Support Worker – Young Peoples Supported Accommodation

Contract type: Permanent

Hours: Several roles available. Mix of full time and part time roles working 37.5 and 22.5 hours per week

Salary: £24,000 per annum pro rata

Locations: Buckinghamshire and South Oxfordshire

Start Date: 21st September 2020

Connection Support is excited to announce it is working in partnership with Oxfordshire County Council to provide Supported Accommodation for Young People aged 16-24 across South Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

We are looking for support workers who know what it takes to support young people between the ages of 16-24 living in supported accommodation. You will be a ‘Key Person’ in making sure these young people are kept safe, gain independent living skills and feel happy and supported in their living environment. You will act as an appropriate role model and work closely with them to enable them to address their difficulties and achieve their optimum potential.

Although this role involves significant lone working, you will be very much part of a welcoming and enthusiastic team of Support Workers. Shifts may include some weekends and Bank Holidays on a rota. Additional hours may be available. The post comes with 38 days [including bank holidays] annual leave entitlement pro rata for part time employees.

The full Job Description including working pattern details are available on our website.

What you’ll be doing

Being a Young People’s Support Worker is about acting as a role model providing a caring, supportive and nurturing environment in which young people can feel secure and safe from harm. Establishing positive relationships with young people and always offering them unconditional positive regard whilst also helping young people gain self control by challenging unacceptable behaviour and rewarding acceptable, pro-social conduct. Ensuring that each young person’s support plan is followed and amended as appropriate to reflect their changing needs. Provide training in Independent Living Skills to enable independent living (budgeting, finding employment, cooking, cleaning, basic general maintenance around the home etc.).

It’s also about taking responsibility for managing clients and liaising with families, health care professional and other stakeholders to ensure that the best support plans are created and delivered. Working closely with clients aged between 16 to 24, with a wide variety of support needs who are at risk of homelessness, to help them retain their accommodation or obtain new accommodation is an important aspect of the role, as is an understanding of complex needs and carrying out risk assessments.

Put simply, it’s about making a difference. A real difference.

What you’ll need

Well-organised, IT literate with good communication skills who can remain calm and patient in challenging circumstances. You must have a good understanding of support planning processes. What’s more, you're contributing to, monitoring and implementing changes that improve outcomes for young people. Above all, you have a natural ability to help make the lives of others more fulfilling and want to work in an environment where the work can be hard, but also fun and rewarding.

We are looking for a passionate and motivated people to join our Take a Break team working with children with a learning disability and/or autism up to the age of 19. 

Take a Break (TAB) offers school holiday camps as well as individual and small group activities throughout the year. TAB is the children and young people’s operation of Barnet Mencap’s Short Breaks service 

We are recruiting Support Workers for after school, weekends and school holidays supporting children throughout the Borough of Barnet in their homes and out in the community.

We support a diverse range of children and young people and we are looking for caring and dynamic individuals with a range of experience and a passion for working with children. 

The main objective for the Take A Break service is to enable parents by providing them with respite and for children to enjoy short breaks with their Support Workers. 

Barnet Mencap is committed to equal opportunities and the safeguarding of children and adults at risk. 

Just Homes charity are looking for a committed, enthusiastic Women’s Project Key Worker (part time 3 days a week) to join our Women’s work team that provides help to homeless people in The London Borough of Newham, to rebuild their lives. We work with women and children who have no recourse to public funds based in 12 rooms spread across three houses. We also work with unemployed men who can access state benefits in 48 rooms spread across four sites.

First Fruit is the holding charity for Just Homes and also delivers the social enterprises providing skills opportunities for residents. They are Christian Charities which are non-denominational and inclusive, which serve people of all faiths and none with respect.

The job role has two main aspects:

• As part of a team provide one to one support to the women clients.
• Work as part of a team to ensure the smooth running and management of the accommodation provisions of the women’s side.

On the support aspect, you will meet with clients and deliver one to one support as may be necessary. We are looking for a highly motivated individual who is willing to work with the extremely marginalized within the community and be passionate about making a difference in their lives.

