Contract Social Work Jobs

PACT is one of the UK’s leading voluntary adoption agencies, rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and has been at the forefront of adoption services for over 60 years.

We are currently looking for Independent Social Workers based in the following areas to undertake adoption assessments:

· Devon and Cornwall

· Milton Keynes, Peterborough and Cambridge

· Coventry and South Birmingham

· London

Caseloads are flexible and can be arranged to fit around other commitments.  We can offer a competitive rate for each assignment.

You must be SWE registered and have at least three years’ post qualifying experience, preferably in adoption or fostering, and have solid assessment skills.  It is also important that you are willing to travel, and that you hold your own professional indemnity and public liability insurance.

For further details and information on how to apply, please visit our website.

We look forward to hearing from you!

PACT is a supportive and respectful place where people are passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of women, children and families from many different backgrounds.  We continuously look to progress the ways in which we create families and bring people together and encourage applications from people across all communities.  We are committed to ensuring that our people and our services reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and applications from people from under-represented groups are particularly welcomed.

PACT is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Anyone joining our team is subject to PACT’s Safer Recruitment pre-appointment enquiries. These include the provision of documentation of the right to work in the UK, Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check, overseas police check where applicable and references covering a minimum 5 year period.  All opportunities are based in the UK.

No agencies please.

Closing date: 12/05/2024

Interview date: 21/05/2024

Whatever your experience of street homelessness and its impact on people’s lives – personal or professional – when you join the Thames Reach team as a Lead Worker, we’ll make the best use of all your understanding, compassion and commitment.

About us…

Thames Reach runs projects and services that help to end homelessness in London. We work directly with homeless people on the streets and in hostels. We work to prevent vulnerable people from becoming homeless. We help formerly homeless people get their lives back on track. We help people find work and access training and volunteering opportunities.

Is our mission easy? No, but we never give up on people. Last year we helped more than 10,000 people. 

Is our work rewarding? Yes, in every sense. We’re listed as one of the top 100 Best Workplaces in the UK. There’s no better place to develop or transfer your skills and build a fulfilling career.

About this role…

Thames Reach’s Outreach teams operate across London and helps those who are rough sleeping to find routes away from the street. The teams respond rapidly and work flexibly to reach people. Individuals are assessed to identify their support needs and support plans are created, including work to obtain identification, access health services and refer to other specialist agencies, including those offering immigration support.

You will:

• Complete outreach shifts, providing a rapid response to referrals for people who are rough sleeping in the borough 
• Take a lead role within the team, working closely with support workers and assistant support workers to identify the quickest and most appropriate route off the street for people found rough sleeping, and devise plans to achieve this 
• Provide direct support to people who are found rough sleeping to enable them to move away from the streets and into accommodation 
• Work alongside partner agencies to ensure that clients are accessing appropriate support to access and sustain accommodation
• Accurately record all work completed within given timeframes 

To succeed as the Lead Worker, you will have:

• A strong commitment to providing a high standard of service 
• Experience working with people who have rough slept or vulnerable adults and supporting them to access services 
• Excellent organisation and time management skills in order to remain strongly outcome focused, with the ability to coordinate a high number of cases and complete tasks promptly and efficiently
• Good communication skills and confidence in public speaking when representing Thames Reach externally 
• Experience in forming strong working relationships with partner agencies, being able to challenge them when required 
• Strong IT skills with the ability to use Outlook, online recording systems, Excel, and Word, using a tablet and a smart phone 

We are listed in the top 100 UK Best Workplaces 2023 in the UK. As part of a commitment to our employees we offer: 

• Generous holiday allowance – 29 days per year plus 8 public holidays (pro rata).
• Pension – we contribute 6.5% to your pension when you contribute 1.5%. 
• Excellent development opportunities – career progression, regular supervision and appraisals, and learning programmes to support your career with Thames Reach. 
• Wellbeing support – our 24/7 employee assistance programme and opportunities for TOIL. 
• Life assurance – four times your annual salary and critical illness cover.
• Other benefits including interest free season ticket and cycle to work loans.

Thames Reach is committed to achieving a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We value, respect, and celebrate diversity. We welcome and encourage applicants from all sections of the community regardless of their history of homelessness, sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, or religious belief.

To apply visit our website via the apply button.

