Caseworker

Homeless Link; Greater London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

Glass Door is seeking a Caseworker to provide specialist advice and advocacy to homeless guests across partner day centres and night shelters. The role is full-time with a hybrid arrangement, based at TW10 6AQ and SW6 1BJ, plus remote work as needed.

Three days per week (Mon, Tue, Thu) include running the drop-in casework service 9:00–11:00. You will refer guests to accommodation and health services, maintain records, and collaborate with partner organisations to support guests' goals.

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 welfare issues affecting homeless people
• Knowledge of relevant support services available to homeless people, particularly in West London
• Confident approach to 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 initiative
• Flexible and supportive team member with excellent communication skills
• Ability to adhere to 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

Responsibilities

• Providing a specialist advice and advocacy service to the homeless guests of our services, including partner day centres and night shelters
• Employing creative thinking to support and motivate guests to achieve their goals
• Attending appointments with guests occasionally when needed
• Referring and signposting guests to accommodation providers, health services and other support services
• Maintaining good communication with Managers of partnered Drop-in Centres and local services
• Attending meetings with the casework team and external service providers
• Collating statistics and outcome measurements for the casework service
• Maintaining a well-organised administration system in line with legislation (e.g. GDPR)
• Managing a small casework budget
• Undertaking other duties to aid the charity

Skills

Empathy

Experience with homeless people

Time management

Record keeping

Communication

Job description

Job title: Caseworker

Salary: £31,500 per annum

Location: Hybrid role, with regular work at a partner day centre (TW10 6AQ), Glass Door’s office at Argon House (SW6 1BJ), and from home. This is a full-time role. Three days each week, Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, will include running Glass Door’s drop-in casework service at the partner day centre. Drop-in hours are 9:00am to 11:00am. After the drop-in, you may continue working from the day centre or work from Glass Door’s office at Argon House, depending on service needs.

Contract: Permanent contract

Reporting to: Senior Caseworker – Multiple Disadvantage

Job Description

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

• 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