Housing Advice Worker Jobs in Leeds
Leeds Media Centre - Travel across Bradford
Ref SOW-241
Are you a proactive, compassionate and collaborative individual with a proven record of working and engaging positively with people who have a history of social exclusion, youth offending or other vulnerable groups? Do you have strong experience of providing support, advice and advocacy and the ability to assess client’s needs?
If so, St Giles has an exciting opportunity for a talented individual to join us an Assertive Outreach Worker, where you will work as part of a high-quality and client-focused team that oversees a vital lived experience-led project that works across Bradford.
About St Giles Trust
An ambitious, well-established charity that helps people facing adversity to find jobs, homes and the right support they need. Central to our ethos is our belief that people with first-hand experience of successfully overcoming issues such as an offending background, homelessness, addictions and gang involvement, hold the key to positive change in others.
About this key role
Our successful candidate will assess referred clients, with reference to St Giles Trust assessment practices, and produce support and risk management plans based on these assessments, promoting inter-agency collaboration in the assessment and planning process. You will be expected to deliver a holistic support service, working independently or with colleagues as the situation dictates, providing practical help such as social and housing support, education, training and employment options, benefits work and debt advice.
We will also rely on you to develop and maintain relationships with referral agencies, ensuring a steady flow of appropriate referrals onto the scheme, and with regional agencies, including police and social services. Closing cases efficiently and positively, identifying a survival plan for the client that will identify agencies that can be used for on-going support and agencies that can be used if serious problems develop in the future, is also an essential aspect of this role.
What we are looking for
- To have worked on an offender-led support project, had personal experience of the criminal justice system, served a prison sentence, or still be serving a prison sentence in a prison within reach of Bradford
- Experience in negotiation with partner agencies to establish links to further aims of the project
- Experience of engaging successfully with people with challenging or complex needs
- To have a relevant qualification to a good standard, or be working towards one
- Sound knowledge of ‘County Lines’ and the Government’s Prevent programme
- Knowledge of services for offenders and patterns of offending in Leeds borough/s
- Excellent interpersonal, relationship-building and communication skills, verbal and written
- A flexible, collaborative and professional approach to your work.
Please note this role requires an Enhanced Adult and Children DBS with Children Barred list.
In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, flexible working, a mentoring programme, an advice and counselling service, season ticket loan and much more.
We are an equity and inclusion confident employer. We welcome all applications and we particularly encourage applications from people of the global majority (black, brown, multi- heritage) and those who identify as disabled, neuroexpansive, neurodiverse, with any protected characteristics and/or social barriers or challenges. We value the empowering and informative impact that all lived experiences and diversity of thought can offer the organisation.
St Giles will guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria set out in the Job Description for the vacancy.
To apply, please visit our website via the ‘Apply’ button.
Closing date: 11 p.m. 22 April 2024
Interview date: 30 April 2024 Leeds Media Centre
Ref BGC-241
Are you a proactive, compassionate and collaborative individual with a proven record of working with those who have complex needs and often do not engage with services? Do you have strong experience of successfully working with challenging people and supporting them to make progress?
If so, join St Giles as a Beyond the Gate Caseworker, where you will work on an innovative project piloting a new approach supporting individuals affected by the Criminal Justice system at higher risk of suicide and self-harm.
About St Giles Trust
An ambitious, well-established charity that helps people facing adversity to find jobs, homes and the right support they need. Central to our ethos is our belief that people with first-hand experience of successfully overcoming issues such as an offending background, homelessness, addictions and gang involvement, hold the key to positive change in others.
About this key role
As our Beyond the Gate Caseworker, you will provide a community-based service that engages, motivates and facilitates those on license to make progress, through a range of one-to-one sessions, group activities, training and supportive measures. You will work with your caseload of clients to produce individual action plans that support them to overcome social inclusion barriers, including housing, substance misuse, relationships, training, employment, finance debt and benefit, and deliver a range of planned custody and community assessments and interventions that keep clients engaged, motivated, and making progress.
