Working with one of our trusted partner day centres on an initial 12 month contract, The post holder will be responsible for the following:
· Providing a specialist advice and advocacy service to the homeless guests of our services, which include partner day centres and night shelters over the winter season
· Employing creative thinking and practices to ensure that guests are supported and motivated to achieve their goals
· Attending appointments with guests occasionally when needed
· Referring and signposting guests to accommodation providers, health services and other relevant internal and external support services, as necessary
· Maintaining good communication with the Managers of our partnered Drop-in Centres, Glass Door colleagues and local statutory and non-statutory services
· Attending meetings with the casework team, external service providers and partner organisations when required
· Collating statistics and outcome measurements of the casework service for both internal and external use
· Maintaining a well-organised and easily accessible administration system for the casework programme in line with relevant legislation (e.g. GDPR)
· Managing a small casework budget
· Undertaking any other duties to aid the good running of the project, as required by the charity
Person Specification
Essential
· At least one year experience of working one-on-one with -- and assessing the needs of -- homeless people or similar disadvantaged client groups
· Empathetic attitude to homeless and vulnerably-housed people
· Up-to-date knowledge of the welfare issues and legislation affecting homeless people
· Knowledge of relevant support services available to homeless people, particularly in West London
· Confident approach to, and experience of, dealing with challenging behaviour
· Ability to maintain good relationships with colleagues and external service providers
· Highly organised with strong time-management skills
· Ability to keep clear and up-to-date case records
· Ability to work independently and take the initiative to make important decisions
· Flexible and supportive team member with excellent communication skills
· Ability to adhere to and implement Health & Safety, HR and operational policies
· Understanding of and commitment to Equal Opportunities
· For night shelter caseworkers, willingness to work a minimum of one evening per week
Desirable
· Ability to speak Polish, Romanian or other Eastern European languages
· Experience of working alongside volunteers
