Hospital Outreach Specialist
Barretstown serves children affected by cancer and other serious illnesses and celebrates 30 years this year, having served over 125,000 campers since 1994. Barretstown's essential therapeutic camps and programmes are a vital part of a child's illness journey, supported by 24/7 medical care at our 500-acre campus in County Kildare and our outreach programmes.
The Role:
We have a permanent full-time vacancy and a 6-month fixed term part time opportunity for Hospital Outreach Programme Specialists (HOP). The roles will be primarily based in a hospital setting, predominantly in Dublin based paediatric hospitals, with scope to support Barretstown's broader outreach programmes.
The roles will involve facilitating a range of activities and games to children awaiting clinic appointments, as well as bedside visits to children who are inpatients in hospital. The Hospital Outreach Programme brings the positive, playful spirit of Barretstown beyond the gates of camp, to children and families in hospital settings. At a time and in an environment that can be stressful, frightening, upsetting and uncertain for families, our HOP team aim to redirect the focus and restore opportunities for joy and laughter.
By offering creative, engaging and developmentally-appropriate activities and interactions, which are founded on the model of therapeutic recreation, our HOP team work within the hospital environment to create individualised programmes that aim to improve the young person's quality of life both during their hospital stay and beyond. These can include arts & crafts, interactive games, stories, quizzes, family projects, and much more.
Main Responsibilities:
* Facilitate activities and games to in-patient children and those waiting for clinic appointments in Hospital, providing therapeutic recreation as part of the programme
* Assist in the design, development and implementation of the Hospital Outreach Programme
* Fulfil logistical and administrative requirements for programme delivery including documentation requirements for hospitals, record-keeping, sourcing and organising of programme supplies, and petty cash management.
* Continue to build positive working relationships with hospitals and facilitate growth of the Barretstown Outreach Programme across hospital networks.
* Use feedback gathered from families and multidisciplinary teams within the hospital to inform continuous programme development.
* Support with the development and facilitation of additional Outreach programmes where required, including Community Programmes and Schools Education Programmes.
* Flexibility to cover programme delivery across our residential and outreach programmes.
* Act as an ambassador for Barretstown, forging connections in the hospital setting, to support our residential programmes as well as our Outreach programmes, and signposting families to the various programmes offered by Barretstown.
Requirements/ Experience:
* Experience working with children/young people in a professional capacity
* Understanding of the of working in a hospital, school, or community environment.
* Kknowledge of child development and age-appropriate activity engagement.
* Whilst this role is predominantly based in Dublin, it may require some travel within Ireland and the UK to different hospital/ community settings where required. It will also include scheduled onsite days at our campus in Kildare.
* Flexibility with working days and hours is required as this role may involve evening and weekend work.
* Ability to always work in line with Barretstown's core values and mission.
* Demonstrates the ability to work independently as well as being a strong team player.
* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
* Personally committed and motivated for this role.
* A driving license is preferred.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Work Location: In person