Senior Youth Support Worker

Overview

Using a person-centered approach, you will draw on your previous relevant experience in Supported Housing along with your patience and dedication to achieve positive outcomes for all our young people. YMCA Robin Hood group provides temporary supported accommodation for young people who have found themselves homeless through no fault of their own. Working in partnership with the local authority, we provide short term, supported accommodation to enable the young person to move on to independent living. You will passionately share in our belief that everyone should have a fair chance to discover who they are and what they can become.

Responsibilities

• Senior Youth Support Worker: work in partnership with a Youth Support Worker to provide a seamless level of support to our young people.
• Keyworker for around 10–15 young people who have had challenging starts in life and struggle to build positive relationships.
• Work with the young person in a trauma-informed way to co-produce support plans, risk assessments, Outcome Stars, crisis plans and safety plans.
• Create a positive, nurturing and trusted environment for young people, always displaying unconditional positive regard while maintaining boundaries.
• Act as a positive role model.
• Work collaboratively with other agencies and professionals including social workers, personal advisors, housing providers, health professionals, drug and alcohol treatment workers, and criminal justice practitioners to deliver wraparound support.
• Encourage young people to problem-solve and identify coping strategies when experiencing trauma, distress, self-harm, anger, etc.
• Proactively support young people to plan to move on to independent living. This includes advising on housing options, supporting with applications for housing to local authorities and exploring private sector accommodation options.
• Encourage young people to develop life-skills such as cleaning, cooking, budgeting, and engaging with health services.
• Encourage young people to engage with education, training or employment.
• Help young people to navigate the benefits system, supporting with applications. You will work 37.5 hours per week over 5 days on our rota which covers our service from 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week, 365 days per year. Our standard shifts are 8am–4pm, 12pm–8pm weekdays and 10am–6pm at weekends. We plan our rota in advance as a team and will endeavour to accommodate your personal preferences and availability. There is no requirement for lone working and you will always be on shift with other colleagues.

Requirements & Benefits

• This post is subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check (paid for by YMCA) and registration with the DBS Update Service. We reserve the right to withdraw this role before the closing date should we be able to appoint to the role.
• You will have the passion and drive to make a difference in a young person’s life and use your transferable skills to achieve positive outcomes.
• Whether your background is in supporting adults, children or young people, you should be able to think fast, remain calm, multi-task, problem solve, and show compassion and care.
• A Childcare or Health & Social Care qualification would be highly desirable but not essential. As we provide commissioned services, you must be willing to complete further study which is a mandatory part of the role. YMCA will support you to complete a minimum level 2 Housing Qualification and a level 3 Childcare/Health & Social Care Qualification (both nationally recognised). You will be enrolled after you have completed your probation. This will be fully funded by YMCA and you will be given time during your working week to complete these studies.
• Your communication skills will be your greatest strength and you will have experience dealing with difficult situations, challenging people and handling conflict appropriately. You will need to be confident using computers and IT; we use several IT packages that you will learn during training and use as part of your everyday work. You should be comfortable with all Microsoft packages.
• Disability Confident: This employer is Disability Confident. We encourage applicants who declare a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the job. Details may be found at the employer site.