Thames Reach is committed to safeguarding. Applicants must be willing to undergo pre-employment screening appropriate to the post, including, but not limited to checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. Having a criminal record will not exclude you from applying but you will be asked to provide further details as most posts are considered exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Roma Outreach Worker (Full-time, 12-month fixed term contract)
Kingston upon Thames, Greater London
37.5 Hours per week

This role will require the person to work early mornings and late nights in order to conduct outreach shifts in the Borough.

UK Driving Licence and Romani or Romanian language skills are essential.

About Us

We are SPEAR, a charity dedicated to helping homeless people in South and West London find secure accommodation and work towards a positive future. For 30 years, we’ve worked tirelessly to support homeless people to recover from their personal issues and break down the barriers that they face. We recognise that homelessness is much more than just a housing issue, so we provide a range of accommodation and support services to help people reach their full potential.

The Benefits

– Salary of £31,500 per annum
– 34 days’ holiday (inclusive of bank holidays) increasing with length of service
– Pension scheme
– Access to a free Employee Assistance Programme
– A range of benefits including cycle to work scheme and staff wellbeing sessions
– Refer a friend bonus scheme

This is a superb opportunity for an individual with drive, focus and a desire to work with our outstanding charity to help us to combat homelessness. You’ll discover a passionate, supportive environment where the entire team are working toward the same goals and are dedicated to making positive change and producing great results.

The Role

The purpose of the Roma Outreach Worker role is to deliver an effective service to single people who are currently rough sleeping. This post will actively support Roma clients, providing a continued and consistent point of contact whilst assisting them in navigating the various change pathways available to them.

Are you passionate about utilising your language skills to assist in ending rough sleeping? Our organisation takes a proactive stance in supporting individuals away from rough sleeping, aiming for permanent transitions from rough sleeping.

We are seeking a dynamic and self-driven individual with language proficiency in Romanian or Romany to join our Kingston Outreach Team as a Roma Outreach Worker. In this pivotal role, you will engage in street outreach shifts, assess needs, and deliver personalised case management. It is the beginning of assisting clients on their journey from homelessness to independence.

To be considered for the role of Roma Outreach Worker, you will have:

- Able to speak Romani or Romanian fluently or to a high level.
- Full and clean UK driving licence.
- Good understanding of the Roma communities.
- Experience of working within the homelessness or social care sector.
- Have a creative, solution-focused approach to overcoming challenges.
- Knowledge of GDPR and data management.
- Knowledge of current drug and alcohol provision and relevant services, pathways and conditions.
- Emotional resilience to deal with challenging behaviour and to facilitate ongoing constructive engagement.
- Solid IT skills with the ability to record sound and accurate records in a timely fashion on IT applications such as CHAIN and Inform.
- A commitment to learning and continuous improvement.
- Experience of support planning and risk assessing clients with complex needs, including safeguarding knowledge.
- Able to develop positive and professional working relationships with clients to facilitate the best possible outcomes and address issues of social isolation and exclusion.
- Experience in conducting client assessments and interviews and outcome monitoring.

For further and more detailed information on the role and person specification, please review the Job Description.

SPEAR is an equal opportunities employer, values diversity and is 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 environment is, the better our work will be.

At SPEAR, we welcome and encourage applications from everyone, regardless of age, disability, gender, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. We are facing diverse problems, so need diverse people to tackle them.

So, if you’re seeking your next challenge as a Roma Outreach Worker, please apply via the button shown.

Job Description

Job Title: Wellbeing Navigator

Accountable to: Wellbeing Hub Manager and Senior Wellbeing Navigator

Accountable for: Working with the team and volunteers

Location: The Meritage Centre, Hendon, Barnet, NW4

Hours worked between: 9.30am - 5.30pm Monday - Friday pro rata

PURPOSE OF THE JOB

The Barnet Wellbeing Hub is an exciting new initiative that utilises a social prescribing model to support adults over 16 years old with common and long term conditions and/or social care needs to become involved in community activities. The Wellbeing Hub is an integral component of the overall Integrated Wellbeing Service Strategy for Barnet. A vacancy available for the right candidate to support the continued growth and development of the Social Prescribing offer in Barnet.

The hub acts as a referral Single Point of Access between statutory providers and community settings. A high volume of people are referred from statutory providers, other community organisations, or could self-refer to the hub. Staff will support individuals to engage with community activities.

The role of the wellbeing navigator team will be to provide a holistic service from referral through to discharge. They will work with partners to accept referrals into the service. They will welcome each person, provide a short triage to ensure that their conditions are appropriate ones for the service to assist, and then make appointments for them to visit for more in-depth assistance where necessary. They will also carry out background administration for this service such as logging individual details onto the service database.

