Post: Support Worker
Reporting to: Manager
Line Management Responsibility: Volunteers when working together.
Hours per week: 37.5 hours
Salary Scale: £26,804.09
Working hours: 37.5 hours weekly Monday to Sunday, with occasional evening, and bank holiday working.
Actual days, start/finish times maybe variable and in accordance with the service rota.
Overall purpose of the job
The Support Worker role is to provide practical support and guidance to service users who have experienced homelessness. The support will be effective and responsive to equip individuals to move on independently.
The role will involve partnership working with relevant agencies for a joined-up approach.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Deliver high quality support and guidance, developing support plans with individuals, that reflect their ambitions and aspirations with clear actions for achieving these.
• Make appropriate referrals to agencies regarding accommodation and specialist support.
• Assist in providing broader homelessness prevention services including giving advice, support, advocacy, making homeless applications and contributing to eviction prevention work as assigned from time to time.
• Effectively and professionally manage a case load of residents as allocated.
• Work to maintain expertise in regard to what accommodation options are available and ensure residents understand their rights and options. Providing information and advice on welfare rights, housing options, tenancy rights and responsibilities, and advocacy and assertiveness skills support in these areas.
• Work with clients to identify their own housing issues, give advice and support them in addressing these issues.
• Actively support residents to achieve tangible progress in areas such as tenancy management, independent living skills and training/education.
SERVICE DELIVERY:
• To ensure residents receive a welcoming, supportive and positive experience whilst accessing CHESS services.
• To build warm, positive relationships with service users, keeping their best interests at heart.
• To complete support referrals, risk assessments, support plans and meetings.
• To ensure all service users have an accurate, fully maintained electronic case file.
• Develop client risk assessments and contribute to safeguarding plans.
• Provide person-centred support to help residents achieve personal goals and aspirations for independent living, training, employment and education.
• To work with clients to improve skills and overcome barriers so they are able to successfully move on to independent housing
• Working with residents for a minimum of 6 months with regular meetings focussed on clients working towards personal goals and celebrating success.
• Motivating and facilitating residents to be actively involved in meaningful daytime activity including skills development, training, volunteering, employment, healthy activities.
• Working with residents to help them learn, or improve, their practical life skills (eg budgeting, paying bills, planning meals) needed for their survival in independent housing.
• To support and promote diversity and equality of opportunity in the workplace.
TEAM WORK
• To attend and participate in regular team meetings.
• To participate in regular support & supervision sessions
• To attend appropriate training courses and participate in skill sharing sessions within the team.
Person Specification
Essential
• Previous experience of working in supported housing or a social care settings
• A genuine passion for supporting vulnerable individuals and helping them achieve greater independence.
• An understanding of relevant housing legislation and statutory duties.
• Able to build rapport, and develop key relationships with service users internally and externally
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a wider team
• An empathetic and non-judgemental approach to service users
• The ability to support individuals with multiple needs
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Enthusiastic and positive attitude
• Honest, respectful, reliable, non-judgmental.
• An awareness of professional boundaries
• High degree of self-motivation, problem solving, initiative and adaptability/flexibility
• Persistence and Resilience when working with residents
• Motivating others, encouraging positive lifestyle changes and engaging in other support networks
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office & CRM systems
• Ability to deescalate challenging situations with a non-confrontational approach.
• Experience of carrying out needs and risks assessments and developing and working with support
• Effective time management and organisational skills, and ability to prioritise workloads
• Knowledge of adult safeguarding, signs of abuse and neglect and importance of reporting in line with policies and procedures.
Desirable
• Awareness of the need for outcomes
• Experience of registered housing provision
• Experience of health and safety procedures
• Experience of working in an environment that requires confidentiality.
CHESS Homeless is committed to the safeguarding of adults, young people and children. This post is subject to a self-disclosure and a satisfactory return of a disclosure and barring service submission.
Contact Details
Please contact recruitment@chesshomeless.org for an application form and further details