Supported Housing Support Worker

37.5 hours per week / permanent / working onsite on a seven-day rolling rota, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

Our mission is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be. We do this by providing a safe home, increasing life skills and self-confidence, and improving emotional wellbeing and mental health.

YMCA Hastings provides medium-low supported accommodation for a total of 47 young people at risk of homelessness, aged 16 to 25, and care experienced young people under the age of 18. We have a dedicated team of Support Workers, Night Workers and additional Bank Workers who provide support, guidance, and signposting around areas such as housing, budgeting, living skills, jobs and relationship building. Situated just off the seafront, the project has strong links with and contributes to the local community.

Main areas of responsibilities are:

• Housing
  • Coach young people to manage their occupancy agreement and adhere to house rules, in preparation for independent living.
  • Promote a credit culture, encouraging young people to keep up to date with all payments for rent.
  • Maintain up-to-date knowledge of housing and welfare benefits for young people and be well-informed on significant changes to housing law.
  • Deal effectively with non-compliance issues, such as non-payment of rent or damage to room, using restorative practices and working collaboratively with the rest of the team.
• Coaching and Engagement
  • Coach young people so they can articulate their aspirations and ambitions and take the lead in acquiring the skills they need to live independent and fulfilling lives.
  • Ensure young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their own personal development, to engage with the services on offer and build strong networks and connections within the local community.
  • Ensure consistent standards of safeguarding and Trauma Informed Practice when supporting young people, observing our safeguarding procedures, and keeping yourself and residents safe by respecting professional boundaries.
  • Maintain client records on In-Form (client database) detailing the young person’s journey in relation to their strengths and needs, any risks, and any outcomes (to monitor service performance).
• General
  • Work as part of a team, on a rota shift pattern, ensuring young people at the service have non-judgemental, objective, and supportive staff during the day/evening, along with taking responsibility for personal safety during periods of lone working.
  • Contribute to a great working environment, with a calm, yet assertive manner, being able to handle potentially difficult situations.
  • Participate in relevant continuing professional development and utilise Reflective Practice Supervision as part of leading psychologically informed practice.
  • There will be times when lone working will be a requirement for this role, but you will get to know the team and service, along with an induction and training prior to starting on a rota.

If you’re enthusiastic about this opportunity but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway and demonstrate how your experience is transferrable. You may be just the right candidate. This is a dynamic and varied role; you will be passionate about being involved in the support and growth of young people.

Experience and Knowledge

• Experience relating to housing, support work, and/or working with young people at risk.
• Experience of working proactively with a caseload of young people with multiple and complex needs to enable them to achieve independent living.
• Knowledge of statutory and voluntary resources available to young people with multiple and complex needs.
• Knowledge of good safeguarding procedures in relation to young people and the ability to maintain effective professional boundaries.
• Demonstrated confidence and competence in recording notes/actions in service log, incident forms and health and safety check lists.

Skills and Abilities

• Ability to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing for appropriate recording of a resident’s progression, and to evidence outcomes achieved.
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with all stakeholders, including signposting and advocating for clients as necessary.
• Ability to work autonomously, and use own initiative, as well as being part of a team.
• Clear verbal and written communication skills, good IT, and keyboard skills.
• Ability to de-escalate volatile situations and manage challenging behaviour appropriately.