On the Housing management aspect, the postholder will work as part of a team to ensure smooth day to day running of the projects. This will include ensuring the shared used facilities of each house are maintained at a good standard, do monthly room checks of clients, identifying and reporting maintenance issues that may arise. You will be organized and able to work independently, but also support the small team in delivering excellent support to our clients. 

We will be expecting the candidate to have some experience and knowledge of providing one to one support to clients and some housing management skills. However, we are willing to provide necessary training on client support and related management.

This is a part time, 3-year contact, working 24 hours per week, with a £26,000 per annum pro-rata salary.

The post is based at the Just Homes Charity office at 266 Shrewsbury Road, Forest Gate, E7 8QP and involves working at 2 other properties which are within walking distance of the office. You will be responsible to the Senior Support Officer and ultimately responsible to the CEO of Just Homes Charity.

If you are interested in applying for the above role, please complete the application form and provide a letter saying why you think you are suitable for the post.

Closing Date for applications is the Friday 31st of July 2020.

Interviews will be held during the week starting 10th August 2020.

We’re looking for an experienced youthwork specialist who will build on existing youthwork provision whilst undertaking a research project to develop a new emotional wellbeing and resilience programme for young people. 

Over the past six years, the Crediton Methodist Church Youth Work Project has established a full programme of youth activities, including an open access youth café open 3 times weekly, the offer of regular mentoring with individuals, a health drop-in and contribution to PSHE with the local academy, detached work twice weekly in Crediton, and a faith based spiritual programme with the young people who worship with us.

We are now looking to create a new two-year programme which will maintain and enhance our current delivery and undertake a research project to develop a new emotional wellbeing and resilience programme for young people in Crediton. Covid-19, and the impact that has had on young people in the town, has given an additional urgency to our desire to implement the project.  It is intended that the second year will provide opportunities to trial new provision to support mental health so that a further three-year project can be designed and implemented.

Crediton is a small, friendly market town in beautiful, rural mid Devon. There is a strong commitment to youth well-being within the town and support for youth activities, including this project, from a number of local agencies including the town council.

So, we’re looking for someone who has excellent time management, as this will be a demanding role! But more importantly, we need someone who is passionate about helping young people to explore who they are and to reach their full potential, both within a Christian context, and within a wider community setting.

You’ll need to be creative and a self-starter, although we’re planning to be as supportive as we possibly can be to make your role a success. There is already a group of young leaders, who have come through the project, a dedicated youth work management group, sessional workers and our minister, so we won’t be expecting you to achieve success all by yourself!

Completed forms should be submitted by noon on Monday the 27th July 2020 and we hope to interview the week beginning the 3rd August. 

There is an occupational requirement that the role holder is a Christian in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.

Community Organiser 
Upper Tulse Hill, London

Are you an organised individual with great people skills? Do you love the idea of being out and about in your community, speaking with residents, understanding their concerns and empowering them to bring about positive change? If so, read on. 

About Us

Founded by local residents in 1998, High Trees Community Development Trust is a well-regarded and trusted community anchor, delivering and leading a range of integrated services to connect people and communities to strengthen skills and build stronger voices.

Guided by the needs of our community, our work covers employment, education and training support, children, young people and family services and community engagement and development. 

We’re currently looking for a Community Organiser to join our Community Action Team, which supports residents to build more active, represented and civically engaged communities. 

The Benefits

- Salary of up to £27,000 per annum 
- A clear pay structure with annual increments (based on performance)
- 24 days’ holiday (rising with service to a maximum of 8 additional days) plus 3 days off for Christmas
- Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption leave (after two years’ service) 
- Pension (up to 5% employer contribution) 
- 24 hour employee support line 

This is an amazing opportunity to take on a challenging, yet highly rewarding role where you’ll be making a real difference on a local level.

At High Trees, our motto is ‘meeting everyone as a person of great potential’. You will have the chance to help local people see that potential in themselves and inspire them to be the change they want to see in their community.

