Team Leader – Semi Independent Home – South West London in Twickenham

Contract Type: Permanent

40 Hours per week, shift work including weekends and bank holidays.

We have presently a fantastic opportunity to join one of our 16+ Homes, located in Twickenham, and make a difference to our Young People’s lives.

About Us

Our vision is for every child and young person to be safe, loved and happy, to achieve their potential and have a bright future. St Christopher's is a leading charity for children and young people and we are proud of our history for providing fostering, children's homes and a range of innovative leaving care services across the UK & Isle of Man. We have a passionate commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do. We provide positive life experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental or foster home. We are an equal-opportunity employer keen to develop an inclusive workforce where people feel they belong. We hope to attract applications from under-represented groups, including people from different cultures, nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, disabilities, religions, faith, sex, orientation, childcare responsibilities, and gender-diverse identities.

St Christopher’s Academy

At St Christopher's we can offer you a career where you can develop your skills and knowledge while making a difference to young people’s lives. When you join St Christopher’s, we will set you up in your career with a tailored development plan. Whether you want to move across to a different service, become a Manager or just explore further your current role, we will support you to map out your career trajectory and help you achieve your professional ambitions. We are proud that 84% of all our Team Leaders, Deputies and Managers are internal promotions.

About the Role

As Team Leader, you will assist the Manager in the running of a 16+ semi-independent supported accommodation service, supporting the delivery of high quality transition services for young people that promote their independence and increase their life skills. We have an enthusiastic team including Support Workers, Waking Night Staff and Management who all have different interests which they bring to the service. If you’re ready for a challenge and think you have the skills to drive St Christopher’s forward we would love to hear from you!

Applicants should have:

• At least two year’s relevant experience providing housing and/or support services to vulnerable individuals.
• A good understanding of the regulatory framework relevant to the provision of housing services for young people.
• Knowledge of the welfare benefits system in relation to young people.
• Ability to lead, motivate, supervise and support staff and be a positive role model.
• Ability to prioritise own workload and to work flexibly to meet deadlines or service requirements.
• Ability to use own initiative as well as be an active team member.
• Flexibility to occasionally work evening and weekend shifts and participating in the On-Call system.

In return we offer:

• Salary of £30,784 per annum.
• Competitive pay and reward structure offering salary progression based on performance.
• A friendly working environment, a fun, open and honest culture.
• 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years’ service, plus Bank Holidays, pro-rata.
• Industry leading training programme including access to level 3 qualifications, children’s right and participation, CSE, empowerment, mental health and social pedagogy.
• Contributory pension scheme, enhanced maternity and company sick scheme.
• UK Life Assurance (Death in service) to the value of 3 times your annual salary.
• BUPA employee assistance programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Bluelight card; discount shopping scheme at hundreds of retailers across the UK.
• Discretionary funded training programs.
• Employee awards based on performance and length of service.
• Fantastic opportunities to develop your career within our range of services.

Recruitment Process

At St Christopher’s we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements. Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; if this is not the case St Christopher's will carry out a DBS (police) check prior to starting. Your online application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification. CV’s will not be accepted. We advise to apply as soon as possible as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Please note that it is against the law to apply for work with Children/Young People if you are barred from working in Regulated Activity and if your name is added to a Children Barred List. All shortlisted candidates invited to interview will be asked to submit a Self-Declaration and Disclosure form which will need to be returned prior to an interview being booked. Please note this post has a minimum age restriction of 21 for roles working directly with children and young people in our residential and semi-independent Homes in line with the Equality Act ‘occupational requirement’.