Caseworker

Homeless Link; City Of London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Homeless Link is seeking a dedicated caseworker to provide specialist advice and advocacy to guests across partner day centres and night shelters during the winter season. You will employ creative approaches to support guests toward their goals and attend appointments as needed.

You will refer guests to accommodation providers and health services, maintain clear case notes, collate outcomes, and help manage a small casework budget while staying compliant with GDPR and internal policies.

Qualifications

• At least one year experience of working one-on-one with 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
• Ability to speak Polish, Romanian or other Eastern European languages
• Experience of working alongside volunteers

Responsibilities

• 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

Skills

One-on-one support

Homeless client experience

Welfare issues knowledge

UK welfare system

Challenging behaviour handling

Time management

Case records keeping

Independent initiative

Team collaboration

Health & Safety policies

Polish language (desirable)

Volunteer coordination (desirable)

Job description

PERMANENT ROLE

Job description

• 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

Desirable

• Ability to speak Polish, Romanian or other Eastern European languages
• Experience of working alongside volunteers