We provide the ideal environment in which to build a career to be proud of. All our staff are supported to grow and develop through regular one-to-ones with their manager and a programme of organisation-wide and individual CPD. We’re proud of the fact that over 50% of our Service Managers have been promoted from within our organisation. 

The Role

As a Community Organiser, you will use the principles of community organising to engage with residents and support them to bring about action and long-term change. 

No two days will be the same as a member of our Community Action Team. You’ll be out and about in the community, listening to local people to identify the issues they care about, delivering training to community members and groups and designing and delivering projects. 

Some of your duties will include: 

- Knocking on doors and using grassroots engagement to meet with residents 
- Recruiting and helping to build local organising groups 
- Working with partners to pilot ways of enhancing community organising
- Helping local leaders to deliver actions and campaigns 
- Creating written content to promote Community Action activities 

About You 

To join us as a Community Organiser, you’ll need: 

- Strong interpersonal skills at all levels and the ability to negotiate effectively across organisational boundaries 
- Excellent IT skills, with a high level of proficiency in packages such as MS Word, Excel and Outlook
- The ability to organise and prioritise multiple deadlines and manage routine administrative tasks
- To be flexible and adaptable to new situations 
- The ability to motivate and inspire others 

Experience of community action or campaigning work would be beneficial, as would good social media awareness, including the use of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, website uploads and online blogs. 

Other organisations may call this role Community Outreach Officer, Community Project Co-ordinator, Community Programme Co-ordinator, Community Support Worker, or Community Outreach Co-ordinator.

The closing date for applications is the 4th August 2020.

Webrecruit and High Trees Community Development Trust are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.

So, if you’re seeking a new challenge as a Community Organiser, please apply via the button shown. This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency. 

Working hours: 35 hours per week

Youth and Play Worker - Part Time
Tulse Hill Adventure Playground, Brixton, London

Do you have a good understanding of the Playwork Principles? Want to join a well-established organisation that is passionate about creating positive change in their local community? If so, read on.

About Us

Founded by local residents in 1998, High Trees Community Development Trust is a well-regarded and trusted community anchor, delivering and leading a range of integrated services to connect people and communities to strengthen skills and build stronger voices.

Guided by the needs of our community, our work covers employment, education and training support, children, young people and family services and community engagement and development.

Our Children, Young People and Families service provides open access free play and youth activities for five days a week, along with in-school coaching to 10 – 18 year olds for two days a week. The service is designed and adapted in collaboration with the young people we support. 

We are currently looking for a Youth and Play Worker to join us at Tulse Hill Adventure Playground, working 30 hours per week (which will include evening and weekend work).

The Benefits

- Salary of £19,714 - £21,857 per annum (£23,000 - £25,500 FTE)
- A clear pay structure with annual increments (based on performance)
- 24 days’ holiday FTE (rising with service to a maximum of 8 additional days) plus 3 days off for Christmas
- Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption leave (after two years’ service)
- Pension (up to 5% employer contribution)
- 24 hour employee support line

We know our staff are our biggest asset and our biggest investment. Our team come from a variety of backgrounds, but we are all passionate about creating a meaningful impact through our work. 

All our staff are supported to grow and develop through regular one-to-ones with their manager and a programme of organisation-wide and individual CPD. We’re proud of the fact that over 50% of our Service Managers have been promoted from within our organisation.

The Role

As a Youth and Play Worker, you’ll help to deliver a range of innovative early intervention and targeted services to children and young people.

Working as part of the Children, Young People and Families Team, you’ll enjoy a varied and interesting workload. Current services include an adventure playground, coaching in local schools, homework clubs, youth work provision, out of school and holiday services and a family support programme. 

