Specialist outreach worker jobs in birmingham

Cranstoun is an independent charity and leading provider of specialist treatment, harm reduction and recovery services to those affected by drug and alcohol use. This is an exciting opportunity to become a Key Worker within our high performing psychosocial drug and alcohol service in HMP Birmingham.

We provide a range of services for those affected by drugs and alcohol. Our skilled and compassionate team work closely with people who use our services to change and save lives. We combine proven expertise in treatment and recovery with innovative approaches and actively involve those we help in improving the design of the services we provide.

You will be based in our psychosocial team working with adult males (over 18 years old). You will be responsible for delivering a range of elements of our substance use work including case management, assessments, care planning, the delivery of one-to-one interventions to include harm reduction and motivational work, group work, and engagement support as well as other associated duties. You need to be committed to supporting people who use our services to make positive changes to prepare them for release into the community, and you will arrange continuity of care. You will work in collaboration with the clinical team and integrated working is a key element of this role. You will work within the prison setting and contribute towards the wider prison drug strategy.

Having experience of supporting people with complex health needs including substance use, you will bring knowledge and commitment to deliver drug and alcohol treatment. You will have a non-judgemental attitude and a desire to support the lives of people who use our services to be healthier and safer by delivering a high-quality service.

Experience of working with drug and alcohol use is essential. You will be a competent communicator, with the ability to work independently and be comfortable and enthusiastic, both with the highlighted client group and working in partnership with other service providers. Previous experience or knowledge of working with individuals on opiate replacement treatment, and/or involved in the criminal justice system will be advantageous.

To apply for this role, please submit your CV, along with a Cover Letter outlining your skills, experience, relevant qualifications and values fit for the role.

Please ensure you clearly state the Job Reference Number on your Cover Letter.

Closing date: 14 November 2025.

We are an inclusive employer, committed to promoting equality and diversity in all areas of our work. 

Location: Birmingham

Salary: Grade 3 - £31,133 per annum

Contract: Fixed term until April 2026

Hours: Full time – 37.5 hours per week

Closing date: Tuesday 11th November 2025 at 11:30pm

Are you compassionate, proactive and collaborative with experience in housing and homelessness advice and advocacy? If you are looking for an exciting new career opportunity, then join Shelter as a Housing Rights Worker and you could soon be making a real difference to people affected by the housing emergency.

About The Role

This role will be part of our partnership with a leading bank which aims to build financial resilience and break the cycles that lead to financial exclusion and poor financial health negatively impacting people’s housing situations. You will deliver high quality housing advice and advocacy in line with the Birmingham hub’s local community priorities: supporting families experiencing homelessness, improving conditions in the Private Rented Sector and reducing barriers for those experiencing multiple disadvantages.

This will involve working alongside people who are experiencing homelessness and bad housing to identify issues facing local communities.  You will plan and deliver casework to individuals and communities to resolve their housing situation, networking and engaging with community groups, local organisations and individuals to understand local housing issues and raise awareness of housing rights.

About You

You will have the ability to listen to, engage and work with individuals and communities and with all stakeholders, including running group workshops and presentations. You have experience, knowledge of and/or proven ability in housing and homelessness advice and advocacy, with the ability to progress to specialist level knowledge. You will be able to carry out casework related interviews, maintaining detailed case records and offering advice and support to clients so they can make informed decisions as well as deliver group workshops and presentations.

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, 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.

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.

About Shelter

Home is a human right. It’s our foundation and where we thrive. Yet every day millions of people are being devastated by the housing emergency.

We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Because home is everything.

We need ambitious, passionate people to join us. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. To win this fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, equitable and transparent. We are committed to combating racism both within and outside Shelter. We welcome you on our journey to becoming truly anti-racist.

How to Apply 

Please click ‘Apply for Job’ on the advert. You are required to submit an online application with responses to the following points in the ‘About you’ section of the job description of no more than 350 words each. These will be labelled as Knowledge, Skills and Experience points on the form. Please provide specific examples following the STAR format:

•Experience, knowledge of and/or proven ability in housing and homelessness advice and advocacy and the ability to progress to specialist level knowledge

•Ability to listen to, engage and work with individuals and communities

•Experience of delivering and/or ability to deliver group workshops and presentations

Please ensure you demonstrate how you address the behaviours below throughout your responses:

•We prioritise diversity and have an inclusive and open mindset

•We create change and align behind our strategy

Below is more information on the STAR method:

• Situation - the situation you had to deal with
• Task - the task you were given to do
• Action - the action you took
• Result - what happened as a result of your action and what you learned from the experience
• The STAR method | National Careers Service

Safeguarding Statement

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.

