Community youth worker jobs

Do you have experience in working with vulnerable people with complex needs in a Housing,  Hostel or Supported Accommodation environment? 

 
We have a new Housing job opportunity where you will be working with a team of Housing professionals with the aim of supporting some of the districts’ most vulnerable adults to move on from temporary accommodation. 

You will be managing all temporary and emergency accommodation placements on behalf of Cotswold District Council. The role involves working closely with homeless clients in various emergency accommodation arrangements. The aim is to assist these individuals in accessing affordable housing options and ultimately reducing the time they spend in short-term accommodation.

• You will be based primarily within one of our Hostels working intensively with homeless clients to enable them to access the full range of affordable housing options with the aim of reducing time spent in short term accommodation.

• The role involves travel across our district to visit homelessness households in their temporary accommodation (including Hostels and various B&B’s) with the aim of assisting them with maximising all of the housing options available to them to ensure that they are able to move on from temporary        accommodation as soon as possible.

• Create bespoke ‘Tenancy Ready’ plans for each client and ensure that they have access to the appropriate support and resources to achieve this.

• You will also take part in assisting the Temporary Accommodation Supervisor in ensuring that full risk assessments are carried out on each client before being offered a placement in Council managed accommodation.

• Assist with the daily running of the homeless hostel’s, ensure repairs are promptly reported to the Property Service Team and assist with ensuring H&S risk assessments are up to date and adhered to.

What we are looking for…

Someone who values structure, confidentiality, and professionalism as much as they do empathy and support. You will be expected to handle sensitive personal information with the utmost discretion, in line with GDPR and safeguarding protocols. Maintaining client confidentiality is non-negotiable in this role. 

You will need to have knowledge of Housing and related legislation, including the Housing Acts, case law, the Homelessness Reduction code of guidance and good practice.

This role requires a strong understanding of professional boundaries and the ability to maintain them — even in emotionally complex situations. This is a rewarding but demanding role — ideal for someone who thrives on helping others in crisis, but who understands the importance of clear boundaries, resilience, and confidentiality. 

You will need resilience and adaptability as you will often work with people experiencing stress, crisis, or confrontation, so it is essential you can manage these situations calmly and confidently. Being emotionally resilient and understand how to support others without becoming personally involved or emotionally entangled.

Teamwork is essential for this role to work effectively with colleagues and external agencies.

Please note you will be based at the hostel 5 days a week and will need the ability to travel as required.

For more information about this role please see the Job Description/Person Specification.

You will need…
• GCSEs (5 A-Cs or equivalent, including Maths and English)
• Experience of working in a Housing, Supported Housing or Homelessness focused service
• Experience of working with vulnerable people and people with complex needs

Special Conditions…
• Full UK Driving Licence with access to a vehicle for work purposes
• DBS Check

Should we receive sufficient applications for this role we reserve the right to close the vacancy early, therefore we advise candidates to apply as soon as possible. Previous applicants need not apply.

Publica is a unique place to work – we are a local government organisation with a twist! Publica wants to transform the way local services are delivered. To help do this we have started to fundamentally rethink the way we design our services in the digital era so that Publica is a customer-focused organisation driven by real user needs.

What can we do for you…
• Flexible working arrangements (depending on the role)
• 27 days paid annual leave (pro rata if you are working part time) plus bank holidays and an extra two volunteering days off a year for you to support a charity of your choice
• Health cash plan giving you cash back on health, dental and eye care
• Pension scheme with a good employer contribution of 7% of your earnings
• Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, providing positive, preventative and supportive advice and counselling to deal with everyday events and issues
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary sacrifice car lease scheme with huge tax and NI savings to be made on electric cars
• Access to digital financial advice (covering your pension scheme, mortgages and other finances)
• Generous sickness cover above statutory entitlements
• Additional income protection, covering 50% of your salary for potentially a further five years if you are unable to work due to sickness or injury
• Life assurance, currently four times your annual salary
• These are just a handful of the benefits that you can enjoy when you join us!