Some of your duties will include: 

- Recruiting new participants for our service 
- Maintaining an engaging and playful environment 
- Collaborating with partners, stakeholders and local groups to deliver the service 
- Supporting the tracking, monitoring and evaluation of the service

About You

To join us as a Youth and Play Worker, you will need: 

- Knowledge of the Playwork Principles and experience of putting these into practice
- The ability to advocate on behalf of children and young people and involve young people in decision-making processes 
- Good IT skills, including proficiency in all Microsoft packages 
- Strong communication, negotiation and influencing skills 
- The ability to plan and prioritise your own work and manage routine administrative tasks 
- An understanding of, and a commitment to, equal opportunities, and the ability to work in a non-discriminatory way

Ideally, you will have a Level 3 qualification in youth or play work, or the willingness to gain this. At least one year’s experience of working with children or young people would also be beneficial. 

Other organisations may call this role Youth Worker, Youth Services Co-ordinator, Youth and Play Co-ordinator, Play Services Co-ordinator, Youth Support Worker, Play Co-ordinator, or Youth Club Co-ordinator.

The closing date for applications is the 4th August 2020.

Webrecruit and High Trees Community Development Trust are equal opportunities employers, value diversity and are strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. Equal opportunities are the only acceptable way to conduct business and we believe that the more inclusive our environments are, the better our work will be.

So, if you’re seeking a new challenge as a Youth and Play Worker, please apply via the button shown. This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.

Working hours: 30 hours per week (including evening and weekend work) 

Job title: Community Project Manager - Level B (x1) & Level C (x1)
Salary:

• CPM (B): £21,000 to £23,000 per annum
• CPM (C): £18,000 to £20,000 per annum

Hours: Full time 37 hours per week (part time or job share negotiable)
Location: Tees Valley and County Durham
Duration: Fixed Term until 31 March 2021 (with the potential of being extended/made permanent)

About us

Groundwork aims to be the UK’s leading regeneration charity, working through partnership to create communities in which people are proud to live and work. This programme will deliver Groundwork’s mission of supporting people to improve their prospects and reach their full potential. As an organisation, we are proud of the effective role that our Community Project Managers play in delivering significant social, environmental and health outcomes with communities across the region.

About the role

Community Project Managers initiate, develop and deliver a diverse range of community regeneration projects with partners across sectors. As one of our Community Project Managers, you will engage with communities to help build the capacity of local groups and organisations.

To support the development of our Community Project Managers, we have planned careers progression from entry level (Grade C) to mid-point (Grade B) to the most senior level (Grade A). As an organisation, we support this career progression as we value our staff and wish to see them develop.

A bit about you

We are looking for enthusiastic Community Project Managers who are passionate about working with local communities across the Tees Valley and Co Durham. With experience of delivering activities that engage local people, that support, inspire and empower people to make positive changes to their lives and help them to reconnect with their local environment. Excellent organisational skills are a must with an ability to manage a busy and diverse workload. 

Closing date: Noon on July 31st, 2020
Interview date: Week commencing 10th August, 2020

This role is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure endorsed by the Disclosure and Barring Service

TO APPLY AND FOR MORE INFORMATION:

If you would like to find out more about this position and to apply, please click the button to be directed to our website where you can download the relevant candidate and application packs.

Make yourself at home
We want you to be yourself at Groundwork and we value everything that makes you unique. We recognise and celebrate your difference and together we make Groundwork a special and great place to work.

Groundwork North East & Cumbria is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

No agencies please.

Penrose Criminal Justice Service delivers custodial resettlement and community supervision services for service users across London as part of the wider Transforming Rehabilitation Programme. The service users being supported have a wide range of resettlement needs and have varying and sometimes complex needs.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Responsible Officer to join our services in delivering interventions and supporting to manage the supervision orders of service users released into the community that have received a prison sentence and have been assessed as low risk of serious harm. Support delivered is wide ranging and based on individual need. You will support the service user to adhere to and achieve the cohesive resettlement plan generated from the custodial resettlement team.

