Rough Sleeper Coordinator in Weston-super-Mare

About Us

North Somerset Council is committed to providing high-quality services to our community. We are committed to creating a fair, green, and more inclusive environment for all our residents. Join us and contribute to making a positive impact on our community.

The Role

This is an exciting opportunity for a proactive, committed, and robust individual to join our Homeless Prevention Team, with the post-holder fulfilling a key strategic and operational role to prevent and reduce rough sleeping in North Somerset.

In this role, you will be responsible for maintaining a strategic overview of the issues relating to rough-sleeping in North Somerset and ensure effective relationships with partners to deliver strategic and operational objectives. This means working closely with outreach, accommodation and support providers and other relevant agencies to promote a systematic approach in services for those who sleep rough or are at risk of sleeping rough. On an operational level you will hold cases and seek successful pathways for some of the most entrenched and complex individuals. You will also be responsible for organising the council’s rough sleeper count and managing its severe weather emergency protocol.

To succeed, you will have experience of working within homelessness/rough sleeping and delivering a client and outcome focused service, as well as an in-depth knowledge of the factors that contribute to people sleeping rough. Be able to demonstrate a strong understanding of local and national strategies to address rough-sleeping and have the ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with clients, local authority partners, health, voluntary sector agencies and the police.

Key Responsibilities

The post holder is expected to provide strategic oversight of rough sleeper services and multiple activities across service areas working with rough sleepers and those facing homelessness. The project has specific funding outcomes and analysis, monitoring and reporting outcomes to the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government. The post-holder will work in an integrated way with partners across the council and outside the organisation (including private sector providers and other public sector and voluntary organisations).

The Rough Sleeper Coordinator will support delivery of a range of straightforward to complex project work, the outcomes of which must comply with council policy, council statutory obligations and external (including partner) requirements/obligations.

• Act as single lead point of contact for all rough sleeping outreach related work, working closely with outreach services and monitoring the funding and service level agreement for outreach services ensuring outcomes are met.
• Project management of rough sleeping interventions and completion of any data returns as required by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
• Work closely with MHCLG rough sleeper advisor to share best practice and project monitoring.
• Lead for Housing Solutions on the Street2Settled partnership to facilitate a multi-agency approach to prevent rough sleeping and support those rough sleeping into long-term accommodation.
• Monitor the rough sleeper actions in the Homeless Prevention and Rough Sleeper strategy to help achieve objectives.
• Represent the Council at local and sub-regional rough sleeper meetings.
• Plan and submit rough sleeping funding bids at local or sub-regional level and coordinate feedback and recommendations.
• Assess and analyse outcomes for rough sleepers/single homeless to increase insight into the early causes of homelessness to improve services.
• Work closely with agencies offering services to rough sleepers, e.g. community nursing, community response, to understand services and any gaps in provision.
• Prepare reports/updates and member briefings on progress of initiatives.
• Work closely with the Council’s Communication Team with reference to press queries and communications.
• Respond to Freedom of Information requests.
• Take and answer queries from the public, elected members and other stakeholders.

Work Style

At North Somerset Council, we offer a hybrid working environment based on four distinct work styles. Depending on the role and personal circumstances, you will fall into one of these categories. However, please note that during the induction period, it may be necessary to spend more time in the office to support your learning and development. We are flexible and open to discussions about your preferred working style, and if you wish to be in the office more frequently, this can be negotiated.

This role falls into the category of Flexible Worker which means you can expect to work in the following way:

• 2-3 days in the office
• Works both from home and the office, depending on the task at hand.
• Training is provided to help balance work-life and manage time effectively, with an emphasis on communication for team touchpoints and planning in-office days for collaboration.

About You

You must be able to plan ahead, organise work to meet deadlines and manage your own work/case load in a busy, fast-paced environment, including experience of developing action plans and joint working protocols. This is a high-profile post and excellent communication, influencing and reasoning skills are key, as is a flair for solving problems.

We are looking for an individual who is passionate about homelessness and housing, and who possesses the following skills and experience:

Essential Criteria

• Vocational qualification or experience to level 5 or above, relevant to the one or more of the service areas, e.g. managing projects specifically in services relating to people in housing need who may have complex needs.
• Extensive practical experience of working within the homelessness/housing sector, sound understanding of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, legal responsibilities, work practices and processes relevant to the role. E.g. housing options services either in local government or relevant agency/provider.
• Demonstrate well-developed interpersonal skills to influence outcomes to support council priorities, e.g. developing and maintaining partnerships to achieve outcomes.
• Experience of supervising/coaching others within the same field of work.
• Knowledge and understanding of related legislation such as the Care Act 2014, safeguarding etc.
• Ability to analyse designated areas of work and make decision to improve them.
• Ability to engage with key stakeholders, businesses and partner agencies within the.
• Ability to prepare and present information clearly and confidently, including preparation of presentation materials for project sponsor, programme managers etc.
• Ability to manage/organise own work to meet agreed deadlines.
• Understanding and recognition of professional boundaries.

What We Offer

At North Somerset Council, we value our employees and provide a supportive and inclusive work environment. We offer:

• Competitive salary and benefits
• Flexible working arrangements
• Local Government Pension
• Opportunities for professional development
• Inclusive Staff groups including Carers, Disabled, LGBTQ+, REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), and Young Staff Forums
• Opportunity to purchase up to an additional 10 days annual leave each year
• Dedicated in-house Wellbeing Team
• Salary sacrifice Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle schemes

Further details of our excellent rewards package can be found in our Benefits booklet.

Important Information

As a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job role. Please note: We are currently only able to accept applications from candidates who have full permission to work in the UK and are unable to provide Sponsorship for this role.

Equal Opportunities

At North Somerset Council we want all our employees to feel valued and appreciated. We aim to ensure equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination irrespective of your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, age, disability, including neurodiversity, if you are married or in a civil partnership or are pregnant or currently on maternity leave. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We reserve the right to close this advertisement early or extend the closing date depending on the number of applications received.