Are you keen to enhance your use of digital tools, and your staff’s digital capacity? We are offering an opportunity to help your care home, its residents and local young people.
Care City is working in partnership with Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge Councils, Skills for Care and BHR CEPN, to recruit a new cohort of young people into a new role of ‘Digital Champion’ within the Care sector. Digital Champions in Care scheme will provide low cost, but high impact, support for care organisations to enhance their use of digital tools.
We are looking for care homes who would be interested in employing a Digital Champion for 6 months with the costs of employment reimbursed.
What is the programme?
- The BHR Kickstart Digital Champions in Care programme is funded through the government’s Kickstart
- It creates new, 6-month jobs for young adults aged 18 to age 24 on Universal Credit.
- The scheme covers the cost of their salary (at minimum wage for 25-hours a week,) Employer National Insurance and mandatory pension costs (where these apply); plus the costs of training and wrap-around support during the 6 month employment period.
What the programme will deliver:
- BHR Kickstart Digital Champions in Care will recruit, train and support a group of Digital Champions, to help care homes both to enable staff and residents to use digital tools, and to enhance their own digital capability as organisations.
- This programme provides an opportunity to attract new young people into your care setting by matching their digital skills and enthusiasm with the digital needs of care homes.
What the BHR Kickstart Digital Champions in Care partnership will provide to participating care homes:
- The scheme covers the cost of their salary (at minimum wage for 25-hours a week,) Employer National Insurance and mandatory pension costs (where these apply); plus the costs of training and wrap-around support during the 6 month employment period.
- £500 per Digital Champion towards costs of equipment / uniform and DBS required to undertake role
- Pre-recruitment assessment of Job Centre Plus recommended candidates and shortlisting for interview
- Comprehensive training for the Digital Champions to enable them to undertake the role effectively via a tailored programme delivered by Barclays Digital Eagles
- Regular support from a specialist Digital Mentor to help with understanding a care home’s position in relation to digital tools and to develop a workplan which meets the needs of your organisation’s digital priorities
- Regular 1-2-1 pastoral and employability support for the Digital Champion, provided through the local job brokerage service.
What we ask participating Care Homes:
- Interview a small number of candidates (who have been screened/supported by the job brokerage service with their application and suitability) – you will make the final decision on appointment of a Digital Champion (Interview coordination will be facilitated by the Kickstart team)
- Employ Digital Champion as a member of staff on a fixed term contract for 6 months at 25 hours per week. As with all new staff you would be responsible for organising the payroll, managing work hours, annual leave allowance, and managing the postholder
- Provide an induction and relevant statutory/mandatory training plus support and supervision including a line manager
- Work with the specialist Digital mentor to identify a work plan for the Digital Champion that meet the needs of your care setting and align with the digital upskilling work being led by the NEL digital team
- Work with employability and pastoral support provider including local job brokerage service as required to monitor progress of Digital Champion, resolve challenges, etc
- Where possible, consider the Digital Champion for other vacancies within the organisation at the end of the programme – via your usual application and interview process.
- Consider whether a digital champion role is one you want to create long term
- Provide a good quality reference at the end the of contract.
We will be taking employers on a first come first serve basis and we are hoping that the first Kickstart Digital Champions will be employed in June.
If you are interested in employing a funded Digital Champion please email us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we’ll talk you through the next steps.
For More Information:
Digital Champions Promotional Flyer
More information about the wider government kickstart programme