Key Responsibilities:

• To manage a caseload of service users on their supervision orders during their time in custody and on their licence period after release from custody.
• To successfully reduce reoffending, rehabilitate and reintegrate service users back into the community.
• To ensure a cohesive risk assessment and sentence plan is generated for each service user, continuing on from the resettlement plan generated by the custodial resettlement team.
• To complete all necessary reports and administrative tasks to support the supervision of your service users both in custody and the community.
• To provide pathways, support and appropriate interventions to enable successful resettlement for all service users in both a group and on a 1-1 basis.
• To work with internal and external partners, agencies and commissioners including MH Prison Service, Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC’s), National Probation Service and other community based supporting agencies to achieve the desired outcomes and KPI’s for the service

Experience:

• Proven experience of successful reintegration of service users into the community
• Experience of working with vulnerable individuals who may have mental health issues/substance misuse/challenging chaotic behaviour
• Experience of providing resettlement support and practical assistance within a secure environment or outreach support role
• Excellent understanding of the resettlement and social needs of vulnerable individuals
• Demonstrable understanding and practical application of key legislation regarding criminal justice, social care, housing and mental health
• Able to influence and negotiate positive outcomes with the service users and supporting professional bodies

Why work with us?

• Growing and forward-thinking organisation
• Excellent core and on-going training aligned with personal development plan
• Access to employee assistance programme
• Medi-cash which includes the following:
• Discount gym membership
• Routine eye tests, glasses and contact lenses
• Dental treatment via NHS or Private
• Physiotherapy, Indian Head Massage and a range of other therapies
• 25 days holiday increasing to 26 days after 2 years of service and increasing 1 day per year up to 30 days annual leave
• Life Assurance

To apply we require your CV along with Supporting Statement (no more than 2 sides of A4) detailing how your knowledge and experience meets the requirements of the job description (this can be found on the attached Job Description) or completion of an application form. Please then send this to our Recruitment Team by the advertised closing date.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close the advert before the published closing date and therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible

Social Prescriber Link Worker

Full-time 37 hours per week

Salary £24,799 - £26,317

Fixed-term contract until September 2021

About Crawley Community Action

Crawley Community Action is a charity which enables and supports volunteers, volunteer groups and charities in and around Crawley. We advocate for the voluntary and community sector with local government and other statutory authorities.  We’ve been supporting Crawley’s community and voluntary sector for 60 years – Crawley Community Action is our new name, demonstrating our commitment to Crawley’s people and communities.

We run Social Prescribing and Befriending services that support hundreds of people a year.  Following a successful pilot in 2016/17, the Crawley and Horsham and Mid-Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group commissioned us to develop and expand ‘Prescription Plus’ across Crawley.  We are now working with the support of the West Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group who extended since then and we are now planning towards September 2021.

Following the COVID-19 emergency response, we are resuming our recruitment of a new team. A person centred, collaborative and compassionate approach is at the heart of what we do and we are looking for someone with the right skills and attitude to support clients and manage volunteers in both a clinical setting and in people’s own homes, whilst also working as part of a Borough-wide team of Social Prescriber Link Workers based in our town centre Crawley office.

Reporting to the Social Prescribing Manager, you will provide a frontline social prescribing service, assessing a person’s need and helping them access appropriate groups and services. An experienced support worker, you will have an ability to build instant rapport with clients alongside a pragmatic and proactive attitude that enables people to achieve the goals that matter to them.

This is a terrific opportunity to build the social prescribing team of an organisation that is delivering community and volunteer support in Crawley. Our recent rebrand has not only given us a fresh new look, but has also helped us rationalise our aims, align our services and further exemplify our values.

We welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds and experience.

Due to the nature of this role, it is essential that the post-holder has a full, clean driving licence and access to a fully insured vehicle

Closing date for applications:  12 noon, Friday 24 July 2020

Interviews: Thursday 30 July 2020

Part time 18.5 hours per week

Citizens Advice Wolverhampton has secured funding from The National Lottery Community Fund to develop community based advice in the Low Hill and Wednesfield area of Wolverhampton. It will give easily accessible advice on a range of issues including benefits, financial capability, housing and family breakdown. This will enable more people to address problems at the earliest possible stage and reduce the chances of them escalating to crisis point.

