Lead Intensive Need Support Worker

Here at NEST we are commissioned by Lincolnshire County Council Children Services to provide accommodation and support to 16-21 year olds across the county of Lincolnshire. Within NEST we have 3 Intensive Need houses, located within the city of Lincoln and are a short walk away from each other. Our three houses offer a safe, homey environment (think family homes, not institutions) for one or two young people.

Most of our young people have experienced some level of childhood trauma and as such they all have a variety of support needs varying from substance misuse, undiagnosed learning needs, a lack of independent living skills, offending behaviours and mental health needs.

As a Lead Worker, you'll support and direct your team to tailor support to meet the young persons needs. Every day will offer a range of exciting new challenges and opportunities for you to make a difference. Some days, you may find yourself offering emotional support direct to the young person, encouraging them to speak about their feelings and supporting the team to help the Young Person build emotional resilience and to adopt 'safer' coping strategies. Other days you may be joining Multi agency meetings to represent the team and advocate on behalf of the Young Person or you may join our established and experienced countywide management team for an away day to look at our wider future development.

This is a leadership role that involves direct contact with Young People, your team and the wider internal and external professional network. You will support your team which is made up of 5 Support Workers, two of which are dedicated night workers. You will provide support and supervision to your team through a variety of formal and informal mechanisms, ensuring their personal development is prioritised. You will empower your team to work creatively and keep our young people engaged in their support package.

In this role your team will follow the journey of our Young People in Intensive Needs from move in to move on. At the point our Young People progress towards independence we reduce their support package which means we leave them home alone! When this happens your teams expertise is utilised by our wider NEST team and you will re deploy your team to spend time with other colleagues in our other accommodation settings across the county, providing short term support to other Young People who may be finding things difficult. Don't worry though, this is always within your working hours and your travel is paid.

We don't do personal care, restraints, or community supervision here. Our young people are capable individuals we treat with respect, actively preparing them for independence. You'll lead your team to be their guide, using creativity to encourage their participation in support sessions. There's paperwork involved (action planning, safety planning, monitoring), but it's all about documenting their progress!

Our young people need individuals who will be:

• Resilient and calm under pressure, fostering positive communication.
• Thrives on creativity and can think on their feet.
• Committed to ensuring their safety.

Our team needs a leader who will be:

• Authentic, leading with honesty and confidence.
• Reliable and motivated with a desire to help others learn and thrive.
• A good role model who communicates positively and professionally.

Overall our staff and young people need someone who is truly invested in their journey at NEST.

Things you need to know:

• Hours 40 a week.
• You will lead a small team to support 1 or 2 Young People in their home around the clock, this role involves shift work (mornings, afternoons and evenings) you will work 4 x 10 hour shifts per week on a 4 week rolling rota, this role does not include overnight working.
• Your annual salary rises on an incremental basis.
• To help our Young People feel at home the dress code for this role is smart casual.

The following is required for this role:

• An Enhanced and Barred DBS check.
• An understanding of your full employment and education history.
• Satisfactory references, one of which must be from your current / most recent employer.

At Nacro we value our people and want everyone to thrive in their role. Our recruitment checks, induction, ongoing support and supervision alongside our learning and development offer to all staff reflect our commitment to developing our team. We also offer excellent benefits including a great annual leave entitlement, additional special leave, an occupational sick pay scheme which exceeds statutory requirements and cycle-to-work scheme.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. To ensure excellent standards of service NEST is delivered in line with the Supported Accommodation Regulations 2023.

We are a national social justice charity with more than 50 years’ experience of changing lives, building stronger communities, and reducing crime. Last year alone we helped support, house, educate, advise, and speak out for 38,000 disadvantaged young people and adults - you could now help us make an even bigger impact going forward.