To apply for this position please click on "apply now" within this page and submit your CV and supporting statement. Please tell us about your skills, knowledge, qualifications, experience and how they meet the criteria listed above and in the job description/person specification. It’s important that we’re a good fit for each other, so let us know what’s important to you and why you want to work for Publica Group Ltd.

Your application will not be considered if you have not provided a supporting statement, in addition to your CV.

Accredited of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies - Please state this within your covering statement or in a separate email. 

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding the welfare of vulnerable adults, young people and children.  Safer recruitment practices are applied to all job vacancies. Safer recruitment practices are applied to all job vacancies. Successful candidates will be required to complete a pre-employment medical questionnaire; provide references;  proof of identity; nationality and immigration status; three years’ employment or education history (if applicable) and, in some cases, verification of criminal record.

• About Us

• You will be employed by Publica Group Ltd which was created by four partner Councils (West Oxfordshire District Council, Cotswold District Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and Forest of Dean District Council) to deliver more efficient and improved services. 

  
  Publica is a unique place to work, established to transform the way local services are delivered, fundamentally rethinking the way our services are designed and delivered in a digital era, making us a customer-focused organisation driven by real user needs.

We're looking for a kind, compassionate and resilient Training and Implementation to join our Central Social Care Service located at our Head Office in Islington.

£33,000 per annum, working 35 hours per week.

Want to feel like you're making a difference? You'll feel at home here.

Making you feel at home here means helping you thrive in every way. That's why we offer a wide range of benefits, award-winning Learning & Development and a culture that welcomes all. These aren't token gestures - we've thought long and hard about how best to support our team. After all, our people are doing something amazing: helping to transform lives every day.

Our benefits include:

• Annual leave increasing up to 30 days with length of service
• Free DBS
• Exclusive discounts and cashback via Reward Gateway® and opportunity to buy a Blue Light Card
• Fully paid induction programme and further training
• ILM courses and Apprenticeship Programmes
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme for 24-7 confidential support
• Online wellbeing resources
• A generous pension - we will contribute up to 4% and life assurance cover up to £10,000 (T&Cs apply)
• Quarterly Staff Awards to reward & recognise our amazing staff's commitment and contribution

All applicants must be legally eligible to work in the UK by the start of employment as Look Ahead are not able to offer sponsorship.

What you'll do:

• Oversee all induction and mandatory training, ensuring it meets organisational requirements
• Ensure induction material is up-to-date and engaging
• Ensure all training offered is innovative and engaging and uses technology where possible
• Host the first day of the induction programme 'Feel at Home'
• Deliver ad-hoc training as required
• Coordinate schedules and rotas for mandatory training and induction delivery
• Commission, market, and deliver the learning and development programme in line with organisational needs whilst ensuring value for money, professional training delivery and demonstrable outcomes
• Regularly review and improve the training offer in line with best practice

• Work with the Recruitment, Training and Talent Manager to review and, where required, develop a programme to meet the generic and specialist operational learning and development needs across the business in line with CQC, Ofsted, legislation, contract, policy and procedural requirements

• Ensure LMS is fit for purpose and used effectively so that staff and managers are clear on the training available to them and when they are going out of date with mandatory requirements

• Use the LMS system and work with the Performance team to produce management reports (including but not limited to safeguarding, attendance, non-attendance and operational induction monitoring)
• Use data and analytics to monitor training effectiveness, identify trends, and inform decision-making
• Evaluate effectiveness of training programmes to ensure that it demonstrates effective return on investment and meets initial training objectives
• Implement improvements based on feedback and outcomes
• Work with Recruitment, Training and Talent Manager to deliver training within budget, maintain the budget spreadsheet and ensure prompt payment to suppliers
• Build and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including managers, senior leaders, training providers and LMS provider

• Effectively manage and develop the Talent Partner with the Recruitment Team Leader
• Work collaboratively with the L&D and wider People team
• Work with Recruitment, Training and Talent Manager and Business Development on training costings and plans for new or proposed services

