Discovery UK

Discovery UK

You’ll have a rewarding role working with a great team of people for a leading support provider. Our colleagues tell us that it’s the chance to make a positive difference to people’s lives that inspires them.

The Dimensions group that Discovery is part of, is proud to be one of very few social care organisations that has been recognised as a "Great Place to Work". In the recent "Great Place to Work" survey, the questions relating to diversity were the highest scoring, a fact which demonstrates that colleagues feel able to be themselves and that they are valued for their diversity.

It is our aim to ensure that the diversity of our workforce reflects the communities we serve at all levels. To this end, we adopt positive action principles in senior positions, ensuring anyone who is from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic background who meets the essential criteria will be invited to interview. In addition for all roles, in line with the Disability Confident Leader accreditation, anyone who shared they have a disability, and meets the essential criteria will be invited to interview.

Discovery is a social enterprise and more than 50% of any surplus is invested in the Discovery Community Fund which provides grants to support improvements to the health and independence of people with learning disabilities and/or autism across Somerset.

As one of the country’s largest not-for-profit organisations supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, challenging behaviour and complex needs, we are driven by our values: ambition, courage, integrity, partnership and respect. People with learning disabilities and their families are at the heart of everything we do and we want every person we support to have a great life, with excellent outcomes.

We are always working to improve standards – our own and across the sector. Discovery was one of the pioneers of personalised support, showing how it works in practice, and enabling thousands of people to have greater choice and control.

Our Values

Our vision, quite simply, is for ‘Better Lives for More People’ – the people we do and will support, their families and other significant relationships, the wider sector through our sharing of our learning and, critically, our dedicated colleagues who are committed to proving that life can get better.

Our mission – the part we play in delivering our vision – is to provide high quality personalised support for people with learning disabilities and autism, helping them to be actively engaged with, and contribute to, their communities.

We’re a values-led organisation, which means we expect everybody to demonstrate our five core values:

• ambition, we seek to help people reach their potential
• courage, we are guided by the courage of our convictions to make a difference
• integrity, we ensure that what we do is grounded in what we believe
• partnership, we work with others to achieve more for people
• respect, we recognise that every person’s unique contribution is valuable

Looking after our colleagues

Colleague benefits

We listen to what our employees want and regularly evaluate our staff benefits.

As well as competitive pay and job satisfaction you’ll also benefit from:

• 30 days’ annual leave entitlement, pro-rata, (including bank holidays), rising to a maximum of 35 days
• pensions, including a money purchase scheme with employee and employer contribution
• discounts and cashback on high street and online shopping through Rewarding Dimensions
• free access to the Employee Assistance Programme with a 24/7 helpline for advice and support, also available to partners and immediate family
• recognition and financial bonus every five years through our Long Service Awards
• opportunity to purchase Simply Health, a discounted health and dental cover scheme
• death in service payment for a nominated beneficiary under Life Assurance
• bike to work scheme and season ticket loans
• £200 recommend a friend scheme
• 50% contribution to the cost of learning to drive, subject to meeting operational and staffing criteria.

But that’s not all, our sector-leading package of staff benefits really builds up.

Health & wellbeing

We take the health and wellbeing of all our colleagues seriously. We have a number of initiatives in place to support our colleagues, including our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and access to Mental Health First Aid.

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

Our EAP scheme is provided to you as part of your colleague benefits and wellbeing package.
It’s designed to provide you with information, advice and support to help you deal with virtually all aspects of life – whether you are experiencing stresses with work or home life, or need advice with legal or consumer issues.

The scheme is free and confidential and is available 24/7.  

You can access the assistance over the phone or online via the health assured website. If needed, you can also receive up to eight face-to-face counselling sessions.

Mental Health First Aiders

We have a network of Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs) across the Dimensions group, to provide you with support in the event that you experience issues relating to mental health.

Our scheme follows the guidelines set by Mental Health First Aid England and each of our MHFAs in Dimensions has been through rigorous, accredited training.

Mental Health First Aiders can:

• Act as a point of contact to reassure colleagues in emotional distress or experiencing poor mental health
• Listen non-judgmentally and hold supportive conversations
• Signpost colleagues to professional help
• Identify the signs and symptoms for a range of mental health conditions
• Use a five-step action plan to assist someone experiencing a mental health issue.

Listening to our colleagues

We value and support the people who work with us. We want everyone to have the opportunity to be listened to and raise issues. We consult with our employees before key decisions on major initiatives or changes to policies are made.  

We use a variety of ways of communicating to try to reach everyone. Through our staff engagement forums, Diversity Matters group and regular surveys and focus groups you can share your concerns, ideas and examples of best practice.  

Training and development

We provide a full induction and training programme when you join us. In addition to regular 1-2-1s and annual appraisals, we’ll help you develop your career.

With a range of training opportunities, access to our career development programme – Aspire  - and our skills development programme, Learning Connect , you’ll be well supported with your career development.

Everyone who works for us is trained to meet mandatory standards and you’ll find we train our colleagues beyond the minimum requirements. Within your first week of employment, you’ll be invited to start your induction journey.

We have our own learning academy. Alongside some face-to-face learning, you will complete a majority of your mandatory training online and learn a variety of topics, including health and safety and fire safety at work. All of our courses are regularly updated.  

Induction standards and qualifications

Within the first 12 weeks of working with us, we’ll support you to complete the Care Certificate, a requirement for everyone working in the social care sector.

If you are a permanent member of staff, you will also have the opportunity to complete qualifications relevant to your role with one of our experienced external providers.

• “I think the training has been good in comparison with other people I know that work elsewhere in the care sector. During my induction, I think I learnt more in that one week than I’ve ever learnt before! I then shadowed for three weeks until I was confident to work more independently”. Amy, support worker.

You could also be eligible for ‘bonus payment’ when you complete certain qualifications.

Aspire

All permanent staff have regular opportunities to gain a place on our award-winning career development programme, Aspire. Aspire has won a national business culture award and our coaches have also won a prestigious CIPD award for their work on Aspire.  

Aspire participants explore new ways and opportunities to progress with help from a professional career coach.

Your coach will support you to develop your training, job shadowing and networking opportunities. You’ll work together with your line manager to establish a career development plan and see how you can achieve your goals.

Aspire is a key reason why Discovery colleagues are more than twice as likely to choose to stay  compared to staff in other social care organisations.

We have now had almost 300 colleagues take part in the Aspire programme, with many describing the impact of the coaching as transformational to their confidence and focus inside and outside of work.

Coupled with this, 60% of participants have reported measurable career growth as a result of being on Aspire.