Recruitment Agencies

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

Cranstoun offer a wide range of services across England, including community-based and residential substance use services, supported housing, specialist services for young people and families and carers, and domestic abuse services.

Our skilled and compassionate teams work with service users, families, and communities, helping them to make positive changes. We’ve been making a difference since 1969 by combining our expertise with innovative approaches and putting people at the heart of what we do.

Our Domestic Abuse Housing Solutions Service provides housing-related support for individuals threatened by domestic abuse. We support people to find suitable alternative accommodation and emergency accommodation. We also work with key strategic partners to help address other social related issues, such as benefit/welfare reform processes, helping to maximise people’s incomes, signposting to relevant primary and secondary health care services and more.

As Housing Support Worker, the successful applicant will be expected to:

• Process referrals according to local procedures
• Support service users who attend drop-in sessions
• Deliver expert advice and assistance on homelessness within a domestic abuse context
• Undertake initial inquiries into a person’s eligibility and homelessness/threatened with homelessness status making referrals to appropriate safeguarding agencies for people with no recourse to public funds.
• Administer housing need assessments and conduct extensive investigations to fully understand and respond to survivors housing and additional support needs.
• Develop, update and review Personal Housing Plans (PHP) with survivors. Set out and agree on realistic tasks with the survivor and ensure the PHP remains relevant whilst homelessness prevention and relief duties are owed
• Using effective case management skills to timely prevent and relieve homelessness. Where homelessness cannot be prevented, support the arrangement of suitable Temporary Accommodation (TA) and First Night Placements.
• assess and manage risk.
• maintain accurate records using a provided lap top computer.
• understand the importance of maintaining professional boundaries.
• ensure safeguarding protocols are followed.

Female applicants only. Due to the nature and context of the work, having the particular protected characteristic is an occupational requirement and the application of the requirement is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

All posts are subject to an enhanced DBS Disclosure. 

Closing Date: 9 November 2025

Background Information

Spitfire Advice & Support Services (Birmingham) Limited is not-for-profit organisation that offers help, information and support to clients from the most excluded communities.  We are currently funded to deliver our services in Castle Vale Ward and all the Sutton Coldfield post codes. Other funding we have enables the delivery of a number of projects that support our client’s including our Money Advice and Financial inclusion programmes.

Our Money Advice Caseworkers’ support clients who are affected by welfare reforms and have complex welfare benefits and debt issues. The appointee will need to have extensive experience of Legal Services Commission casework in the context of the Advice Quality Standard and will have worked in a target driven environment but who will also understand that people will always be our priority.

Essential Qualifications:

a)Educated to degree or equivalent level or have demonstrable work experience in the delivery of debt and benefit advice.

b)Hold either an IMA (Institute of Money Advisers) qualification or have recent GGDA (Giving Good Debt Advice) training.

Job Purpose

The key purpose of the role is to deliver a first-class specialist debt and money advice service to clients in need of support. ensuring income maximisation for all clients through the take up of appropriate welfare benefits.

We use a digital case managment system which enables hybrid working to function smoothly.

Case Workers Core Duties (extracte from the full Job Description for the role)

a) The delivery to AQS standard of the core Money Advice Service. This may be via telephone, MS Teams, email or face to face

b) The provision of advocacy and court representation at tribunals or other statutory bodies as appropriate.

c) Taking client instructions; this may include but is not limited to; drafting letters/emails to the client and third parties, preparing financial statements and negotiating with third parties.

d) Ensuring income maximisation through the take up of appropriate welfare benefits.

e) Working to targets to ensure that we meet all our contractual obligations.

f) Managing own caseload, opening and closing cases appropriately and carrying out reviews as required by AQS and the Head of Advice

g)  The support, with other team members/volunteers, of the delivery of the service on an outreach basis if required.

h) Maintain accurate case and client records using our digital case management system and for purpose of continuity of client casework, information retrieval, statistical monitoring and reporting preparation to AQS standards.

i) Ensuring that all casework meets AQS standards and complies with Money Advice Team Procedural Manual.

j) The maintenance of records and other data ensuring that it is up to date and accurate; either paper records (as required by Tribunal cases) or on our digital casework management system.

k) Ensuring that all confidential information is managed in line with the company’s Confidentiality Policy and GDPR Policy.