MAIN TASKS

Individual Support

• Working with other team members, to provide first point of contact to all those accessing the service, whether face to face, by telephone or email.
• As part of a team, make contact to all people referred into the service.
• Provide a basic Triage service to people who are referred, either over the telephone or via appointments in the office.
• For those people with appropriate needs, book appointments for them to meet.
• Assist people to engage with community activities.
• Follow up with people who have used the service to ensure that they are engaging successfully.
• Provide a professional service that maintains boundaries, but is warm and respectful.
• Maintain individual confidentiality and respects equal rights and diversity.

Outreach work

Links with other community organisations and relationships with statutory services are integral to the success of the Wellbeing Hub. You will be working as part of the team to formulate an outreach work plan to support the Integrated Wellbeing Service working with our partners,

• Log all individuals accessing the service onto the central database in an accurate and timely fashion.
• Liaise with our partners and encourage collaborative and partnership working
• Build relationships and rapport with external partners
• Seek and generate referrals to the Wellbeing Hub and improve the community access into the Wellbeing Hub service
• Work flexibly at other premises, including GP practices, to deliver Emotional Health Checks to individuals based around the borough where appropriate

Administrative Duties

• Log all individuals accessing the service onto the central database in an accurate and timely fashion.
• Information logged should include people’s demographic information, presenting needs and any other case notes deemed to be appropriate.
• Log appointments for people to meet Wellbeing Navigators.
• Ensure that all paper or computerised records and documentation regarding the service is effectively and securely stored.

General duties

• To maintain accurate records to fulfil reporting requirements
• To adhere to all policies including equal opportunity policy and volunteer policy at all times
• Support the team in the setup and facilitation of events throughout the year and support the continued development of our activities
• Work with the team to support the recruitment and management of volunteers to create a team of hub champions to support the work of the navigators
• Attend and contribute to regular team meetings and supervision, as well as training sessions
• Carry out such other duties as deemed appropriate and may be reasonably required by the Service Manager.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The Barnet Wellbeing Hub is an exciting and innovative initiative in the Borough that will improve the lives of thousands of people with health and social care needs. This role is a great job opportunity for candidates who have the relevant experience and skill sets. The post holder will need to be organised, self-motivated, and a quick learner. Candidates are expected to possess the following:-

Essential

• Experience of a customer care environment
• Experience of mental health needs or of working with people with mental health needs
• Ability to work on one’s own initiatives and self-motivated
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Excellent standard of literacy and numeracy and IT competency
• Strong commitment to teamwork to ensure the tasks required are completed
• Ability to work flexibly with other colleagues within the team
• Ability to be proactive and to problem solve, including seeking creative or imaginative solutions
• Ability to work under pressure and cope effectively and/or support others to cope effectively with difficult situations
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic and ‘can do’ attitude
• Strong ability to ensure confidentiality, data quality and integrity are kept at all times
• Commitment and ability to meet set deadlines for report generation and other tasks
• Commitment to equality and diversity

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

NCS Grow Your Ambition Programme Leader

If you want to change lives, call us - we want to hear from you!

Job Description

Job Title

 · NCS Grow Your Ambition Programme Leader

Salary

· £33 - £38,000

Position in the Organisation

· Reports To: Programmes Manager

· Working With: Other members of the wider A4Y team, schools, key partners including the management partner, young people and parent/guardians.

 Main Purpose and Scope of the Role

 This programme is part of a consortium bid via the NCS Community Grant scheme and will run from September 2023 until the end of March 2025. NCS is a government-funded initiative that brings together schools, community organisations, businesses and individuals to build a stronger and more cohesive society.

This role will work independently to deliver the Grow Your Ambition programme for young people aged 16/17 years across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. The programme will be delivered in partnership with local schools, during term time, and includes three experiences; Grow Your Life Skills, Grow Your Employability and Grow Your Community. This role is a fixed term contract until the end of March 2025.

Each young person engaged in the programme must participate in all three experiences, totalling 48 hours. Key phases of each experience include preparation, session and curriculum planning, liaising with schools and external partners and actual programme delivery.

 Each programme consists of:

Grow your Life Skills

· A two day, one night, residential experience at our outdoor education centre, Caldecotte Xperience in Milton Keynes.

· Two outdoor adventurous activities on site that focus on teambuilding, communication and problem solving.

