Support Worker – Floating Support in City of London

Central Recruitment is working with a prominent national homelessness charity, whose work includes supporting and accommodating young people.

Our client is currently recruiting for a Progression Coach (Floating Support), to work across seven West London boroughs including Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Kensington & Chelsea. The service provides floating support to people who are currently or have previously slept rough, helping them to sustain their tenancies and develop independent living skills.

• 37.5 hours per week
• Monday - Friday
• Between 08:00 - 20:00, there is flexibility regarding start/finish times
• Temporary cover is required until the end of March 2027 (possibility of extension)
• £16.86 per hour (£15.04 per hour, with £1.82 holiday pay)

Please note: This is a floating support role and involves meeting with clients across the community and within their own homes. You will work 2 days from the office in Brent, 2 days providing floating support, and 1 day working from home. This role involves lone working, and travel expenses can be claimed.

Key responsibilities:

• Hold a caseload of 20 medium support clients and conduct regular key working sessions, providing one to one support to ensure goals are identified and met
• Complete comprehensive and ongoing risk and needs assessments
• Interview and assess the suitability of referrals to the criteria and objectives of the project and provide written feedback to unsuccessful applicants
• Ensure that residents ready to move on have an appropriate network of support and resources to aid their transition to independent living and are positively involved with their own development
• Where service users have moved into accommodation, provide support through a programme of regular visits
• Help service users to apply for benefits, complete relevant application forms, learn budgeting skills and manage money, including support to prioritise and pay bills and rent
• Liaise and advocate with outside agencies, e.g. local authorities, benefits agencies, referral agencies and other statutory and voluntary bodies as appropriate
• Manage collection of service charge and petty cash on shift
• Deal with challenging behaviour in an appropriate and sensitive manner, keeping within the boundaries of policies and procedures and recording meetings and incidents appropriately
• Ensure a safe and secure environment and maintain high standards of health and safety within the project

What we’re looking for:

• Experience working with homelessness or rough sleepers
• Knowledge/understanding of the principle causes and effects of youth homelessness
• Experience working in a floating support environment, or supporting clients to move-on into hostels
• Experience holding a caseload, conducting support plans, risk assessments and needs assessments
• Knowledge and experience of housing management and benefits system
• A clear understanding of safeguarding requirements and professional boundaries
• Knowledge of the support needs of young people and how they might be best met including what statutory and voluntary resources are available
• Ability to use IT to a level which will enable high quality reporting to be carried out, including Word, Excel, Outlook and Databases
• Ability to take initiative and a willingness to work

Further requirements:

• Current valid right to work in the UK
• Minimum 12 months’ of paid experience in a front line social care role within the last 3 years* (unless recruitment criteria states otherwise)
• A fully enhanced DBS either registered on the DBS update service or issued within the last 12 months, or willingness to apply for one through Central (at a cost of £60)
• Employment or education history to cover the last 5 years which can be verified through the referencing process