We will also count on you to ensure all immediate appointments on release are attended such as probation, mental health, housing and substance misuse, and the delivery of small group activities based on need, including tenancy management, emotional wellbeing, shopping on a budget. Liaising constructively with HM Prison Service and Probation personnel to share updates and completing referrals into services as soon as possible after release and map out a support plan for this are also both key aspects of the role, as are working flexibly, covering absences for colleagues, and supporting the delivery lead.
What we are looking for
- Proven track record of supporting ex-offenders
- Qualification in Advice and Guidance or equivalent, to at least Level 3
- A sound understanding of the issues faced by the client group, such as housing, debt, substance misuse, mental health
- Excellent administrative and case management skills
- The ability to assess participants’ needs and provide client led support
- Excellent interpersonal, relationship-building and communication skills, verbal and written
- A flexible, collaborative and professional approach to your work.
Please note this role requires an Enhanced Adult DBS checks.
In return, you can expect a competitive salary, generous leave allowance, staff pension, flexible working, a mentoring programme, an advice and counselling service, season ticket loan and much more.
We are an equity and inclusion confident employer. We welcome all applications and we particularly encourage applications from people of the global majority (black, brown, multi- heritage) and those who identify as disabled, neuroexpansive, neurodiverse, with any protected characteristics and/or social barriers or challenges. We value the empowering and informative impact that all lived experiences and diversity of thought can offer the organisation.
St Giles will guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria set out in the Job Description for the vacancy.
To apply, please visit our website via the ‘Apply’ button.
Closing date: 11 p.m. on 18 April 20204
Interview date: 26 April 2024 at Leeds Media Centre
Advocate
After a strong period of growth and additional funding, we now have an opportunity for an experienced Advocate to join team!
You will focus on carrying regular outreach across Leeds, along with working with local partners, services and third sector projects to find Gypsies and Travellers in the Leeds area. Outreach will cover roadside camps, private yards and people in homes.
This role and project represent the first step in working with Gypsies and Travellers in Leeds.
Position: Advocate
Location: Leeds/hybrid (work will include delivering outreach across Leeds)
Hours: Full-time, 35 hours per week
Salary: £24,829 per annum pro rata
Contract: initial 12-month contract with possibility to extend subject to funding
Benefits: The provision of workplace wellbeing support and activities, hybrid working where the role allows, flexible working and a range of family friendly policies and free parking.
Closing Date: 17th May 2024
The Role
You will be working holistically to support the community with a wide range of needs having a focus on members with complex needs and with families who require educational support. You will be helping members to develop the necessary skills to self-advocate through providing information, signposting and support.
Duties and responsibilities include:
- Advocacy - to provide members with daily accessible and equitable advocacy appointments. Topics may include welfare rights and entitlement, housing rights and support, health and wellbeing including mental health and equalities and justice
- Project and administration management
- Risk Management, to ensure good management within all the work particularly that all activities are risk assessed, safe and inclusive and follow processes and policies
- Partnerships, including building and maintaining a wide network of partner and services in support of advocacy delivery and community development
About You
We are looking for someone with knowledge of relevant legislation and rights, for example in relation to housing, welfare, family, health and equalities
You will have experience of working with:
- Groups or individuals experiencing exclusion and the barriers they face when accessing services
- Vulnerable people
- Safeguarding frameworks – making decisions and sharing information
About the Organisation
You will be joining a vibrant and brave grassroots organisation led by Gypsy and Traveller people in West Yorkshire. This is an established and award-winning civil society organisation with a national profile. Recognised as being innovative, brave and creative. The overall aim of the charity is to improve the quality of life for Gypsies and Travellers through addressing inequalities in homes, health, education, and employment, financial and social inclusion. There are a number of community-facing and strategic projects to achieve aims including advocacy, community development and youth work.
You may also have experience in areas such as Outreach, Community Outreach, Community Outreach Worker, Community Outreach Advocate, Community Outreach Support Worker, Community Outreach Support, Community Advocate, Advocate, Advocacy, Advocacy Worker.
