Housing First Worker

Salary £24,251 - £25,527

Location Southampton

This is a Permanent, Full Time vacancy that will close in {x} days at {xx:xx} BST.

The Vacancy

FULL TIME - 37hrs

Mon - Fri - 09:00-17:00 / 10:00-18:00

Southampton Housing First supports individuals aged 16 and over, who have high support needs and a history of entrenched or repeat homelessness, to have a home of their own where they can regain stability, safety, and support. We work in partnership with the council and various housing association to deliver intensive person-centred support and accommodation choices.

Our priority is to find safe, permanent housing that’s suitable for the client. Once housing is found our dedicated team provides intensive one to one support to enable clients to maintain their accommodation and achieve their goals.

If you love working with people and are looking for a role where you can make a real difference in the lives of those you support, then this is the role for you!

JOB PURPOSE

To be part of a team that supports our clients, by providing intensive wrap around support, keeping them safe and helping them to achieve their goals.

To provide people with homes and specialist support so they feel more valued and secure, and ready to take the next steps.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

To assess the needs of each client, helping to develop their personalised support plan and safety plan to achieve their goals. These are kept under regular review
To manage a personal caseload of clients who require intensive support on a one-to-one basis
Providing assertive outreach for those that are rough sleeping to build a trusting relationship, which will require a flexible approach to engagement techniques.
To provide practical support when a client moves into a property such as setting up utilities, sourcing furniture, developing their domestic skills and accessing services in the community
To mediate and negotiate with housing providers to secure accommodation and prevent homelessness when applicable
To engage with local authorities, health providers and other agencies, creating and maintaining working relationships to maximise the opportunities available to clients
To liaise with colleges, training agencies, employers to help clients gain access to education, find work or maintain their benefit entitlement
To lead on client activities to help them gain practical life skills
To support clients by providing advice on housing, welfare benefits, rent deposits and household goods via a variety of schemes
To support clients to understand harm reduction approaches to keep them safe and well
To carry out housing management duties such as collecting service charges at various locations 
To support clients in trauma informed and psychologically informed ways
To adhere to safeguarding responsibilities, following our safeguarding policy and procedure
To help maintain health and safety, ensuring clients, visitors and buildings are safe in accordance with Health and Safety regulations, policy and procedures
To provide basic first aid assistance until help arrives (full training is provided)
To work confidently and efficiently when lone working
To maintain accurate records on our client management system and ensure these are stored in line with GDPR
To maintain confidentiality
To represent the organisation in a professional manner
Any other reasonable duties required in the interest of the organisation

ROLE REQUIREMENTS

This role will require an Enhanced with Barred List(s) disclosure and barring service check is a requirement for this role. This would be completed on appointment of the role.
This role will require a full drivers’ licence and access to a vehicle
This role will require you to work flexibly across several sites and in the community
This role will require you to work with clients on a one-to-one basis
This role will require you to lone work
This role will require you to support people sleeping rough

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

Strong communication skills, both verbal and written
Clear verbal and written English
Good keyboard skills for data inputting
Good working knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Excel and Word
Confident and assertive manner
Ability to self-motivate as you will have some instances of lone working
Effective team working
Ability to respond calmly to crisis
Deal promptly with and effectively react to challenging situations
Have an interest and genuine concern for homelessness and related issues

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

Experience of managing a caseload of clients
Understanding of the complex support needs of people experiencing homelessness or those with complex needs
Knowledge of Safeguarding practices
Knowledge of voluntary and statutory agencies, housing regulations and the benefits system
Understanding of risk assessment and person-centred, outcomes-based delivery

We reserve the right to close our adverts early if a successful candidate is found, so please submit your application as soon as possible.

About Us

We offer support to people who are homeless, vulnerable or at risk of becoming homeless and need help rebuilding their lives for a brighter future. Our services include safe, flexible and reliable client led housing and support with a focus on reducing homelessness, improving health and wellbeing and building on individual’s skills and resilience to break the cycle of homelessness, poverty and exclusion.

We work in partnership with multiple agencies and authorities to deliver support and accommodation needs across Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Dorset.

We are dedicated to safeguarding all young people and adults with our services. We follow safer recruitment practices for all our vacancies to assure that all successful candidates are suitable to work with our clients.

We’re committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workforce that embodies our values and promotes a tolerant and respectful environment where everyone can feel empowered to succeed.

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and will support with any reasonable adjustments needed during the recruitment process.

Our vision

To be a safety net for people in tough times and the springboard to a brighter future.

Our mission

To provide people with homes and specialist support so they feel more valued and secure, and ready to take the next steps.

Our values

Everyone matters
We know we’re stronger together
We do the right things, for the right reasons
We never give up

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