Team Leader, Direct Support Professionals (Lake County)

Aspire Chicago•Waukegan, IL

About The Position

Are you a caring and motivated individual? Do you enjoy building relationships and contributing to a positive environment? Do you have a passion for helping individuals develop their independence and achieve personal goals? Are you looking for a career with a purpose? If so, apply to join the Aspire team as a Team Leader today! We are looking for dedicated individuals to manage and coordinate direct services supporting people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities living in Aspire community homes. This is accomplished by coordinating with assigned Life Consultants to ensure services are provided according to individual plans, supervising direct support professionals to provide living support, responding to the unique needs and dreams of each person to promote meaningful life experiences, and ensuring a safe, healthy, comfortable home environment with the highest level of proactive customer service. Aspire community homes are environments where each person is supported to thrive and create connections within their communities by partnering with peers, family, friends, team members, and other supporters.

Requirements

High School Diploma or GED
Minimum of 1 year experience supporting persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
Valid Driver’s License with good driving record.
Minimum 21 years of age.
Effective oral and written communication skills; ability to write reports.
Ability to assess employee performance according to best practice standards and provide feedback.
Working knowledge of PC operations and software including Microsoft Office – Outlook, Word, Excel
Ability to use and adapt to various industry specific software products including an Electronic Health Record
Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from families, employees, and the general public.
Ability to maintain confidential information.
Ability to deal tactfully and courteously with participants, employees at all levels, families, and the general public.
Ability to work flexible hours and days, including some holidays.
Ability to maintain pleasant working relationships with all stakeholders.
Ability to interact positively with individuals who are verbally/physically aggressive.
Ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously and prioritize work.
Able to assist people in moving from one position to another including transferring from sitting to standing, repositioning, transferring from one surface to another, or climbing stairs.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Social Services or related field preferred.
Previous experience supervising employees.

Responsibilities

Schedule and assure proper support ratios according to the needs of the people living in the community home; ensure overtime is kept to a minimum (may include covering shifts and adjusting schedule).
Monitor, assign, and manage DSP required duties including documentation within data management systems
Provide documented supervision to all direct reports to assure total quality, agency, and departmental goals are met, including hiring, training, scheduling, payroll, evaluation and talent reviews, time off, disciplinary action.
Schedule and manage all DSP time off to include PTO, Holiday, Leave of Absence, illness, according to policy and procedures
Schedule and create agenda for regular monthly team meetings.
Manage payroll for assigned DSP team; including time adjustments, confirmation of additional shifts worked, monitoring logged time, approval and final submission, and coordinating with the Human Resources/Finance teams as necessary
Complete a minimum of one working shift per week in assigned homes to keep abreast of and support home operations and provide service modeling.
Provide on-call or leadership support for the Living program as scheduled or as assigned.
Schedule, review and monitor DSP OJT’s to proficiency with DSP’s within 90 days of hire
Schedule, review and monitor DSP required initial, annual, and as scheduled training; including by not limited to AMTS/MANDT, CPR/FA, Clinical Trainings, Rule 50, and Medication Authorization
Partner with Life Consultants and DSP’s to provide optimal services.
Work with Life Consultant and DSP’s to provide assistance to each person in accordance with each person’s Individual Service Plan, Clinical Plan, and Health/Wellness Plan and attend special meetings for the individual as needed.
Advocate for each individual to ensure each is treated with dignity and respect, given the opportunity to exercise his/her individuality, and has access to explore opportunities of interest to each.
Work with participants to explore and arrange for menu planning, shopping, activities, outings, hobbies, etc., that focus on optimum results as they pertain to physical fitness, entertainment, social interaction, community participation, and education for each individual.
Maintain the physical structure (maintenance, safety, and cleanliness) of the assigned community homes; report need for repairs, improvements, and risks.
Monitor home safety through environmental reviews, safety drills, and policy/procedure implementation.
Manage all community home and participant funds to include LINK cards, house account, and personal funds within budget parameters (to include assignment of food and supply shopping)
Respond to medical and/or behavioral crisis situations and provide support to fellow team members as needed
Complete documentation, support, and training to promote optimal service quality.
Ensure compliance with required documentation including, but not limited to the money log, mileage log, review of events, medication tracking and reconciliation, task sheets, safety drills and communication log and Electronic Health Record data
Maintain Authorized DSP status for all assigned community homes & administer medications as needed
Provide on-call coverage as scheduled or as assigned.
Provide coverage of open caseloads as needed
Make recommendations and assist with changes in the development and delivery of new and/or existing policies, procedures, services, etc., to optimize quality assurance, reduce department deficits, and maintain the integrity of the department and Aspire.
Comply with Compliance and Quality Enhancement initiatives and protocols.
Complete all required trainings including but not limited to AMTS/MANDT, CPR/FA, Clinical Trainings, Rule 50 Abuse Neglect
Complete other duties as assigned by supervisor.