PLEASE NOTE: This role is being advertised by NFP People on behalf of the organisation.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide high quality information and support in an empathetic and professional manner.
- Conduct a holistic needs assessments for each service user according to their individual circumstances
- Working with each service user to establish the most appropriate sources of support, and agree an action/support plan with them
- Provide a face to face service when there is an over-riding need to do so by visiting service users
- Collaborate with other agencies/service providers who can offer additional support options
- Liaise with partners, ensuring that agreed actions are followed up
- Log and communicate details of cases in a timely and accurate manner to ensure that records are up to date and the wider team has the information they need to provide support.
- Explore, assess and escalate any safeguarding concerns according to the RABI safeguarding policy.
- Contribute constructively to the development of the Service Provision team and function, for the benefit of service users.
- Work constructively and collaboratively to solve problems with the support of colleagues.
Person Specification:
Essential
- Experience providing services to vulnerable service users, listening and supporting in a non-judgemental way.
- Knowledge and insight into state benefits and complementary support services (whether national / local / statutory agencies.
- Excellent communication skills, being able to establish rapport and build trust quickly.
- The ability to build a practical plan alongside a service user and adapt approach to different circumstances and personalities.
- Knowledge of data protection principles and how to apply them.
- Knowledge or experience of safeguarding best practice.
- Knowledge and insight into complementary support services (whether national / local / statutory agencies).
- Excellent IT software skills and aptitude to adapt to new systems and processes.
- Flexible, resilient and solution focussed working with sensitivity and integrity.
- Collaborative, constructive, and solution-focussed
- Ability to work flexibly, depending on the needs of the team and of service users.
Desirable
- Farming background or knowledge of the farming community environment.
- Experience providing support remotely.
- Relevant qualifications in health and social care
Other
Use of own car, ability to travel to support service users / attend meetings.
This role profile is not exhaustive and is subject to review in conjunction with the post holder according to future developments at RABI.
RABI is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and aims to ensure that all employment practices secure equality of opportunity and that no prospective or current employee receives less than favourable treatment at RABI as a result of their sex, sexual orientation, age, race, religion, belief, ethnic origin, disability, marital, or for any other reason which cannot be shown to be justifiable. Our recruitment process strives to ensure that individuals are selected only based on their relevant skills, experience, qualifications and abilities.
Early applications are encouraged for this position as shortlisting and interviews will take place on a rolling basis. We reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a suitable application prior to the deadline.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
About us:
Action for M.E. is the only charity in the UK providing direct support including healthcare to children and adults with M.E.. We provide vital support services, campaign for change and invest in ground-breaking research to help put an end to the ignorance, injustice and neglect experienced by people with M.E.
Opportunity:
Having been paused to new referrals, Action for M.E.’s free, independent, Adults Advocacy service will soon be re-opening. It’s one of our range of free Support Services that work with adults, young people, and/or families living with M.E. We support colleagues across the team to take part in and share reflective practice, self-care, peer-support and training.
Our Adults Advocacy service offers non-statutory, single-issue, instructed advocacy for adults with a confirmed diagnosis of M.E. We encourage self-advocacy where possible, though many of our clients are too severely affected by M.E. to be able to take undertake this.
As an Adults Advocate, you will manage a caseload of clients, as well as inputting and contributing to the triage process along with your Advocacy colleagues. You will meet with clients by phone, email, Zoom and/or SMS; we can also facilitate communication by post if this is required. We are not able to offer home visits or face to face meetings.
What we can offer you:
We offer fully remote and flexible working with generous annual leave (30 days plus bank holidays, pro rata). The wellbeing of our staff is important to us, we offer a range of benefits to employees including (but not limited to) access to free counselling and voluntary wellbeing weekday sessions, examples of recent sessions include guided group meditations and a book club.
To view the full job description, download the job pack, and apply for this role, please visit our Recruitee site (please note that we only accept applications via Recruitee; any application sent directly to an Action for M.E. mailbox will not be considered).
Should you have any questions about the role, or require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to contact our recruitment team, details of how to do this are contained in the application pack, "how to apply" section.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.