We are seeking to appoint two Community Liaison Workers to help:

• develop a community based advice service
• build and maintain relationships with local people and organisations
• recruit and support volunteers
• advise and empower people in order to tackle the problems they are experiencing

Interviews have been provisionally scheduled for: Thursday 16th July

Interviews are likely to be done via remote video applications such as Zoom or Google Meet, and will include an exercise. Please inform us which interviewing media you are able to access on your application form.

If you do not hear from us within 2 weeks of the closing date please assume you have been unsuccessful.

The Role

The successful applicant will join the established digital and communications team as the community manager to look after our online communities across Facebook, Twitter and our website, as well as responding to live chat enquiries.

The role will be responsible for engaging with comments on our social media pages, pointing people to our information and advice services where applicable, and representing the friendly voice of Contact for our families.

What we are looking for

The role requires an individual who is experienced at community management and comfortable talking to families who may be experiencing some level of distress or concern due to their circumstances.

The community manager should be familiar with social media platforms and talking on behalf of an organization.

How to apply

Press the APPLY NOW button and download and follow the instructions for applying in the Job Pack.

The organisation is looking to recruit two Community Support Workers (one supporting our London Projects, the other in the Midlands). The Community Support Workers will play a proactive role in supporting mentees as they prepare for released from prison and providing practical assistance to help mentees re-integrate back to their community. 

We are looking for forward thinking candidates will a high level of motivation who have experience of working with challenging, hard to engage and disaffected groups.  A keen insight into the support needs of those who have experienced prison and the challenges they face returning to the community is required for these roles.

To apply, please submit a tailored CV and cover letter (maximum 2 pages of A4) explaining how your experience addresses the person specification in the attached job description.

Please note for the West Midlands role use of a car is essential.
For more details or an informal discussion about the role, please call Julia Alexander on 0800 1934 046

Closing date for applications is 12 noon on Friday 17th July 2020. 
Please note, interviews will be via video conferencing.

Trailblazers Mentoring is committed to equality and diversity and strongly encourages applications from BAME groups and those with personal experience of the criminal justice system.

Recruiting Full/Part Time Enhanced Support Workers to join our Mental Health Service in Westminster!

Look Ahead's Shirland West Mental Health service is commissioned by Westminster City Council. The service comprises 3 complex needs sites which have staff cover 24/7, as well as 7 step down sites. Support staff will benefit from working in a dynamic service across multiple sites, and will support a range of customers with varying support levels.

We are currently recruiting the following roles:

Full Time Enhanced Support Worker - £22,500 per annum, permanent position, 40 hours per week

Part Time Enhanced Support Worker - £13,500 - £18,000 per annum, permanent position, between 24-32 hours per week (contractual hours can be discussed at interview)

Please clearly state in your supporting statement which role/roles you are interested in.

These roles require working a shift pattern on a rota basis, including weekends. Due to the current pandemic the shift patterns may change.

We offer 25 days Annual Leave, Pension schemes, Staff discounts, healthcare and more.

Job Overview:

To enable vulnerable people living in a variety of different tenures to manage their tenancies/licences and move towards greater independence within the community by providing a flexible and individually tailored support package.

Key Responsibilities:

- Undertake key-working responsibilities for a caseload assigned by the Team Leader/Manager
- Undertake initial and continuous assessment of needs and potential risks and agree levels of support and actions
- Create support/action plans for providing appropriate services based on the assessment and reflecting the services and resources available
- Support customers to undertake all domestic tasks wherever possible, including practical assistance where they have not yet developed the skills, to ensure customers enjoy a high quality of accommodation
- Develop and maintain links with all key agencies and service providers in the local community
- Develop knowledge around the local mental health system to ensure customers receive the best treatment available
- Lead on an area of specialism (e.g. ETE, health and wellbeing) and build partnerships and develop internal and external opportunities for service-users in this area
- Empower customers to ensure they receive the service and benefits they are entitled to
- Undertake all administrative work and keep accurate and comprehensive tenant/customer records to professional standards
- Encourage and enable tenants to pay their rent and to ensure that rent accounts are managed effectively in conjunction with the Housing Management team
- Ensure that referrals are chased proactively so that properties which can be used to house those in need are filled as efficiently as possible
- Adhere to Look Ahead's Policies and Procedures
- Engage in learning and development activity to increase knowledge and skills
- Undertake any other duties consistent with the grade and nature of the post as may be reasonably assigned

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.

