Community Support Worker - Changing Futures in Brighton

Justlife’s Vision

Making people\'s experience of temporary accommodation short, safe and healthy.

About this role

Justlife are excited to announce that we are recruiting a Community Support Worker in Brighton to join the Changing Futures Team within Brighton & Hove City Council. The post will be co-ordinated between Justlife and Homes & Adult Social Care, working with clients who would benefit from specialist tailored support.

You will work alongside Social Workers, a Domestic Violence and Abuse Worker, a Recovery Coordinator, Homeless Prevention Officers, as well as Peer Support Workers with lived experience.The teams is part of the wider Changing Futures Sussex Systems Change priority is to identify blocks and barriers in the system, recognising best practice and flexible working to overcome the challenges facing people with multiple disadvantage.

Multiple disadvantage or multiple complex needs is defined by the national Changing Futures Programme as people who experience three or more of: homelessness, current or historical offending, substance misuse, domestic abuse, and mental ill health.

Brighton & Hove has a unique demographic which makes it a challenging yet very rewarding place to work. Working closely with our partner agencies, we continue to be at the forefront of making a positive difference in challenging times. The Changing Futures Team aims to create an environment where individuals experiencing multiple complex needs, who repeatedly fall through the net of service provision, receive flexible, trauma informed, person-centred support. The service aims to enable positive changes in services; to make them better connected, and easier to access.

Community Support Workers within Changing Futures will be part of a multi-disciplinary team who will adopt a curious, creative and collaborate approach to service provision. We are looking for innovative thinkers and those that truly believe and practice a trauma informed approach.

Why does Justlife exist

Justlife is in existence because we know thousands of people struggle to manage in poor and unsuitable temporary accommodation. Their stay isn’t temporary, they are likely to be suffering with deteriorating mental and physical health, becoming victims of crime, losing control of their life and even dying prematurely. We are working towards making their stays as short, safe and healthy as possible.

How do we operate?

• Our values guide our work and are very important to us:
• Collaboration before competition
• People before programmes
• Innovation before Institutions

What do we do?

Justlife delivers impactful services in Greater Manchester and Brighton & Hove, supporting and empowering people experiencing homelessness in temporary accommodation. We also drive positive system change across the national temporary accommodation sector, convening those with a common interest; people with lived experience, landlords, charities, local and national government, and carrying out research and gathering insights.

We aim to grow our impact and reach, supporting more people in temporary accommodation and to build a movement that brings about lasting positive change.

Why work for us?

Here at Justlife, we\'re committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We want to be an organisation that\'s representative of the communities we serve, which is why we strive for diversity of age, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity and perspective.

Perks of working at Justlife

• Great holiday package! Starting at 27 days annual leave entitlement, plus bank holidays (increasing to 29 days after 5 years’ service and 30 days after 10 years’ service)
• Additional 5 days annual leave purchase scheme through salary sacrifice
• Enhanced pension contribution scheme, 5% Justlife contribution (correct at time of print)
• Cycle to work scheme
• 2 Volunteering days per year

Key terms and conditions

Job Title: Community Support Worker – Changing Futures

Hours: Full Time (37.5 hours per week)

Contract: Fixed term to 31^st March 2026

Normal hrs to be worked: Monday to Friday, 9 - 5pm

Location: Brighton and Hove City Council

Salary: £29,894 per annum (Band 5.2)

Application Process

To apply, please email a covering letter addressing how you meet the person specification, together with an up to date CV and an Equal Opportunities form to recruitment@justlife.org.uk. The Equal Opportunities form can be found at https://www.justlife.org.uk/jobs.

If you have any questions about the role, please call Holly Croydon (07753 280150) or Sara Emerson (07715 231983).

Closing date for applications is midnight on 7^th August. You will receive an automated email receipt of your submitted forms. If you do not hear from us by 5pm on Monday 11^th August 2025 please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. We are grateful to you for considering this role but unfortunately we are unable to provide feedback on unsuccessful shortlisting.

Provisional dates for interview are w/c 18^th August.

Justlife is an equal opportunities employer and considers all applications received.