· Delivery of Life Skills sessions such as a cooking challenge, money skills, First Aid, mental resilience and more

· Total 24 hours

Grow Your Employability

· Two days based in school, delivered in line with the school day

· Delivery of a variety of Employability sessions such as personal presentation, confident speaking, CV writing and interview skills

· Total 12 hours

Grow Your Community

· Two days based in school, delivered in line with the school day

· One day delivery of a variety of sessions based on social action and community engagement

· One day volunteering with a local charity

· Total 12 hours

Duties and Key Responsibilities

 · Contact and recruit schools from across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes to sign up to the programme

· Organise delivery dates and programme timetables for their students within the contractual requirements of the programme

· Plan each programme and create a timetable of activities for students to follow

· Deliver sessions to groups of students as per each experience

· Stay overnight for the Grow Your Life Skills residential

• Work with local community organisations to host volunteering days

· Work within a set budget to deliver the programme, ensuring each experience is delivered to a high standard

· Enter data onto the NCS/ Action4Youth CRM system

· Deliver a high quality programme to young people across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes as per contractual requirements

· Report to the programme management partner and collect personal details of young people for reporting purposes

· Attend meetings with management partner and other organisations within the consortium

· Prepare and deliver reports for funders and the Action4Youth Senior Management Team (SMT)

· Develop positive relationships with schools across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes to ensure commitment to the programme

• Act as an Ambassador for Action4Youth at all times

General Responsibilities

· Support events and meetings when required.

• Support the continued development of quality standards as specified by Action4Youth.
• Support in other areas of the organisation as required by the CEO

· To have regard for the vision of Action4Youth and to display a commitment to equal opportunities and to the protection and safeguarding of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

• Report any behaviour, conversations or comments which are inappropriate within a setting for children and young people.

· To carry out any other Action4Youth duties as required by your Line Manager, CEO or Directors.

· Administering own workload which includes meeting targets and deadlines in line with the Action4Youth Performance Management System.

· Attending relevant CPD training events in line with Performance Management appraisal.

· Undertaking responsibility, as part of the team, for all Health and Safety work related matters.

· Working within the guidelines of Action4Youth policies and procedures.

Closing Date for Applications: Friday 3rd May. Action4Youth will be actively interviewing for this role as applications come in.

Interview Dates: To Be Confirmed

Action4Youth

5 Smeaton Close

Aylesbury

Buckinghamshire

HP19 8UN

Job title: Female Peer Support Worker

Responsible to: Lived Experience & Community Development Manager

Salary: Starting salary is Starting salary is £25,634.83 per year (Full  time equivalent), (SC3-SP14-16)

Hours: 37.5 per week 

Contract type: Fixed term one year – Potential for extension with project

Location: East London

Benefits: See supporting documents for information on benefits.

We are seeking a Female Peer Support Worker to provide support and recovery guidance to individuals experiencing common and severe mental health problems and someone to use their own life experience of mental distress or as a carer and recovery as a template.

{Please note that this role is only available to female candidates under the Genuine Occupational Requirement under s9 Equalities Act 2010}

Please see the Job Description and Person Specification attached for more information.

DBS clearance at Enhanced (without Barring) is required for this role.

About Mind in the City, Hackney and Waltham Forest:

We are a multi-disciplinary provider of specialist mental health services and a part of the Mind Federation.

We promote both recovery from ill health for people with recurrent and enduring mental health difficulties and early intervention for those at risk of developing mental health issues, or who struggle with common mental health conditions.

We currently support around 5,000 people a year through a variety of services focusing on psychological, social, economic and workplace wellbeing, and support minoritised communities.

Our values are:

Working with Mind CHWF means you’ll be part of a dedicated, passionate, and professional workforce who cares about the work they do and make a real difference to the lives of the people in the City of London, Hackney, and Waltham Forest.

Our values are:

Connected: Creating a compassionate and supportive community.

Fair:  We strive for equity- no-one's needs should go unmet.

Brave: We walk with people, offering help by doing what works - proven or new

We are committed to actively becoming anti-racist in everything we do. This is a critical priority for Mind CHWF. We embrace diversity and understand that being an inclusive organisation that recognises different perspectives, will enable us to provide excellent services.

We are committed to ensuring all our employees are treated fairly and equitably at work and promoting equity in physical and mental health for all.

Those with lived experience of Mental Health are encouraged to apply.