For more information or to apply please visit our website.

Temporary fixed term 6 month contract

Based in Wandsworth borough with flexible locations including our offices at 108 Battersea High Street, various secondary schools and community settings. 

We are seeking an experienced support worker to contribute to the delivery of our LGBTQ+ youth provision. 
Supporting young people aged 11+, through 1:1 mentoring and group provisions, offering a safe space for young people to explore their situations and develop the necessary skills, strategies and resilience to manage the difficulties they face.

25 hours per week. 

Key Objectives for this Role

The Community Support Worker will contribute to the delivery of our LGBTQ+ youth provision supporting young people aged 13+ (and some pre-teens):

• Providing a 1:1 mentoring service across a number of community settings and in secondary schools. Offering a safe space for young people to explore their situations and develop the necessary skills and strategies to manage the difficulties they face.
• Supporting schools to set-up and deliver LGBTQ+ forums.
• Supporting young people to access appropriate group provisions.
• Promoting the LGBTQ+ youth support service via agency team meetings and adhoc community events.

Specific Duties and responsibilities

Casework

• Work with an intensive caseload of up to 30 (pro rata) young people maintaining regular contact, through arranged appointments to provide ongoing targeted support, offering information, advice and guidance, practical support and encouragement.
• Use appropriate assessment tools with clients to help them identify their strengths, interests, areas they would like to improve and barriers to progression.
• Provide structured and non-judgemental advice, information and practical support to enable clients to increase their self-esteem, become more resilient and improve their aspirations.
• Utilise the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Tool to monitor progression
• Provide structured and non-judgemental information, advice and guidance on LGBTQ+ specific issues.
• Develop and deliver suitable group work activities to meet clients’ needs.
• Support the weekly delivery of the Free2B junior youth group: Gapster N2T (9-13 year olds).
• Support clients to work with specialist services as required (e.g. social services, camhs, YOT) and act as an advocate and intermediary to overcome barriers.
• Liaise with families and carers, including occasional home visits, to provide family support where appropriate to meet the young person’s needs.
• Establish new multi-agency links and maintain relationships to work across multiple community and school settings, collaborating effectively with organisations to ensure positive service delivery.
• Network effectively with a wide range of specialist agencies and organisations to ensure a coherent approach to support suitable move-on opportunities.

General Duties

• Maintain accurate and up to date client records to monitor and evaluate work.
• Attend regular case supervision and team meetings and events as appropriate.
• Support the Directors to make funding applications.
• Adhere to Free2B’s Equality and Diversity policies with respect to staff and service users.
• Comply with Health and Safety legislation and Free2B policies, to ensure safe working practices.
• Delivery of awareness training to promote LGBTQ+ equality through inclusion
• Undertake any other appropriate tasks, as agreed with Free2B Board of Directors. 

Person Specification Skills and Experience (E = essential)

E  Minimum 3 years recent experience of working with LGBTQ+ young people including undertaking assessments, planning, target setting and review

E  Experience of working across multiple settings including within secondary schools

E  Ability to set and work within clear and appropriate professional boundaries including challenging negative behaviours

E  Knowledge & experience of child protection and vulnerable adult safeguarding issues, policies and procedures

E  Qualification in a relevant area such as youth work, social work, community work, gender studies or teaching, equivalent NVQ Level 4

E  Strong communication skills – both verbal and written

E  IT skills and experience of using applications such as Word, Excel and email

E  Ability to work as part of a small team, whilst also working independently managing time and tasks effectively