Pluspunten
Having worked for over 10 years with includem and been in a number of different teams and roles (Assistant Project Worker, Project Worker, Assistant Team Manager and then Team Manager) whilst there. I can honestly say I found it a great place to work. I always had great support from my team managers/service managers as well as the senior management team. Everyone across the whole organisation I found to be friendly and approachable and everyone was always happy to help me out any way they could. I was supported to advance my career with many learning and training opportunities. If you are keen to learn, and hardworking this is definitely recognised at includem. The flexibility of the job was a bonus and I liked that I could attend appointments and not need to take a full day off for this. The annual leave entitlement is also pretty good for the sector. I'd say the pay was also quite reasonable and probably on the higher end within the sector. The privilege of supporting young people and families and helping them to make changes in their lives for the better, as hard as some days could be it's an extremely rewarding job and a place I'm proud to have worked. Regular support and supervision and 24/7 management support was a real plus as the job itself isn't always easy. You are never alone in your decision making and if you have a question you are always able to ask someone.
Minpunten
Uncertainty with funding at times whether that be streams of government/grant funding or council budgets being reduced or ending can impact on contracts, I moved a few times to different teams because of this, there was always another opportunity for me throughout my time there fortunately and if anything it was a good thing as allowed me the chance to meet and make relationships with other colleagues and gain greater insight into different contracts/services. But there's no denying it was hard to go through and understandably the current climate makes it even more worrying. I should stress the funding issues aren't a specific includem issue and is something across the third sector unfortunately. It can be a tough job in the sense you are supporting young people and families with a lot of trauma and complexities around this meant a lot of the time support wasn't always wanted from the get go, so it took a lot of perseverance showing up to continue to encourage young people and families to give the support a try. You need to be prepared for this and not take too much to heart if you are told to F off. Supporting young people and families who have complex trauma can mean they may also be in crisis and therefore being responsive is another thing you should be prepared for as includem is keen to be there for families when they need the support. There could be changes at very short notice to your day if you had to respond to crisis support so if you struggle to adapt to things like that it would be challenging. I should stress there is a team around you so everyone pulls together on the plans to respond to crisis and again the management team. Work life balance- dependent on the role there could be more work in the evening/ at weekends.