Value-based Recruitment:

We know that for various reasons, not everybody who can successfully perform in a role, performs their best under traditional interview/selection procedures. We are therefore seeking ways to breakdown further barriers in our recruitment & selection process.

Shorted-listed candidates will be provided with some questions to help them prepare for the interview.

 How to apply:

The closing date is by Monday 13th May 2024 at 9am, however, please do not delay applying as this advert may close before the stated deadline if we find a suitable applicant for the role.

We are a disability confident employer. All applicants with a disability, who meet the minimum essential short-listing criteria are guaranteed an interview. If this applies to you, please let us know in your application.

Your privacy and the security of your data is our top priority. Please take a moment to read through our applicant’s privacy notice.

In this varied and rewarding role you will engage, motivate and support young carers and in doing so you will make a real difference to young carers within Surrey.

You will be based at our offices in Burpham, Guildford for approximately one day a fortnight, with access to hotdesking at any time. Your remaining working hours will be spent engaging with young carers within youth settings, schools or other settings or undertaking planning/recording work from home. You will be need to be available during times that children and young people are available, and this includes planned evening and weekend work.

We are a Surrey wide service, our team work collaboratively to cover the county and for efficiency, your work will be focused in a specific geographical area. This is a fixed term role to cover a maternity leave.

Key responsibilities

• To complete an assessment of need with young carers and provide signposting advocacy and support.
• To work in schools/colleges to increase the identification and support of young carers.
• To provide regular and on-going time out and fun club sessions for young carers to meet others in similar situations and have a break from their caring role.
• To update the database and SYC webpages– for example to update young carers records and update details of planned youth clubs.
• To provide signposting and advocacy to Young Carers and their families.
• To facilitate bespoke sessions for 16-17 year olds.
• To facilitate a program of on-line activities (i.e. via zoom) to young carers.

About you

You must:

• Be confident in encouraging children, young people and their parents/carers to engage with our activities.
• Have experience of working with children, young people and families. e.g. in youth services /voluntary sector / social work settings.
• Have awareness of issues surrounding Young Carers.
• Have a flexible approach to working hours, as regular planned weekend and evening work is required.
• Have an ability to form good working relationships with young people and their families.
• Have experience recording case notes and information about children and young people. Have a good professional knowledge of standard Microsoft packages and databases
• Have a driving license and use of own vehicle. Mileage expenses are paid.

The successful applicants will be DBS checked to an Enhanced level.

About us

Action for Carers Surrey has a vision ‘that every unpaid carer in Surrey is heard, valued and supported.’ We are a committed, local charity determined to make a difference to young and adult carers across Surrey.

Our values are Focus, Inclusion, Respect and Excellence.  By keeping to our values, we are able to provide an innovative, high quality and compassionate service to carers in every community in Surrey, making a real difference to their wellbeing.

We offer our staff a friendly, supportive, flexible workplace and are committed to welcoming applicants from a wide range of backgrounds as well as supporting staff who have their own caring responsibilities. To this end, we offer staff a weeks paid carers leave.  We also provide a generous holiday entitlement, starting at 28 days plus bank holidays, an employee assistance programme, pension and opportunities for development and training.

£37,181 per annum and excellent benefits including flexible working

Fixed term until April 2026 – linked to funding

Full time hours a week – 37.5 per week

Closing date: Tuesday 7th May 2024 at 11.30 pm

Do you have proven experience of day-to-day staff and service management, including casework support and supervision? If leading a new financial resilience project sounds appealing, join Shelter as a Team Leader and you could soon be playing a vital role at the heart of our Birmingham Hub.

About Shelter

A home is a fundamental human need, as essential as education or healthcare. Yet millions of people across Britain struggle on a daily basis with homelessness, bad housing conditions, soaring rents, discrimination and the threat of eviction. So, we are striving for change, with individuals, in communities, across society, and leading the way to a safe home. We need ambitious people who are passionate about our cause to join us at this exciting time. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

At Shelter we are united by our purpose to defend the right to a safe home. Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. We believe that to win that fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement for change. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, fair, equitable and transparent.

We have committed to combat racism both within and outside Shelter and welcome you on our journey to becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.

About the team

In Birmingham our team has over 40 staff plus a team of volunteers. We specialise in housing advice and homelessness work, with a particular focus on families and people experiencing multiple disadvantage. We partner with a range of organisations to challenge the underlying systems that prevent people from living securely in suitable, safe, affordable accommodation.

