Responsible to: Service Manager
Hours of Work: 16 hrs per week – working Saturday and Sunday 9-5.30pm
Location: YMCA Together – based from RISE
Salary and benefits:
* £11,567.36
* 13 days annual leave including bank holidays per annum
* Paid Medicash support
* Birthday day off
* Charity day of your choice
* Well-being Hours
* Cycle To Work Scheme
* Refer a Friend Scheme
* Company Pension Scheme 4%
* Funded Training Opportunities
Shortlisting and Interview Dates:
Shortlisting week commencing 25th November
Interview/Assessment day 2nd December
Job Purpose:
This service will provide support to vulnerable young people (age 18-25) who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping with medium to high support needs. As a support worker, you will focus on facilitating recovery, self-development, and preparing for independent living. The aim of the support is to ensure that young people are supported and empowered to make positive choices about their life and develop the tools required to live a life free from homelessness. You will be expected to have specific skills and experience of working with young people and engage them using a range of tools, language, and platforms that are familiar to young people (e.g., technology, social media).
As a support worker, you will recognize that the people we support have often experienced trauma and will work in a way that understands this. You will work alongside our Assistant Psychologist for those who require it.
As a weekend Support Worker, you will be expected to continue the support provided by the named support worker to ensure that those living in the service feel safe and listened to every day of the week.
Duties and Responsibilities:
* Carry out new service user welcomes, inducting them into their new properties and identifying immediate support needs.
* Ensure that service users have a full understanding of their rights and responsibilities during their stay.
* Support service users to achieve their goals and targets as defined/agreed within their support plans and empower them to reach their aims.
* Manage, update, and communicate service users' risk assessments in line with YMCA Together policy and procedure.
* Ensure service users shape their own support and understand the purpose of the support provided.
* Hold planned key-work sessions as well as ad hoc support each week with service users using a person-centred reflective approach.
* Assess support needs and plan support around individual needs. Regularly review and develop mutually agreed support plans with service users and any other professionals involved in their support (e.g., Social Workers, CPNs, Probation Officers).
* Keep up-to-date records on both support planning systems MainStay and DAVE.
* Conduct monthly/quarterly risk assessments of service users, keeping all relevant parties informed of updates/changes.
* Support all service users with future tenancy planning ensuring that everyone has the skills to live independently away from a supported housing pathway.
* Motivate and challenge service users so they realize their goals.
* Liaise between service users and external agencies regarding the provision of specialized support when appropriate.
* Encourage involvement and participation among service users in the running and shaping of the wider service by planning and attending regular service user meetings and forums.
* Deal promptly with all complaints and protection from abuse disclosures.
* Demonstrate creativity in overcoming obstacles and a commitment to working with and providing support to vulnerable people.
* Ensure that robust handovers are completed and actions are followed up on.
Health and Safety:
* Always ensure the safety of yourself and others on the premises in which you work or are visiting following the lone working processes.
* Report, log, and communicate all incidents to the appropriate people.
* Adhere to all risk management protocols.
Teamwork:
* Share information and expertise with the team, covering absence, and working together to provide a high-quality service.
* Contribute to the formulation of policy and procedures in relation to support services.
* Attend to all enquiries and pass messages onto relevant people.
* Develop excellent and robust relationships, protocols, contacts, and service level agreements with referring agencies, statutory services, and wider stakeholders.
* Attend and participate in regular team meetings to ensure good communication.
General:
* Undertake own administrative services.
* Uphold and develop YMCA Together's Equal Opportunities and Diversity policy of anti-discriminatory practices across all services.
* Adhere to the Protection from Abuse policy.
* Report and log all safeguarding incidents.
* Observe and ensure compliance with the professional boundaries and data protection policy.
Relationships:
The post holder will be required to have contact with a variety of people during the course of their work. The context of this contact will vary from formal ‘Key working’ to informal networking and relationship building with the Local Authority and other relevant agencies.
Annual appraisal and regular work review with line managers is an operational requirement, as is attendance at weekly support team meetings.
It is recognized that the organization is operating in a dynamic environment and as such this job description may be varied in consultation with the post holder to reflect the evolving needs of the business and changing nature of the job.
Person Specification – Support Worker – SHAP:
Qualifications:
* Essential: Qualification or working experience in homelessness, tenancy management, and supporting vulnerable people.
* Desirable: Qualifications or experience of working with young people, qualification in welfare rights, qualification in IT such as CLAIT, ECDL, ITQ.
Experiences:
* Essential: At least 1 year’s experience of working with vulnerable adults and a working knowledge of resettlement, support planning, welfare rights, benefits advice, mental health issues, offending, drug and alcohol misuse, harm reduction, working with partner agencies, and safeguarding.
* Desirable: Knowledge of support planning and models of change, experience of co-coordinating three-way meetings, experience of directly working with young people.
Knowledge:
* Essential: A working knowledge of providing intensive support to vulnerable client groups, health & safety issues, complex needs support issues such as mental health, homelessness, substance misuse and offending, safeguarding protocols, and understanding how to work alongside behaviors that may be challenging. Be able to drive and have access to a vehicle.
* Desirable: Knowledge of health interventions, welfare rights, the Cognitive Analytical Therapy (CAT) framework, and harm reduction.
Skills:
* Essential: Computer literate, competent in working with Microsoft Word, Outlook, Windows; ability to conduct comprehensive and accurate risk assessments; provide effective and consistent support planning; excellent IT, communication, interpersonal, interviewing, and assessment skills; excellent administration skills; ability to plan and deliver workshops and training sessions; demonstrate creativity in overcoming obstacles; ability and willingness to work unsupervised; ability to prioritize workload and meet deadlines.
* Desirable: Analytical, data collation, and reporting skills.
Behaviour/Attributes:
* Essential: Committed to improving the lives of people with complex needs; committed to personal development and CPD planning; creative and dynamic approach; energetic, highly motivated; excellent interpersonal/communication and negotiation/mediation skills; committed to own career development; ability to work within & have commitment to YMCA ethos, philosophy, and SHREK values (Strength, Humility, Respect, Empathy, and Kindness).
If you would like to apply not directly through the website, please email your completed application form to recruitment@ymcatogether.org.uk
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