• Demonstrate the company values and establish a positive culture that aligns with the organisation's strategic objectives
• Ensure compliance with all relevant policies and procedures across area of responsibility and for trainings being developed
• Keep up to date on any regulatory, legal or best practice changes in training for the Supported Housing sector
• Support staff and managers through change initiatives related to training and implementation, ensuring clear communication and engagement throughout transitions
• Champion Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in all training and in the implementation of the LMS, ensuring content and delivery are inclusive and accessible
• Promote staff wellbeing through supportive training practices and by signposting to relevant resources
• Take ownership of mandatory training compliance, including monitoring, reporting, and driving achievement of key performance indicators (KPIs) for mandatory training completion within specified timeframes across the organisation
• Provide regular updates to management and take proactive steps to address areas of non-compliance

• Lead and carry out internal quality assurance activities to maintain the integrity and consistency of assessment decisions across qualification programmes

• Sample assessment decisions, provide constructive feedback to assessors, and support continuous improvement in assessment practice
• Ensure all IQA processes fully meet the requirements of awarding bodies such as ILM and/or CPCAB
• Prepare for and support external quality assurance visits, maintaining accurate and compliant IQA records
• Contribute to standardisation meetings and support assessor development through guidance and training
• Work collaboratively with programme leads to ensure qualification delivery meets internal and external quality standards
• Any other duties as required

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:

• Excellent relationship building skills with internal staff and managers and external stakeholders
• Customer outcome focused
• Effective verbal and written communication with staff at all levels
• Positive can-do approach
• Ability to learn new skills quickly
• Creative and innovative in ideas and approach
• High levels of initiative
• Flexible in approach
• Excellent prioritisation and organisational skills
• Intermediate to advanced IT skills on all Microsoft packages and IT systems
• Resilient able to manage self and maintain effective delivery
• Ability to cope with change in a fast paced and challenging environment
• Ability to analyse data and produce actionable insights
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and influencing skills
• Commitment to staying up to date with changes impacting training in the sector

What you'll bring:

Essential:

• Quickly learns and confidently navigates new IT systems, using them to streamline and improve business processes
• Experience of training staff
• Experience of carrying out training needs analysis
• Experience in coaching and developing staff
• Track record of successfully implementing systems, processes, or programmes within a multi-site organisation
• Strong negotiation skills, with experience securing cost-effective training solutions and establishing clear deliverables
• Experienced in managing external partnerships and ensuring contractual obligations are met
• Knowledgeable about best practice and innovative approaches to training delivery, with a commitment to continuous improvement
• Proficient in using e-learning authoring tools, virtual classrooms, and blended learning methodologies
• Demonstrable experience in monitoring and reporting on training KPIs, particularly for mandatory training

Desirable:

• Knowledge of ILM and/or CPCAB frameworks
• Proven experience of internal verification and moderation within a regulated qualification framework
• Understanding of awarding body quality assurance requirements and best practice

About us:

Look Ahead is a leading, not-for-profit care and support provider in London and the South East. Our vision is to build better lives through social care and housing in local communities. As an organisation we deliver over 100 services, providing support to thousands of customers each year. Our mission is to co-design and deliver services that offer innovative social care solutions and support people to thrive. We work across mental health, homelessness and complex needs, young people and care leavers and learning disabilities so there are plenty of opportunities to grow and progress your career with us.

We have a strong social purpose and we live and work by our values:

• We focus on Excellence and innovation.
• We are Caring and Compassionate.
• We are Inclusive and Trusted.
• We work in Partnership and are One-Team.

Look Ahead is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment.

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, but we feel that you would be suitable for another role, we may contact you to discuss alternative opportunities. If this occurs you would not need to submit another application for the alternative role.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion at work and are accredited with Silver in the Inclusive Employers Standard 2021. We are a proud member of the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant and encourage applications from a diverse range of applicants of all backgrounds.