Role Summary

The role requires the use of specialist knowledge and relationship skills to influence clients with varying degrees of mental health, addiction and trauma related issues to engage with health services and other agencies across the city. This will include advocacy in registering them for medical services and accompanying them to appointments; assisting them in addressing all aspects of physical and mental health or substance addiction needs, as well as advocating or them to get access to source housing and social security benefits. Working collaboratively with our partners within the Changing Futures Multi-Disciplinary team, the role is dependent on good communication and joint working with a variety of partners and professionals.

The role requires a high degree of motivation to support clients with multiple disadvantage, often in a lone-working situation. With a passion to work collaboratively with others for the good of our clients and with some experience of working in a related field in a voluntary or paid capacity.

A high degree of emotional intelligence is required to support clients, many of whom have complex emotional needs, with backgrounds of trauma, neglect, abuse, crime and low self-worth. A role of this nature will experience a range of emotions from joy to grief and as such requires a high degree of resilience to cope with the emotional demands of the role.

Making decisions “in the moment” to do the right thing to mitigate risk with clients can place high emotional demands on the job holder. The role is highly reactive, unpredictable and at times, chaotic. The role therefore requires a high degree of self-awareness to one’s own resilience levels and exercising appropriate levels of self-care.

This job description is intended as an outline indicator of general areas of activity and will be amended in light of the changing needs of Justlife. It is expected that the post holder will be as positive and flexible as possible in using this document as a framework, and in performing other duties commensurate with these responsibilities, the band of the post and skills and qualification of the post-holder.

Job Description

Service Delivery

Using frontline practical and procedural knowledge of working with complex clients to support them to engage with health care services during their housing vulnerability. This could include, but is not limited to:

• Assisting them in addressing housing, financial, health or wellbeing needs
• Accompanying them to appointments
• Collaborating with agencies within the Changing Futures partner agencies such as the local authority, primary health care housing providers and substance misuse services.
• Advocating on behalf of the service user to access medical care, housing and benefits.
• Maintaining regular contact, a listening ear and emotional support during times of crisis
• Helping increase their self-confidence and self-efficacy to improve their chances of moving on from homelessness
• Manage own calendar to deliver a caseload during periods of work-related pressure, including actively pursuing the project outcomes set for the project and individual clients.
• Use interpersonal and communication skills to provide support to service users and collaborate with others including colleagues, partner agencies, health care professionals and external agencies.
• Take duty of care seriously by assessing the service users social and environmental conditions, drawing out and passing on relevant information to and from healthcare professionals, ensuring client confidentiality is maintained.
• Use of excellent writing skills to prepare and submit housing applications along with a good working knowledge of housing legislation in order to advocate on behalf of clients.
• Support delivery of the activities programme where needed.
• Brief and liaise with other members of the team and external agencies regarding clients, enabling them to effectively carry out their roles.
• To record all client data on the BTHINK System within the standards set by the organisation.
• Carry out light physical tasks, such as travelling to visit clients, shopping or lifting office equipment.
• Oversee work streams within the project as directed by the Project Lead.

Service Development

• Contribute to initiatives that seek to influence service improvements, implement changes and develop new interventions and support for clients.
• Provide reports and case studies when requested.
• To be part of and contribute to the Changing Futures and Justlife staff teams, attending meetings as appropriate and to be involved in appropriate staff development, training, supervision and reflective practice as well as continuing professional development and training events where appropriate and be committed to team events.

Research

• Supporting the wider Changing Futures Programme to feed into research and help develop the service including the involvement of clients in design and delivery of the service.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of working with vulnerable adults (those experiencing homelessness or housing vulnerability, or a comparable client group)
• Experience of working with drug and alcohol dependent adults or those experiencing poor mental health

Skills

• Care, empathy and skilled in dealing with emotionally vulnerable service users
• Excellent ability to engage with service users in an empowering manner
• Effective communication; written and oral skills
• Effective administrative and IT skills
• Excellent organisational skills

Knowledge

• Demonstrate knowledge of assessment, support planning and interventions that help clients experiencing homelessness or housing vulnerability to become and stay healthy.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the challenges and solutions to working with a client group who may be experiencing one or more of the following: poor health (physical and mental), substance misuse and homelessness.
• An understanding of health and safety policies and procedures that aim to keep staff and clients safe.

Personal attributes

• A strong commitment to drive change for people experiencing multiple disadvantage
• Commitment to the values of Justlife
• Commitment to diversity and anti-oppressive practice in all areas of work
• Self-motivation, able to prioritise workload and operate without close guidance from a manager