Housing Support Worker

Kineara has a two new vacancies for experienced Housing Support Practitioners to join our small and dedicated team for our Private Renters Project in Southwark. 

Housing Support Practitioner  

Contract and term:  Self-employed 12 month contract, with a 3-month probation
Hours: 35 hours per week Mon – Fri with some occasional evenings when needed 
Location: Flexible, with time split between home, our Southwark office 3 days per week 

About the project 

In an innovative partnership with Southwark Council, Southwark Law Centre, and Impact for Urban Health, we’ve been supporting close to 200 private renters over the last 3 years who have been threatened with eviction by their landlords, or are living in temporary accommodation, to sustain their tenancies and/or find onward housing in the social or private sector that is suitable for their health, needs and aspirations.  

About the role 

We are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic, and passionate support worker to take up a full-time role within our organisation as a Housing Support Practitioner in our small and dedicated team. The role will be based mostly in Southwark, and you will be working in partnership with the Council’s housing officers, solicitors, community services, social prescribers, and mental health support workers to coordinate tailored support for each client to avoid eviction and sustain tenancies, mediating with landlords where necessary and providing advice for onward housing when needed with the support of the Housing Link Worker. The objectives of these programmes are to avoid evictions, sustain tenancies or move to a better suited property, increase employment opportunities, improve wellbeing, and increase educational outcomes. You will be working in partnership with other stakeholders such as schools and health professionals to improve family health, build relationships and engage families and individuals and their networks of support.  

About you 

You will have experience of working with individuals with complex needs. You will be an enthusiastic person who is self-motivated, confident and thrives when working independently with a passion to support change. You will have excellent interpersonal skills, experience delivering holistic support, be a solution-minded thinker, have a good understanding of strength-based approaches and be able work sensitively and empathetically with people in vulnerable circumstances. You will also have experience working in a systemic and therapeutic way. It is also important to us that you have the competency to work with people from a variety of cultural backgrounds. To work as part of a team and independently, the roles require you to think creatively and use the resources around you effectively.   

What you can expect from Kineara  

Kineara will offer you an opportunity to be part of a dedicated small team that works closely together while encouraging independence and autonomy. This is a busy and hands-on role where each day is different, and you will be based in our office in Southwark, at home, and in the community doing occasional home visits. The role will provide you with support and supervision from our experienced project manager, as well as the flexibility to work to your clients' needs. With us, you will have an active voice in the organisation and your input in how our organisation develops will be highly valued. We are committed to providing a nurturing environment in which our staff can develop their skills, take on new opportunities and challenges, and grow professionally.   

 We ensure that wellbeing of our staff is a priority. Kineara provides a wellbeing package for all practitioners to encourage work/life balance and self-care for our staff.  

HOW TO APPLY: Please send a CV and a cover letter explaining how you meet the criteria for the role. Please also include: 

• Why you wish to apply for this role 

• What you would like to gain from this role 
• Your relevant experience, knowledge and skills, based on the person specification above. 
• What other qualities you have that you could bring to the role 
• Whether you have an up-to-date DBS and DRB check. 
• When you are available to begin work 

We look forward to receiving your application!