Driver/Passenger Assistant

Job Introduction

What we do?
Fleet Services team operate a fleet of wheelchair accessible vehicles available as nine, 12, 15 and 16 seaters with fully trained, uniformed staff.  

Our service goes from School-home transport for SEND children to vulnerable adults, community groups, timetable services to the villagers, Comet, and others.

What we are?
We are proud to be a safe space for vulnerable Children and Adults and we take our safeguarding responsibilities very seriously and we are all DBS checked, Safeguarding trained.

We work in a team environment, and we are proactive and dynamic to adhere to the Council policies and procedures.

We offer a great work environment with a caring ethos and supportive relationship with our staff.

What are our values?

People Values:
How we act defines who we are.  At the heart of our organisation is a common approach to defining ‘who we are’. We are looking for people who can build this into everything they do.

We are fair.
We treat everyone with compassion, dignity, and fairness. We value the views and opinion of others and promote benefits and opportunities for all.

We are caring.
We care about our County and doing things well. We focus on standards and continuous improvement, learning from our mistakes and celebrating success.

We are collaborators.
We work together for a better society. We work with our residents, businesses, schools, third sector and others for better outcomes for everyone.

We are driven.
We will only settle for the very best. We seek to continually improve and put our residents, customers, and businesses at the heart of everything we do.

What are we looking for: It’s all about you!

Person Centred 
Has a person centred and strengths-based approach that empowers service users to have the best transport experience and availability.

Resilience 
Successfully manages change and develops and maintains wellbeing and resilience

Accountable 
Takes responsibility for work, actions, and development; and acknowledges individual and shared accountability.

Works Together 
Builds supportive internal and external working relationships through positive communication and constructive feedback. You should have a good standard of general education and the ability to communicate and share information. The ability to deal with challenging situations and be comfortable around people with learning and physical disabilities.

Good physical form is needed as you will need to move wheelchairs and seats as well operate lifts. Although no formal qualifications are required for this post requires you to hold a full driving licence with a D1 or D1 101. We can discuss offer training to achieve D1 if you have B category, are over 21 and willing to take the test. You will need to be successful.

About the role
The main duties are to assist in the safe conveyance of service users to/from SEND schools Vulnerable children and adults, Community groups transport, Comet and for various activities related with respite care needs.  

This will require helping service users, leaving their home, boarding the vehicle, alighting from the vehicle, and making their way to the appropriate service in a safe and dignified manner.

You will be required to work co-operatively with the vehicle driver and any other staff involved to ensure that passenger movements and journeys are completed safely and effectively to accomplish the desired outcome.

To maintain our high standards of customer care, accuracy, safety and effectiveness in all work tasks and a mature disciplined approach to the duties.

Rewards and benefits

• Culture of flexible working
• Technology to support agile working where role permits.
• Employee Assistance Programme including access to health and wellbeing support.
• Membership of the Local Government contributory pension scheme, with an employer’s contribution of up to 19.9%
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Local and national discounts for shopping and travel
• Great learning and development opportunities to support your ongoing development.

Would you like to know more?

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact, Jose Perfeito, Area Manager on 01865 768239 or 07881268207

Our commitment to:
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Oxfordshire County Council we are proud of our diverse workforce. Everyone is accepted for who they are, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, race, faith or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or on maternity or family leave. We have a number of staff network groups which provide peer support, education and safe spaces for all.

Our commitment to:
Guaranteed Interview Schemes

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job. We also guarantee interviews to care leavers who have completed further education and who meet the essential criteria for the job. For those leaving care without any further education, we guarantee an interview for our apprenticeships. We are also committed to helping and supporting those transitioning from HM Armed Forces to civilian life and guarantee an interview for those demonstrating the essential criteria for the role, within three years of leaving the service.

Our commitment to:
Safeguarding

Oxfordshire County Council are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect these commitments.

Our commitment to:
Flexible Working

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which can include flexi-time, part time working, job sharing, nine-day fortnights and annualised hours, depending on the requirements of the role and the service.

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If you encounter any technical issues with the application system, please contact us at: careers@oxfordshire.gov.uk