About the role

We have a new three year partnership with a leading bank, which aims to build financial resilience and break the cycles that can see people experiencing financial problems and this having a negative effect on their housing situation.

Your role will be to provide leadership and line management for six team members, keeping up to date with legislation, mentoring and coaching your team on complex issues in housing, debt and welfare benefits. The views of people with Lived Experience is key to service design at Shelter and you will lead on making sure they are involved to deliver a service that is truly co-produced. We aim to empower communities, so you will develop and deliver training on rights awareness and build relationships within the community. Compliance is also a crucial part of the role - you will monitor and report on contract and financial performance, carry out casework supervision and file reviews and identify systemic housing issues.

We are happy to talk about flexible working, personal growth, and to promote a workplace where you can be yourself and achieve success based only on your merit.

About you

You will need experience of working with people facing exclusion and disadvantage and in a multi-disciplinary context with partners, community groups and other agencies, acting as a safeguarding lead. A good understanding of housing, debt advice, and welfare benefits is essential. The communication skills it takes to line manage others, promote effective working relationships, with external agencies, people with lived experience and internally across Shelter, are key. You will be able to demonstrate the ability to manage externally funded contracts including reporting and financial oversight.

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave (pro rata), enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.

Home is everything. We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Join us in ending the devastating impact the housing emergency has on people and our communities.

Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.

£37,181 per annum pro rata and excellent benefits including flexible working

Fixed term contract until 31st March 2026 - linked to funding

30 hours a week

Closing date: Tuesday 7th May 2024 at 11.30 pm

Do you have proven experience of day-to-day staff and service management, including casework support and supervision? Then join Shelter as a Team Leader and you could soon be playing an important role at the heart of our Birmingham Hub.

About Shelter

A home is a fundamental human need, as essential as education or healthcare. Yet millions of people across Britain struggle on a daily basis with homelessness, bad housing conditions, soaring rents, discrimination and the threat of eviction. So, we are striving for change, with individuals, in communities, across society, and leading the way to a safe home. We need ambitious people who are passionate about our cause to join us at this exciting time. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

At Shelter we are united by our purpose to defend the right to a safe home. Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. We believe that to win that fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement for change. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, fair, equitable and transparent. We have committed to combat racism both within and outside Shelter and welcome you on our journey to becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.

About the team

In Birmingham hub we specialise in providing housing advice and homelessness work, with a particular focus on families and people experiencing multiple disadvantage. We work in partnership with a range of organisations to improve the underlying systems that prevent people from living securely in suitable, safe, affordable accommodation. This role will be to provide day to day leadership for our Peer Mentor Service, delivered in partnership with Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust. FIRST stands for Forensic Intensive Support Recovery Teams, where Peer Mentors use their own lived experience of complex needs to provide early intervention to improve client outcomes.

About the role

You will be responsible for the day to day service delivery and line management of the Peer Mentors, supporting them to deliver tailor made and holistic support packages, integrating joint working protocols within NHS services. You will allocate referrals and work closely with the Service Manager and Service Commissioners to identify gaps in provision. At Shelter we are aiming to change the systems that cause the housing emergency so you will identify examples of good and bad practice which will then be used to call for systemic change.

We are happy to talk about flexible working, personal growth, and to promote a workplace where you can be yourself and achieve success based only on your merit.

About you

To succeed, you’ll need experience of working with people with complex needs and in a multi-agency context with partners, community groups and other agencies. A good understanding of housing, homelessness and welfare benefits issues is crucial. The communication skills it takes to line manage others and promote effective working relationships, with external agencies, people with lived experience and internally across Shelter, are key. Ideally you will understand employing individuals with lived experience of complex needs, the challenges and opportunities this presents and how best to provide effective support. You have experience of promoting take up of services both internally and externally.

We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave (pro rata), enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.

Home is everything. We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Join us in ending the devastating impact the housing emergency has on people and our communities.

Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.

Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.

LMK (Let Me Know) Youth Leader (Freelance Educator / Youth Worker) 

• Across London boroughs 

• £200 per 2hour workshop 

• Sessional 

• Available for a minimum of one delivery per month, pending workshop demands

About LMK

Good relationships shape our health and happiness, yet we are taught so little about them. LMK is a registered education charity on a mission to change that. We run workshops educating young people about healthy and unhealthy behaviours, so that they can avoid abuse and thrive in relationships. 

