We're looking for a kind, compassionate and resilient Support Worker to join our Homelessness service in Slough.
£24,960.00 per annum, working 40 hours per week. Benefits include 25 days Annual Leave, pension schemes, staff discounts, healthcare and career progression.
Want to feel like you have an exciting future? You'll feel at home here.
As a Support Worker you will be expected to enable and support vulnerable individuals with complex needs to address this while maintaining their tenancy with the long term goal of living in an independent setting by providing flexible and individually tailored support package. Working with excluded and hard to reach customers can be challenging, however, with intensive support this challenge can be broken. You will need to be able to engage our customers in a non-judgmental way. You will also be responsible for dealing with emergencies that may arise during your shift whilst remaining calm and using initiative then writing up incident reports amongst other administrative tasks.
As a support worker, you will be working as part of a team as well as with external agencies such as London Probation Service, local substance misuse services, Mental health teams, and police amongst others. Sometimes customers may not be linked in with agencies when they entre the service, as a support worker it is part of your role to ensure they are receiving the correct support from agencies required. Ideally, you will have experience of working with vulnerable people or an understanding of the needs of homelessness. You will be required to support customers with managing their arrears; ensuring housing benefit is applied for as well as monitoring payments and acting appropriately if payments are suspended in order to ensure customer does not fall into any arrears.
You will be responsible for supporting the working shift pattern of the service which is a five week rolling rota which consists of working some weekends as well as long days.
There will be a rota for shifts, with working patterns of 7:30-15:30 and 12:30-20:30. There will be some weekend work.
This role requires a valid Right to Work for the UK as Look Ahead are not a sponsoring organisation.
What you'll do:
Work proactively with Slough Hostel team to handle the service caseload and support an effective team approach to meeting each customer's identified needs.
Motivate the team and champion a positive local culture within the service.
Contribute to a positive service environment, ensuring the service is supportive and a place of safety and stability for customers. This includes working flexibly and being proactively in delivering, reviewing and arranging effective support for emerging needs and risks in order to prevent escalating concerns.
Deliver all aspects of support to enable a customer to develop independent living skills as appropriate to the individual needs of the customer. This may include practical tasks, such a facilitating group actives
Support customers to undertake domestic tasks, including practical assistance to ensure a high quality living environment that promotes customers' dignity, respect and allows customers to feel safe and welcome in their own home.
Participate in support planning, risk management and assessment of needs in line with support planning.
Work with customers to promote social inclusion to promote independent living, encouraging customers to maximise their skills and choices.
Involve customers in the design, development and delivery of the service through co-production.
Report and react to any observations relating to customers welfare.
Proactive development of links with local statutory and voluntary organizations to provide a range of engagement opportunities for customers in the community.
Competent use of relevant systems, company policies and frameworks.
Adhere to all the policies and procedures of Look Ahead Care & Support plus those specific to the project including any statutory requirements.
Carry out other duties commensurate with the designated role level, as may be deemed reasonable by Look Ahead including working at an alternative patch, if such a need arises.
This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead
About you:
Enjoys social interaction and the company of others, networks in local business community.
Approachable and open behaviour.
Prefers working as part of a group or team.
Is fundamentally calm and resilient, does not let emotion adversely affect them or obscure their judgement.
Has a practical and logical mind and is naturally well organised.
Thrives on change and enjoys dynamic diverse environments with an ability to cope positively with challenging and diverse behaviour.
Is respectful, articulate and sensitive in style of communication.
Is passionate and enthusiastic about his/her career and job experiences.
Is motivated towards excellence and improvement of personal performance with a can do attitude.
What you'll bring:
Essential:
Has relevant sector work experience
NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care or equivalent
Desirable:
Other relevant professional memberships and/or specialist qualifications
For our full job description please visit our webisite.
About us:
Look Ahead is a dynamic, leading, not-for-profit care and support provider in London and the South East. As an organisation we deliver over 110 services, providing support to around 7000 customers each year. We work across mental health, homelessness, young people and learning disabilities so there are plenty of opportunities to grow and progress your career with us.
