JOB TITLE Refuge Support Worker (Ad Hoc Relief)
JOB DESCRIPTION
JOB TITLE Refuge Support Worker (Ad hoc Relief)
PAYMENT £21,222 pro rata
RESPONSIBLE TO Refuge Team Leader
LOCATION Burnley, Preston and Lancaster Refuges (venues may change)
HOURS Providing cover for various shifts over a 24 hr period
Days, Evenings, Nights (overnight sleep-in’s) and Weekends.
JOB STATUS on-going, when available and as required to provide cover during periods of sickness and annual leave or periods of high workload
OVERALL OBJECTIVES
1 Work as a member of the Refuge Support Team providing direct support to residents, in both individual and group settings, contributing to their personal development and wellbeing. Working on a rota, you will be directly available to refuge and safehouse residents in a communal setting, enabling direct access to emotional and practical support for all refuge residents.
2 Carry out tasks at the request of the Team Leader and SafeNet Managers, to ensure the smooth running of the refuge and its projects either individually or as part of a team in accordance with the policies, procedures and guidelines of SafeNet and the Calico Group.
Work with Residents
1. Support residents and help them to gain the confidence and ability to define and achieve their own goals, playing a key role in the planning and delivery of their support plan.
2. Engage in a supportive, meaningful and empathic manner with all residents, develop trusting relationships and providing regular structured 1:1 key-working sessions in order to meet their on-going needs, as well as ad hoc support as and when required.
3. Arrange and deliver regular groupwork activities. These include activities around domestic abuse, such as creative writing groups (finding your voice), discussion/debate groups, self-help activities and also activities for personal development, leisure or crafts such as cooking, sewing, English language classes, pamper nights, card making, coffee n cake mornings etc
3 Identify any additional support needs required by residents, ie language and faith needs for women from minority ethnic origins or additional health needs etc and provide appropriate support, information / signpost and refer them to appropriate additional services
4. Assist residents with their finances and with debt management, including access to all welfare benefits and grants available, and to help residents plan how to manage their income.
5. Work alongside resettlement staff to assist residents with resettlement and re-housing tasks, references for housing and general preparation for move-on to safe-houses as well as to support housing applications, community care grants, help to access furniture and help moving home.
6. Liaise with statutory, public, private and voluntary agencies e.g. doctors, health visitors, social care services, police, courts and the local authority, to progress support towards residents goals.
7. Keep clear, factual and appropriately detailed electronic and manual records, including client records, ‘handover’ / diary records and other records as required to ensure all support work is properly recorded, enabling other members of the refuge team to pick up those records and continue with appropriate support as needed.
8 Apply SafeNet policies and procedures when working with residents, for example: helping to resolve conflict, encouraging compliance with house rules and also agreeing behavioural contracts or issuing warnings under the appropriate procedures
Housing Management Tasks
1 Assess referrals, admit residents and complete support processes associated with resident’s admittance, residence and leaving and other various procedures
2 Assist with the monitoring and recording the referrals, admittance and move on and other various statistics of residents
3 Undertake all relevant cleaning duties as required; preparation of resident rooms, laundry tasks, encouraging residents to contribute via their cleaning rota and helping maintain high standards of cleanliness at the refuge at all times
4 Assist with the collection of financial charges for services and activities, such as rent and service charges
5 Assess risks, conduct health & safety checks, and deal with repairs as set out in the appropriate policies and procedures
6 Undertake any housing management and administrative duties relating to support work as required.
Security
1 To uphold and apply the refuge confidentiality policy at all times to ensure the safety of residents, staff and visitors
2 To monitor access to the refuge premises via the main entrance and ensure only authorised access, taking appropriate action to remove or report unwanted or uninvited visitors
3 To maintain a clear record of where residents, staff and visitors are at all times using appropriate systems which record who is on-site, off-site, and paying particular attention to resident safety ie over-night stay addresses
4 To ensure all staff, residents and visitors sign in and out of the building for fire safety procedures use the appropriate ‘on-site’ records
5 To operate the refuge CCTV camera system and monitor and report faults
6 Carry out regular security checks at pre-arranged times of all the external doors and windows and the external grounds.
Other Responsibilities and Tasks
1. Regular overnight ‘sleep-in’ duties – week nights only.
2. To attend appropriate training courses, workshops or other events within the resources of the refuge when requested to do so by the Team Leader or SafeNet Managers.
3. To attend and contribute to regular staff /l team meetings.
Policy, Practice and Conduct
1. The postholder must maintain the standards set out in SafeNet and Calico Group Codes of Practice, Policies, Procedures and practices at all times.
2. The post holder is required to arrange holidays in consultation with support team members to avoid inadequate staffing levels and will be required to provide cover for annual leave and staff sickness within the refuge team, on the request of the Team Leader or SafeNet Managers, as required.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
* Candidates will be assessed on their ability to meet the criteria detailed in this Person Specification. Please show how you meet these in your application.
Refuge Support Worker (Rota)
Work Related Experience & Knowledge Essential / Desirable
1 A clear understanding of domestic abuse and violence and its impacts E
2 a/ Experience of planning and delivering support work to women and children E
b/ Experience of working in a supported housing / residential environment. D
3 Knowledge of other agencies and ability to advocate / liaise with agencies E
4 Keeping client records and administrative tasks (e.g. filling in forms) E
5 Knowledge of associated issues, ie mental health, poverty, dependency etc. E
6 Knowledge and understanding of ethnic minority domestic abuse issues E
Skills and Attitudes
7 Communicate clearly with women and children from different backgrounds E
8 Build supportive trusting relationships without encouraging dependency E
9 Listen in a non-judgmental manner, helping women explore their
options and reach their own conclusions E
10 Ability to think clearly and act appropriately in stressful situations E
11 Able and willing to carry out cleaning and manual tasks
(including being able to climb stairs and strip and make up residents beds) E
12 Ability to carry out tasks in accordance with the policies, procedures and
guidelines of the refuge , eg ‘warning’ procedures E
13 to be computer literate to the appropriate level for this post E
14 excellent time management and organisational skills E
15 Ability to work responsibly and on own initiative, as required E
16 to be conversant in an additional community language D
17 Commitment to a team orientated environment E
18 Use appropriate work behaviours: passionate about customers; rising to the challenge; maximising potential and commitment to SafeNet/Calico E
Special Working Conditions
15 Attend all team meetings as required E
16 Provide cover for other support workers during periods of sickness
and holiday including Bank Holidays and weekends E
JD&PS August 2016 Updated HJG