Habilitation Specialist

You’re passionate about supporting children and young people with vision impairment to develop confidence and independence.  You thrive in a role that combines one-to-one, person-centred training with group work and collaboration.

As a Habilitation Specialist, you'll deliver specialist mobility and independence training to children and young people, helping them build the skills they need to navigate the world. You'll assess individual needs, develop tailored habilitation programmes, and work closely with families, schools, and professionals to provide ongoing support. Whether you're teaching one-to-one or running group sessions alongside colleagues, your work will make a real difference.

You'll need to be highly organised, managing your own diary and prioritising children based on their needs. This role involves regular travel, with flexibility required to provide occasional cover across Birmingham, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, and Gloucestershire. You'll work independently much of the time but will also be a valued part of a supportive team, attending regular team meetings and staying connected through technology and in-person collaboration.

Seeing young people succeed will be at the heart of what you do. You'll take pride in their achievements, adapting your approach to suit each individual's learning style. A strong communicator, you'll engage effectively with children, families, and professionals, ensuring a joined-up approach to support.

To be successful in this role, you'll need to hold the Habilitation and Disabilities of Sight Graduate Diploma (IOE) and one or more of the following qualifications: BSc Hons Top-up Degree in Habilitation Studies (BCU Birmingham City University), Rehabilitation Officer Diploma / Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) – Working with Children with Visual Impairment, or another nationally recognised qualification in habilitation training for children and young people with visual impairment.

If you hold a Foundation Degree in Rehabilitation Work (Visual Impairment) or a Diploma in Higher Education in Rehabilitation Studies, you'll need to demonstrate a commitment to further study to achieve full habilitation accreditation.

Experience working with children and young people aged 0–25 years is essential, and you'll also need to be registered with an appropriate professional body upon appointment (registration fees funded by Guide Dogs). A full UK driving licence or an alternative means of meeting the travel requirements is required.

This role involves walking long distances in all weather conditions, handling specialist equipment, and delivering practical habilitation training, so resilience and adaptability are key. This is a rewarding role where you can truly make a difference.

No two people with sight loss are the same, and none of our people are either. So, we are proud to offer a range of person-centred benefits that can support each member of staff in ways that really mean something to them – and show them how much they mean to us. We offer a flexible benefits package, discounts and cashback scheme, a generous holiday allowance and matched contributory pension scheme to care for our people.  

Interviews for this role are planned to take place W/C 14 April.

For high volumes of applications, we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than advertised.

How to apply 

Further details on the full role are attached below. When you are ready to apply, submit an online application form via this page.

If you would like to have an informal conversation about the role before applying, or require any accessibility support to apply, our friendly recruitment team is ready and waiting to help. Call them on 0118 3540345 or drop an email to [email protected].

As part of your application ensure you provide evidence and examples of how your skills & experience meet the criteria as set out in the attached job description. You’ll also be asked to complete a few job-specific questions as part of this application process, so please be prepared to write your answers to these questions. 

If you want to know more about the teams who work at Guide Dogs, you can find it on our Careers Page

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Guide Dogs welcomes applications from all sections of the community and actively encourages diversity to maximise achievements, creativity and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or nationality. 

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are proud, whenever possible, to offer an interview to all candidates that meet our selection criteria, and who indicate they wish their application to be considered under our Disability Confident interview commitment. For more details, visit our careers site.

If you are successful you’ll need to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK via our digital ID checking supplier; in addition, we cannot offer visa sponsorship at this time.

Every day is different at Guide Dogs. And no person with sight loss is the same. We work side by side, on our sites and in the community, in schools and on our streets, supporting people to live the life they choose. Our staff therefore also work in different ways to support the delivery of our life changing work.

Safeguarding

Guide Dogs is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk of harm with whom we work. We expect all our employees and volunteers to fully share this commitment.

At Guide Dogs, we believe in fair and equitable hiring practices. A criminal record will not automatically disqualify an applicant from consideration for a position. Each case will be evaluated individually, taking into account the nature of the offense, its relevance to the role, and the time that has passed since the incident. We encourage all candidates to disclose relevant information, and we assure you that it will be handled confidentially and fairly.

Guide Dogs follow Safer Recruitment practices to ensure we are safeguarding the vulnerable people we work with. As part of this, we require a full work history with any gaps accounted for & a minimum of 2 professional referee details fully covering the past 5 years. If you are applying for a disclosure role, please note that you’ll be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check and sign up to the DBS update service.