carers in South Ayrshire to access a much-needed break from their caring responsibilities, allowing them to rest and recharge and boost their resilience. To do this the Short Breaks Officer oversees the application process and leads an assessment panel to ensure funds are distributed as widely and fairly as possible, maximising the impact for all carers. The Officer is creative in their outlook, working with each carer to create a break that meets their individual needs.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities:

• Responsible for the design and development of the Carers Gateway Shorts Break programme, including oversight of Shared Care Scotland and other funding.


• Responsible for raising the profile of short breaks, particularly within hard-to-reach groups of carers and expanding the understanding of what is considered a short break.


• Responsible for overseeing the digital application process and assisting carers with their application as required.


• Responsible for leading the assessment panel, planning meeting dates and ensuring all panel members have access to information prior to meeting.


• Responsible for ensuring funds are dispersed to carers in as quickly as possible, whilst ensuring all internal processes are followed.


• Responsible for the management of the Short Breaks budget, ensuring carers return receipts so that an accurate audit trail is maintained.


• Responsible for supporting the Carer Support Officers and enabling them to make use of short breaks funding in order to meet the stated outcomes in support plans for their clients.


• Responsible for developing a close working relationship with Shared Care Scotland as a key funder and develop short break stories to be shared with Shared Care Scotland.


• Responsible for collating data from the short breaks programme to support future planning, as well as monitoring and reporting.


• Responsible for liaising with HSCP officer and social work teams as required.


• Ensure Carers Gateway processes are always followed and electronic case management records are updated and reviewed regularly.


• Prepare monthly status reports and undertake other monitoring and evaluation as required.


• Maintain a sound knowledge of the National and Local Carers Strategy and any changes to benefit entitlements for carers.


• Any other appropriate tasks as directed by the Gateway Manager.


• All Gateway staff are required to undertake out of hours provision on a rotational basis.  This will involve 3 to 4 out of hours sessions per month.

Essential/ Desirable Skills and Attributes

• It is essential to be educated to standard grade General Level or equivalent in a minimum of four subjects one of which should be English.


• Experience in overseeing a large project is essential.


• Experience in managing multiple projects simultaneously essential.


• Experience of managing a budget is desirable.


• Driving Licence is desirable.

To Apply

To apply for this role, please click apply and send an up-to-date CV in support of your application in the first instance. For more information about the position available and a detailed job description, please contact Danielle Frame or Sean Carruthers at 21 HSC. Suitable applicants will be contacted asap with a view to securing an interview with the Service Managers of the service and will be invited for an initial face to face/teams interview with one of our recruitment team.

21 HSC Limited is an equal opportunities employer.