Using film and guided discussions, our workshop leaders support children and young people in honest conversations about relationships and leave them better equipped to spot the early warning signs of abuse and inspire them to enjoy healthy, fulfilling relationships.  We explore the 10 signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships and include practical lessons young people want to learn about (like consent) and practice scenarios in a safe, supportive and non-judgmental environment. 

LMK is a learning organisation and prides itself in supporting leaders to develop their skills. We offer training and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities, as well as peer-to-peer learning and reflective practice sessions.

Job Description 

LMK is looking for passionate and organised educators (LMK Leaders) to run community workshops, aimed at young people aged between 11 and 24. Through engaging, relatable, workshops you will help young people identify signs of healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviours, provide strategies for them to recognise the early warning signs of abuse and give them tools to keep themselves and their friends safe. 

The minimum hours required per workshop is 3 hrs. This includes arriving 30 minutes before delivery, 1.5 to 2 hrs delivery and then remaining back 10 minutes and being accessible to young people who would like further information or a one-to-one conversation, surrounding the subject of relationships.

There is also 30 minutes admin, which is usually completed off-site, such as inputting student surveys and a Leader survey.

Responsibilities 

• Always adhere to LMK and partner safeguarding practices and procedures.

• Respond to comms (emails/WhatsApp) sent out by LMK core team members, in a timely manner, to support planning and organising of sessions.

• Meet with co-facilitators to carry out pre-session planning, minimum two working days before delivery.

• Plan and deliver interactive LMK workshops in educational, sports and community settings in line with LMK delivery style and ethos.

• Use your experience and knowledge of the issues affecting young people to tailor the workshops accordingly. 

• Ensure all youth participants and the adults in school/community organisations who attend a LMK workshop complete the post session feedback surveys.

• Complete reflective post session Leader surveys to support practice and programme development, after each workshop.

• Debrief with LMK’s Programme Manager and provide ongoing feedback about your sessions, through LMK’s reflective practice processes.

• Undertake relevant training associated with LMK’s work including but not restricted to child protection, safeguarding, violence against women and girls (VAWG).

• Continue to learn about and develop your skills on the issues affecting young people’s relationships including domestic violence, abuse, adverse childhood experiences, trauma informed practice, gang culture and grooming, mental health, sexual exploitation, consent, sharing of nudes /sexting, bullying in person and online, tech and online safety, pornography.

• Provide feedback and co-design training and educational resources on issues affecting young people and their relationships, including opportunities to share your knowledge and expertise at peer-to-peer learning sessions.

• Attend termly virtual Leader huddles to remain connected to peers and organisational values, mission, and purpose.

• Contribute towards and keep up to date with LMK internal/external communications platforms, such as LMK Newsletters and social media.

• Engage with LMK’s Youth Advisory Board Members, if and when invited to do so.

• Lead by example and promote healthy relationship behaviours in your own lives/communities and within LMK (team player; acknowledging and working with diversity; being receptive to new ideas and developmental feedback, etc)

• Use your own networks to recruit new schools and youth groups into the programme.

• Drive forward our evaluation programme - collecting data, as well as providing on-going feedback to LMK.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Extensive experience of teaching or working with young people (9 to 24 yrs old) in an educational, sports or community setting.

• Minimum 2 years’ experience co-designing, delivering and evaluating group sessions, consisting of minimum, of 12 and maximum of 30 participants.

• Experience or co-designing session plans and co-facilitating with others; able to collaborate equally with others.

• A strong commitment to young people and knowledge and understanding of issues affecting their relationships.

• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills with the ability to create a safe and non-judgmental space, that allows young people to speak freely about their relationships and experience.

• Strong emotional intelligence and the ability to deliver sensitive information whilst treating young people’s concerns with respect.

• Capable of maintaining confidentiality and professional boundaries with young people, peers, and professionals.

• Able to adapt and be flexible in workshops to get the best engagement from a range of participants. 

• Skilled at facilitating virtual workshops and working with a selection of online portals. 

Requirements 

• Entitled to work in the UK.

• Hold a DBS certificate or be willing to let us undertake a check on your behalf. 

• Have a recent safeguarding qualification from a recognised provider or be willing to undertake additional training in this area.

• Flexibility to work non-traditional, after-school and occasional weekend / holiday hours.

• Comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, confidentiality, data protection and reporting concerns to an appropriate person.

LMK strives to create a fair and healthy environment where all our colleagues feel valued and able to be their authentic selves at work. We understand that our people have commitments and personal interests outside of work and so we create a flexible working environment, in which people can perform at their best.