We are seeking to recruit a highly skilled Key Worker for our Key Worker Service in East Berkshire. The role will be diverse and service user centred and would suit someone with significant experience in supporting young people and young adults with Autism and Learning Disabilities and their families.
The day to day work will involve a flexible approach to coordination and direct support for the young person and their family, as well as providing responsive communication at times of increased need. This is an exciting role which allows for the Key Worker to support families to navigate the system whilst advocating for them and ensuring that their voice is heard.
As the service is new there will be opportunities for collaboration and co-production and our vision is to provide young person and family centered support, whilst influencing system change to achieve better outcomes for more children, young people and adults under the age of 25.
The service will be provided across the entire East Berkshire footprint covering: Slough, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Bracknell Forest.Although the team will be “virtual”, there will be frequent travel within and across the East Berkshire area, therefore being a car driver with access to a car is essential.
The Key Working Function has been developed as a response to the NHS England & NHS Improvement Long Term Plan (LTP) commitment that by 2023/24, children and young people with a learning disability, autism, or both, with the most complex needs will have a designated Key Worker, applying the recommendations made by Dame Christine Lenehan in ‘These are our Children'.
A Barnardo's Project Worker 3 job description and person specification is attached to the advert for this role. This is a generic role description in use throughout the organisation to cover all roles at the given salary band. The Additional Information Sheet outlines the specific responsibilities, skills and experience required and it is important that you read this carefully before you apply.
When completing your application form, please refer to the skills, knowledge and experience required as detailed in the Person Specification and also in the Additional Information Sheet. This should be done with an understanding of the context of the service described.
Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.
Pay & Reward Framework
We know that our colleagues go above and beyond in delivering our vital work, driven by their passion and commitment to Barnardo's values. We also know that we can only realise our ambitions and achieve better outcomes for more children, thanks to the talent, hard work and creativity of our people.
For all these reasons, we are committed to a new approach to pay and reward, to ensure it is fair, attractive and progressive, which was rolled out 1st April 2023. This is a positive change for the charity, and a key pillar of our People & Culture Strategy. It will assist us in supporting colleagues to grow and develop in their career at Barnardo's as it will offer clear routes of progression for colleagues to progress through the pay band of their role.
Whilst the full pay band and salary range is advertised, our approach to starting salaries is to appoint between the minimum to mid-point of the pay band – this ensures that pay progression steps are available to reward our colleagues annually based on their contribution to excellence and alignment to our values and behaviours. More details on Barnardo's pay framework can be found upon application.
Benefits
Workplace Offer: What it means for you
The world of work has changed. We are understanding of what works best for our colleagues both current and future as we look to embrace this new way of working. Our hybrid working initiative is based on trust, flexibility and empowerment. We understand our workplace offer means different things to different people, and we encourage those conversations. This may mean working at one of our stores, services, working at home, at one of our Collaboration Hubs or any combination of these.
- Barnardo's believe in creating equality of opportunity in the workplace and supporting people to manage their work-life balance; we are therefore open to offering flexible working arrangements.
- 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing after 5 years service
- The ability to buy up to another 5 days annual leave via our HolidayPlus scheme
- A host of family friendly leave options including company Maternity Paternity and Adoption pay; together with all family additional leave options
- Service related sick pay from day 1
- Access to a Group Personal Pension with a matched 4% or 6% contribution from Barnardo's. Ability to pay via salary sacrifice to garner both tax and NI savings on your own contribution
- Death in service cover of 4x annual earnings for all staff contributing to our Group Personal Pension
- Cycle2work scheme
- Interest free season ticket loans
- Discounts and cashback from at high street shops including major supermarkets, cinemas, gyms, leisure/theme parks, holidays and much more via our Benefit Portal
- 20% discount at Barnardo's stores
- Opportunity to purchase a health cash plan to claim towards dental, glasses, therapy etc
- Free access to round the clock employee assistance program for advice and support
- Access to Barnardo's Learning and Development offer
*T&C's apply based on contract
About Barnardo's
At Barnardo's we believe in children – no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through. Please read about our basis and values following the link below. You will be asked questions relating to them as part of the recruitment process for this role.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is reflected in our values and our practice, and we have invested in this area of our work to ensure that we can deliver on our commitments to be an inclusive employer. EDI is a key enabler of our purpose as a charity and we want to ensure that the diversity of our teams is reflective of the communities we serve and that we continue to learn and develop our work with a focus on inclusion. We particularly encourage applications from candidates from Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic Communities, candidates who are LGBT+ and Disabled candidates.
