Entry level jobs for the Housing and Homelessness sector

Job Summary 

Z House is an exciting project run by Caring in Bristol, opening in July 2024. It provides emergency short-term accommodation for 18 – 25-year-olds in housing crisis, which is supplemented by daytime support to help people move on to sustainable and appropriate accommodation.

Based in St Pauls, Z house fosters a safe and supportive environment where 4 young people can stay in the Night Shelter at a time until they obtain suitable accommodation.This Role is for 4 Nights a Week, Monday to Thursday, involving a mix of both Waking and Sleep-in hours.

Sometimes working alongside a volunteer, you will be responsible for providing a safe space, listening ear and support for young people using the service. 

The role involves starting at 20:30, supporting our young people to settle for the evening before your sleep-in shift from 11:30pm until 07:30 am, in the morning you’ll support the young people and our volunteers with Breakfast and room changeover for the day, finishing your shift at 08.30am.

Shift Times       Activity

20.30 – 23.30    Waking

23.30 – 07.30    Sleeping (dedicated night worker room with shower)

07.30 - 08:30     Waking
 

Key responsibilities 

Housing management 

• Sign up and induct young people arriving outside of normal working hours

• Ensure the health, safety and security of the building, colleagues, residents, and visitors; taking reasonable care to protect yourself and all other persons, complying with health and safety legislation and procedures; seek guidance as necessary and highlight any significant deficiencies to a senior colleague 

• Carry out any required health and safety, housing management, risk management, etc. monitoring, keeping accurate and complete records throughout.

• Identify and report defects in the buildings, furniture, and equipment to promote a safe working environment in line with Health and Safety, following relevant procedures to remedy all defects. 

• Contribute to the upkeep of services, ensuring young people’s rooms, communal and colleague areas are well maintained, serviced, safe and clean; maintain accurate and complete records. Supporting Young People

• Assisting Young people to achieve positive outcomes including stated support plan goals, liaising with internal and external colleagues/organisations as required.

• Respond to requests and issues from young people, continually assessing housing needs and risks.

• Provide support and guidance for young people as appropriate

• Promote the participation and involvement of young people within and outside the organisation to elevate users’ voice in the delivery of the Z House service.

• Ensure all relevant records (including case-notes, safeguarding, incident, and other logs) are completed for all shifts.

• Providing detailed handover notes for the Young People in the shelter 

Volunteer support 

• To support and provide guidance to volunteers who will sometimes partner you on shift 

• To be the point of contact for volunteers if they need to raise any concerns 

Other  

• You will be one part of a two-person Night Support Team, so communication and detailed recording of information is necessary for the team to deliver a high level of support to young people safely and effectively 

• Ensure all shift tasks and processes are completed satisfactorily, including a comprehensive handover for the Z House Coordinator.

• Safeguard the welfare of children, young people, and adults at risk, working within Caring in Bristol’s safeguarding policies, Southwest Child Protection Procedures, and local procedures for safeguarding adults at risk.

• Carry out day-to-day administrative functions to ensure that all records and files are maintained and stored securely in line with the Data Protection legislation. 

• Provide a diverse and culturally sensitive service, ensuring that anti-discriminatory practice and equality of opportunity are promoted within all aspects of Caring in Bristol’s services. The list of tasks is not exclusive, and duties may be varied from time to time, with the job description being subject to review and periodic amendments. 

Personal Specification 

We expect you to meet most of these criteria. However, we don’t expect you to meet every point and welcome applicants with transferrable skills and an ability to apply themselves in a new context.
 

Essential 

• A desire and willingness to learn about the effects that experiencing homelessness have on young people in our city 

• A willingness to learn and uphold Caring in Bristol’s safeguarding Policies and Procedures

• Ability to listen to and communicate effectively with young people.

• Able to record case notes accurately and clearly and safely handle data in line with Caring in Bristol’s GDPR policies

• Ability to remain calm in a crisis with the skills to deal with incidents or urgent situations safely and pragmatically

• Able to work with vulnerable people, operating with sensitivity as well as assertiveness maintaining professional boundaries 

• A high attention to detail for health and safety issues 

• High standards of cleanliness and housekeeping 

• Effective communicator 

Desirable 

• Experience of working with vulnerable young people

• Experience of working with people from overrepresented communities in homelessness statistics such as those who identify as a part of the LGBTQ+ community, Young people who are experiencing displacement and those who are part of ethnically and culturally diverse communities 

• Experience working in supported accommodation

• Be able to demonstrate understanding of safeguarding principles and practice.

• Experience of working alongside and guiding volunteers with an understanding of how to do this effectively 

• Flexible problem solver, reliable and good at timekeeping 

• Have a willingness to uphold Caring in Bristol’s values and work towards our overall mission