POST: Housing Support Assistant Elizabeth Street Project

CALICO HOMES

JOB DESCRIPTION

POST: Housing Support Assistant – Elizabeth Street Project

SERVICE AREA: Supported Living

JOB PURPOSE: To provide assistance with housing related support to customers for homeless individuals and families in accordance with the aims, objectives, policies and procedures of the project.

To assist Support Workers in ensuring customers receive a needs led support service in response to identified and agreed objectives.

To assist the Support Workers in liaising with all relevant agencies to ensure customers of ESP receive a seamless service during their stay at the project and on departure/ exit from the service.

To participate in all staff team activities to ensure the smooth operation of the project and the provision of a high quality service to the customers of the projects.

To follow a flexible working pattern to facilitate the safe operation of the Project. This may include working unsocial hours as required.

RESPONSIBLE TO: The Project Coordinator

RESPONSIBLE FOR: No staff

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. To assist in the comprehensive assessment and allocation process for prospective customers

2. To ensure that customers allocated a Licence/ tenancy understand the terms and conditions of their Licence/ tenancy agreement.

3. To liaise with relevant statutory and voluntary agencies with regard to customer need i.e. Local Authority, Probation Service, H.B, D.W.P, Job Centre, Young Peoples Services etc.

4. To report to and maintain regular contact with Support Workers regarding status of tenancies, condition of properties, any breach of Licence issues and generic needs of customers 5. To be aware of and record any accidents or incidents and communicate these with Support Workers and Project management

6. To ensure access, security and safety of the premises, customers, staff and visitors is maintained.

7. To keep and maintain accurate records in line with given objectives/ performance criteria, including handover notes, case-file notes and related documents.

8. To work alongside designated Support Workers and support residents with housing matters and appropriate move on accommodation in line with individual support plans.

9. To promote and develop relationships of good practice with other housing agencies both statutory and non-statutory.

10. To work alongside Support Workers in the implementation of eviction procedures in accordance with Statutory Housing Legislation and Calico Homes procedures.

11. To assist Support Workers with ensuring relevant welfare benefits are secured for customers.

12. To support customers to access structured support within wider community, (e.g. education, employment, training, health, social opportunities).

13. To work with Support Workers in the organising and facilitation of customer meetings and customer involvement opportunities.

14. To assist with social and leisure group activities with customers within guidelines as set out in organisational policies/ procedures and in response to supporting people outcomes.

15. To ensure customers of the project keep their accommodation clean and in accordance with the obligations of their Licence agreement.

16. To work alongside Support Workers in ensuring customers of the project are aware of their responsibilities around house rules, occupancy charges, visitors, and other related matters.

17. To work effectively as an individual and as a team member in response to personal and project objectives.

18. To participate in the performance monitoring and appraisal process.

19. To be proactively involved in the work of a Corporate Group, in order to make an effective contribution to the successful achievement of the group’s aims and objectives. 20. To undertake other duties as may be required to fulfil the job purpose.

21. To be prepared to adopt a flexible approach to working hours including evenings, weekends and bank holidays as a normal part of working arrangements.

Footnote

This Job Description summarises the major responsibilities of the post. It is not intended to exclude other activities, nor future changes from the postholder’s responsibilities.

Equality Act 2010

If you are a disabled applicant or an employee who has become disabled and this will affect your ability to do any of the above duties the Company will consider making some changes it thinks are reasonable.

Examples of changes may include providing equipment, making alterations to the workplace or changing some parts of the Job Description. CALICO HOMES

PERSON SPECIFICATION

POST: Housing Support Assistant – Elizabeth Street Project

Essential/ Means of Selection Criteria Desirable Assessment E/D

QUALIFICATIONS

1. NVQ Level 3 Health & Social Care, Advice & Guidance or D A/C equivalent

EXPERIENCE

1. Experience of providing direct support to customers in a D A/I supportive capacity

2. Understanding of needs assessments and support plans E A/I for individuals

3. Experience of working within multi-agency/ multi- D A/I disciplinary teams

4. Experience of working flexible hours in response to E A customer needs and project needs

5. Experience of using IT systems to record and manage D A/I customer records

6. Experience of working with vulnerable customers D A/I

7. Experience of office systems and procedures D A/I SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

1. Effective and systematic organisational skills, and ability E A/I to prioritise workloads.

2. Ability to communicate clearly, verbally and in writing. E A/I

3. High degree of self-motivation, initiative and flexibility E I

4. An understanding of housing related issues facing D A/I vulnerable people

5. An understanding of the Welfare system and benefit D A/I entitlements system.

Ability to work effectively as part of a team. E I 6.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

1. Commitment to Equal Opportunities. E I

2. Commitment to Customer Care and the delivery of E I quality services. BEHAVIOURS: The following behaviours describe how we expect staff to go about their work in a day to day basis. These behaviours help to create a workplace where everyone who works with Calico has the opportunity to learn and grow their talents in an environment where they feel valued and supported and where their efforts are rewarded and recognised. These behaviours will be assessed during the interview stage.

Passionate about customers E I Customer focus is at the heart of what we do at Calico. This can be whether you deal with customers who live in our neighbourhoods or internal customers from other teams or partner organisations.

Rising to the challenge E I Calico is an ambitious organisation that is determined to keep improving. This means that every member of staff should be supported to work at a pace and level that enables us to bring about the positive changes we want to achieve.

Committed to Calico E I We all need to get the best out of our time at work and also put the best of ourselves into the work we do. To make sure we continue to achieve as an organisation we need dedicated staff to keep us moving forward.

Maximising Potential E I There are always opportunities for us to work smarter, not harder, and that’s exactly what we need to do to make sure everybody achieves their potential. This means showing a willingness to try new things and put things right where necessary.

Inspiring leadership We need confident managers who communicate honestly and E I appropriately, who lead by example and deliver on promises. They need to motivate, support, challenge and reward their teams to achieve high performance and coach their staff to unlock and develop their full potential

Method of Assessment

A Application form I Interview P Presentation W Written Exercise S Skills test C Production of Certificates