We have an exciting opportunity for a Caseworker specialising in Domestic Abuse to join the Multi-Crime team in Devon & Cornwall, working 37.5 hours a week.
Do you want to make a difference every day? Do you want to contribute to change & improvement for those who need it? Do you have resilience & adaptability? Can you work effectively with a focus on customer service and care?
If yes, then we'd love to hear from you…
What we offer:
At Victim Support we believe in attracting & retaining the best people and offer a competitive rewards & benefits package including:
- Flexible working options including hybrid working
- 28 days annual leave plus Bank Holidays, rising to 33 days plus Bank Holidays
- An extra day off for your birthday
- Pension with 5% employer contribution
- Enhanced sick pay allowances, maternity & paternity payments
- High Street, retail, holiday, entertainment & leisure discounts
- Access to our financial wellbeing hub & salary deducted finance
- Employee assistance programme & wellbeing support
- Ongoing training & support with opportunities for career development & progression
About the role:
This role is home-based with egular travel to our office in Plymouth & throughout Devon and Cornwall. As a Domestic Abuse Caseworker you will:
- Develop, deliver and monitor safety and support plans for those affected by crime (primarily domestic abuse) who accept ongoing support which will include providing resources, interventions, and information to all service users
- Work alongside and oversee the casework management of a small number of volunteer supporters
- Liaise and actively engage with other local domestic abuse providers to share information on the VS service offer and options for survivors
- Take part in wider VS development around domestic abuse
- Working as part of a team with staff and the volunteer team to provide a seamless service to clients
You will need:
- Understanding of the impact of crime on victims such as domestic abuse, sexual violence, hate crime and anti-social behaviour
- Effective verbal and written communication skills
- Experience of successfully delivering services and working directly within a statutory, voluntary or multi agency setting(s)
- Ability to balance competing needs and priorities
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team
- Experience of building effective working relationships across internal and external stakeholders
- Personal resilience to manage exposure to highly emotional or sensitive demands of the role
- Ability to manage a caseload including complex case management
- Ability to use generic IT applications competently.
Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details. When completing your application form, please pay particular attention to the essential shortlisting criteria on the job description as these will inform decisions on who is shortlisted for interview.
About Us:
Victim Support (VS) is an independent charity providing a range of specialist services to people who have been affected by crime across England and Wales. We work towards a world where there are fewer victims but who have stronger rights, better support and a real influence in the Criminal Justice System. Everyone at VS is driven by our Vision Ambitions and Values to play their part in making a difference for those who experience crime and traumatic events. Working for VS gives you the opportunity to play a key role in a national charity providing high quality services to victims and witnesses and being a vital force for change.
Victim Support are committed to recruiting with care and to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Background checks and Disclosed Barring Service checks may be required.
Victim Support strives to represent the diverse communities we serve and are passionate about creating an environment where all staff and volunteers feel respected and heard. Being a diverse organisation with an inclusive culture is integral to us being able to meet our aim of ensuring that anyone who is a victim of crime gets the support they need.
As part of our commitment to the Race at Work Charter we particularly welcome applicants from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. VS is also a Disability Confident Employer and we provide a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for candidates that are disabled and meet all essential criteria for a role.
If you have a disability, a learning difficulty such as dyslexia or a medical condition which you believe may affect your performance during any aspect of our selection process, we'll be happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to perform at your best.
How to apply:
To apply for this role please follow the link below to the Jobs page on our website and complete the application form demonstrating how you meet the essential shortlisting criteria.
We look forward to hearing from you.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early, if we receive enough suitable applications to take forward to interview prior to the published closing date.