LMK values the differences that a diverse workforce brings and is committed to inclusivity. We welcome all applicants from any race, ethnicity, colour, religion, gender, age, sexuality, or any other protected characteristic.

We can make reasonable adjustments throughout the application process and on the job. Please let us know, by contacting us separately if you need any adjustments or changes to be made during the recruitment process because of a disability or long-term health condition.

You can learn more about how we handle your personal data and your rights by reviewing our privacy notice LMK Privacy Policy 

We are looking for a full time Peer Engagement Practitioner.

This is an innovative new service, integrating the expertise, skills and knowledge of the network in Barnet with NHS Mental Health services. The purpose of the role is to provide peer led psycho-social support to clients, working within specialist Mental Health teams and the VCS delivery partners. This role will also serve to enhance the work of the MH teams, and other practitioners within the service, to ensure it remains clients focused, recovery informed, and embedded with experience led practice.

The role will carry an active caseload, working with clients to determine their recovery needs, identifying resources available within the community, providing expert advice and support, facilitating recovery focused peer support groups, and contributing to the development of new community resources.

Please contact us for a full copy of the Job Description & Person Specification for this role.

What You'll Do: 

• Collaboration and Efficiency: Work hand-in-hand with existing Mental Health Provision for people and their families, as well as other local agencies/organisations to effectively support people transitioning from services. 
   

• Innovation and Empowerment: Channel your passion into providing evidence-based interventions, becoming key in shaping this role as the service develops as well as providing support to the core Access Community Mental Health team. 
   

Why Join Us: 

• Impact Matters: Join a team where your work directly transforms lives and contributes to a healthier community. 

• Personal Growth: We offer professional development opportunities that will enrich your career and help shape the future of mental health services in Swindon. 

• Collaborative Culture: Work alongside like-minded individuals who share your passion for making a meaningful impact. 

Dear Applicant

Welcome to Wimbledon Guild

We’re a community charity in Merton offering practical help and support. Wimbledon Guild is going from strength to strength, and we’re looking forward to appointing a new Talking Therapies Assessor to work part- time in our Talking Therapies team

We describe our services to clients in this way:

Wimbledon Guild is a community charity in Merton offering practical help and support, so you’ll never have to face life’s challenges alone.

Whether you're worried about money, you’re feeling low or overwhelmed, or you’re looking for new friends and activities locally, we’re always here.

Wimbledon Guild is more than just a place, we're a real community where everyone belongs. 

We meet these objectives through a diverse range of services, which we are constantly developing in response to local need and local aspirations. We collaborate closely with partners in the statutory and voluntary sector, and with a thriving group of volunteers. Our Talking Therapies are well known and highly regarded in the local community, and we are a BACP Accredited Service. 

The Talking Therapies department is in a period of growth which has resulted in our need to review our approach. We are creating this role to ensure that the department is able to work as effectively and holistically as it can. The postholder will have responsibilities for triaging and assessing potential talking therapies clients. The postholder will work closely with the Individual Counselling Manger, Groupwork Manager and Talking Therapies Office Manager to determine whether the client is suitable for any of our services. The postholder will also be responsible for managing a small team of volunteer assessors who will usually be placement students.

We’re looking for someone who is highly professional and conscientious in their work and will bring a high level of experience as a therapist assessing a wide range of individuals for different services.

We are recruiting for two Peer Support Leads (Birmingham and immediate surrounding areas): 

The Hepatitis C Trust has developed projects nationally whereby peers use their lived experience of injecting drug use and hepatitis C, to provide education and training to increase awareness of hepatitis C, reduce stigma, and promote access to testing and treatment for people living with hepatitis C.  

Do you have experience of working in drug services and with volunteers? Have you been affected by hepatitis C or have you supported anyone who has hepatitis C?

We are looking for passionate and skilled peer leads who have excellent communication and organisational skills. We require a good standard of education and welcome creativity and innovation in all our work.  

Working as part of a growing team providing services to people living with hepatitis C, this post will expand delivery of the Hepatitis C peer project, recruiting and supporting volunteer peers across Birmingham and immediate surrounding areas to raise awareness, promote harm reduction approaches, and proactively increase HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) testing, treatment, and care for marginalised communities. 

This post will require extensive travel across the region, and it is desirable, but not essential for the post holder to hold a clean driving licence and have their own vehicle for work related travel.