Job Title: Trainee Support Worker

Role Profile

Job title: Trainee Support Worker

Department: Housing & Support

Reports to: Team Manager

Location: Bromley, Croydon, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth

Role Purpose

To be a member of the front line delivery team, working alongside the team to provide a service of support to enable our vulnerable customers to achieve their goals.

To complete a Level 2 Qualification in Health & Social Care (if eligible).

To undertake two 6 month placements over the year in a variety of services, including mental health, young people or complex needs.

To hold a small caseload of customers and provide them with support, through key working.

Key responsibilities

Service delivery

To carry out key working activities including risk assessments, support planning, interviews and booking in.

To establish supportive relationships with customers by providing advice and guidance.

To support customers to achieve independent living and move on positively.

To liaise with specialist services and partner agencies.

To encourage and support customers to take part in activities in their community.

To work with customers to help them budget effectively, including assisting with applications for welfare benefits or housing benefit etc.

To actively promote customer involvement at all times.

Housing Management

To support customers to pay their service charge. To ensure that all housing benefit claims are in payment and to promptly deal with any housing benefit issues.

To learn housing management activities including arrears and voids. July 2015 To be accessible and responsive at all times to customers concerns and requests for information.

To assist with dealing with breaches of occupancy agreements sensitively and efficiently, in accordance with SLYMCA’s warnings and appeals procedure.

Health and Safety

To ensure that customers have up to date information on Health and Safety, and to support them to manage their environment.

To be aware of and work within Health and Safety legislation.

To carry out regular Health and Safety inspections, and to alert the appropriate people to defects.

To report repairs and maintenance in accordance with policy and procedure.

Administration

To keep accurate records, and to ensure clear and concise records of all key working sessions.

To provide written reports and information as requested.

To be aware of and adhere to all relevant financial procedures.

To assist in the collection and banking of rent, and the keeping of up to date financial records.

General

To ensure that SLYMCA’s Equality policy and procedures are actively promoted in all areas of work and that services are accessible to all individuals.

To attend supervision, meetings and training as and when required.

To work proactively as part of a team.

To work at other locations as and when required.

This job description provides an indication of the roles and responsibilities for the post of Trainee Support Worker, but should not be construed as an exclusive list of the duties that the post holder may be asked to undertake.

Please also be aware of and follow SLYMCA policies and procedures with particular attention to health and safety, equality and customer service excellence. To further your development and knowledge you will be expected to attend training as necessary.

SLYMCA reserves the right to amend this role profile as necessary, after consultation with the post holder, to reflect changes in or to the role.

2 Knowledge and Skills Profile

Trainee Support Worker

Knowledge  A demonstrated passion to work with homeless people and an understanding of their needs (this may be through personal experience of being homeless, voluntary work undertaken or personal interest).

Skills  Ability to key work, agree support plans with customers and review progress to achieve their goals.  Ability to maintain good written records of work and evidence outcomes achieved with customers.  Ability to work as part of a team and to be able to demonstrate professional behaviour and boundaries at all times.  Ability to be approachable and accessible to customers.

 Ability to deliver a high quality, responsive and committed service to customers.  Ability to manage your own time and plan your workload to meet deadlines and commitments to customers.  Ability to recognise and manage your own stress, and to be willing and able to seek support.  Ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing, demonstrating a good standard of written and oral English.  Computer literate with competency in Microsoft Office applications.  Ability to manage multiple priorities and respond proactively to change.

July 2015