JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title: Care & Support Worker (Mental Health)
Responsible to: Housing Manager
Responsible for: N/A
Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week - Day shifts, occasional night shifts asper rota
Pay: £30,090.11 per annum (rising to £30,992.81 after a successfulcompletionofprobation)
Service: Operations
Location: Croydon Borough
1. Organisational Context
Quo Vadis Trust (QVT) is a specialist housing charity (registration number 1116196) in South East London. We provide a service to people living with mental health needs and who need support with their housing. QVT currently provides homes to approximately two hundred people in South East London. Our range of support both on and off the premises helps each individual client to maximise their independence.
2. Job Purpose
To provide high quality support and consistent tenancy advice for our clients, with the aim of helping them recover, move on and rebuild their lives.
As a Care & Support Worker you will be expected to manage and key work a caseload of adults with multiple and various mental health needs such as anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder amongst other diagnoses, varied support needs such as substance misuse issues, and in some cases a lack of trust in support services. Therefore, one of the challenges of this role will be to encourage your clients to effectively engage with the recovery process. You will work with your clients to carry out individual support and needs planning and create SMART goals to maximise the potential for their recovery.
You will be greeting new clients, risk assessing them and delivering an induction process to welcome them into our services. Part of this role also involves providing advice on welfare and benefits; therefore, an understanding of universal credit, housing and homelessness legislation is an advantage. A critical part of this role will be helping clients to move on and successfully reintegrate back into society – our mission statement is to ‘promote recovery, maximise independence and build community’.
3. Main Responsibilities
• To provide an effective, efficient, responsive and client-focused service for an allocated number of clients
To build good and effective working relationships with all clients and be responsive and interactive to their personal goals and support needs, cooperating with the Client Development coordinators and volunteers
• To work within a team to ensure all clients have clear, tangible and measurable goals that support wellbeing and maximise independence
• To be able to lone work
To be responsible for completing and updating records on ‘Inform’ (QVT’s client management database) to ensure that all your client records are kept up to date
• Prepare reports on client issues as required
• To deal with incidents, accidents and challenging behaviours maintaining a professional approach and using adequate de‑escalation techniques
• To assure that the properties are maintained at a good standard and safe, in line with Health and Safety legislation
• To carry out room checks and properties checks regularly with the purpose of identifying issues and report to management in a timely manner.
• To take actions when needed, ensuring cleaning is done to create an environment that is homely and welcoming.
• To carry out property checks, room checks, health and safety checks, taking immediate action, helping clients to move in and out.
To work alongside and support clients and other staff members to ensure that all properties are kept clean. This means that some light cleaning duties are required, for example helping clients to pack and unpack during move on, light cleaning of the room and communal areas, voids cleaning.
To support and encourage clients to undertake housekeeping and client duties as necessary in order to maintain a clean and safe physical environment.
To support clients with daily living activities, including practical assistance where skills are not yet developed, to ensure that clients enjoy a high quality of accommodation.
• To report all maintenance issues and ensure that they are followed up to maintain health and safety standards, and to create a homely environment for all clients
To record and report any breaches of policy and procedure or poor performance to the Housing Manager
• To work with the Housing Manager to ensure safeguarding practices are followed and recorded in line with the QVT policy
• To provide cover for other Housing Officers across all QVT schemes if necessary
• To liaise with external agencies and attend meetings as required
• To travel between QVT schemes where necessary
• To undertake any other tasks which might reasonably be requested by a manager
• To work in line with QVT company values: Dignity, Excellence, Respect, Integrity, Kindness
This job description is as it is presently constructed. This will be reviewed periodically and at each annual appraisal to ensure that the job description fully reflects the responsibilities of the job. It will be updated and amended in keeping with service changes and developments.
Please note: This role does not qualify for sponsorship.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Job Title: Care & Support Worker (Mental Health) - 24 hour scheme
Department: Operations
Education, Qualifications and Training: Essential orDesirable
Numerate and Literate to GCSE or equivalent in English and Maths: E
Experience working in a social housing environment: D
Experience working in the mental health sector or other supportiveenvironments: D
Computer literate, familiarity with Microsoft packages, and experienceusing a client management database: E
An understanding of:Mental health conditionsHomelessnessSubstance misuse and addiction: D
Awareness of current housing issues and tenancy sustainment: D
Demonstrable customer service experience: E
Knowledge of welfare benefits related to housing: D
Good, clear, verbal and written communication skills: E (cid:)
Able to relate to clients: E (cid:)
Ability to work under pressure and to deadlines: E (cid:)
Able to demonstrate a conscientious and dedicated attitude: E (cid:)
Ability to work on own initiative and a commitment to team working: E (cid:)
Awareness of issues faced by people with mental health issues: E (cid:1)
Flexible and adaptable: E (cid:)
Patience, empathy and being able to relate to people of all ages andbackgrounds: E (cid:)
Resilience and ability to respond professionally to crisis and relapses: E (cid:)
An understanding of the issues of housing, estate management, health andsafety and how these impact on the well-being of clients and theresponsibilities of landlords: E (cid:)
Willingness to undertake further training: E (cid:)
Be prepared to work unsociable hours in accordance with 24/7 shift rotaif required: E (cid:)
Enhanced DBS check required/funded by the company prior to starting theposition.: E (cid:)
Driver with own vehicle: D (cid:)
Our commitment to diversity: We are committed to tackling systemic inequalities by being proactive in creating opportunities for people from under-represented groups. With this in mind, we welcome applications from all ethnic backgrounds, religions, gender identifications and sexual orientations, and from anyone who considers themselves to have a disability.
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Care & Support Worker (Mental Health) in Croydon employer: Quo Vadis Trust
Quo Vadis Trust is an exceptional employer dedicated to fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment for its staff. With a strong focus on professional development, employees have access to tailored training programmes that not only enhance their skills but also contribute to meaningful outcomes for individuals facing mental health challenges. Located in a vibrant community, the organisation promotes a culture of collaboration and innovation, making it an ideal place for those passionate about making a difference in the lives of others.
