Outreach Worker – AR

Carrington Blake Recruitment; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A London-based recruitment agency is seeking an Outreach Worker to assist rough sleepers in securing appropriate support and accommodation. The role involves managing a caseload, collaborating with various support services, and ensuring clients' needs are met to help sustain tenancies. Ideal candidates will have a degree or equivalent experience, strong interpersonal skills, and knowledge of homelessness legislation. The position offers a chance to make a meaningful impact within the community.

Qualifications

• Some knowledge of homelessness legislation and welfare benefits related to housing.
• Experience of dealing with people face to face in stressful situations.
• Able to communicate calmly and clearly in English with excellent interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of rough sleepers and assist with tenancy sustainment.
• Collaborate with professionals to address clients' medical and non-medical needs.
• Act as a point of contact for rough sleepers, recording their support needs.

Skills

Knowledge of homelessness legislation

Excellent interpersonal skills

Negotiating skills

Ability to manage caseload

Education

Degree level or equivalent work experience

Tools

Word processing

Spreadsheets

Databases

Job description

Job Title Outreach Worker
Pay Grade G8
Directorate Community, Health and Wellbeing Directorate
Division Housing Services – Housing Needs
Reports to Housing Needs Team Manager
Location Civic Centre

Role Purpose

To work within Harrow councils’ operational and strategic response to rough sleeping, in conjunction with key homelessness partners from the statutory and voluntary sectors.

To provide a single point of contact for rough sleepers who have been identified as having low to medium needs and will need a multi–agency approach to assisting them with suitable move on accommodation, whilst maintaining that the rough sleeper has all the necessary support for sustaining any emergency or temporary accommodation that they have been allocated.

To work effectively with the Rough Sleeper Co‑ordinator and Single Homeless Officer to create bespoke action plans to insure that the low to medium needs rough sleepers have access to and fully engage with support services to enable them to focus on sustaining tenancies and ending repeat rough sleeping.

Dimensions

• Since 1st April 2020, we have had over 30 presentations of verified rough sleepers with an extensive range of needs
• We have a 20‑21 Rough Sleeper Initiative grant of £150,000 towards creating verified rough sleeping pathways and providing additional support focusing move on and tenancy sustainment
• In Harrow we have over 30 different partnerships with local charities, local statutory services all with links into homelessness and will require collaborative working to assist in ending Rough Sleeping in Harrow.
• Between 1st April 2019 and 31 March 2020 in Harrow, we have had over 850 presentation of singles persons claiming to be homeless
• Harrow Council’s winter shelter has an average of 27 rough sleepers pasting through its refuge between January to March for the last 3 years.

Job Context (Key outputs of team / role)

• The Housing Needs Service has a tradition of continuously developing and implementing innovative spend‑to‑save solutions to prevent homelessness and offer alternative housing options. The service aims to minimise and reduce the costs to the council of meeting housing needs in the borough, and to prevent the need for singles to undergo the upheaval of homelessness.
• Harrow takes a proactive “Enhanced Housing Options” approach to interviewing customers, to assist people with housing issues to find the best solution for them. Our aim is to increase customer satisfaction while identifying more accurately the people who need additional help to resolve their housing difficulties. The team provides advice and practical assistance in promoting a range of solutions aimed at preventing homelessness and enabling people living in unsatisfactory housing conditions to improve their circumstances and, where necessary, relocate.
• The Harrow Housing Service has Gold Investors in People status

Generic Duties

• To demonstrate a commitment to the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy and the ability to understand and implement the policy in relation to the job responsibilities
• To ensure compliance with your responsibilities as laid out in the council’s health and safety policy and take an active role in promoting a positive health and safety culture.
• To promote and participate in the council’s individual performance appraisal and development initiatives and information management best practice.
• To ensure compliance with the council’s information security policies and maintain confidentiality.
• In accordance with the Immigration Act 2016, where the role is customer‑facing and the post holder is required to speak to members of the public, the ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post

Values, Behaviours and Equalities
We want our colleagues to live our values. These values describe what we stand for and how we do things at Harrow whilst inspiring, challenging and guiding us towards the delivery of our organisational ambitions and goals. Our three values are:
Be Courageous, Do It Together and Make It Happen
These values will also help us to achieve our equalities vision of being a proud, fair & cohesive Harrow, a great place to live, work & visit.

Main Duties / Accountabilities

Hold and Manage a caseload of rough sleepers and single homeless applicants focusing on putting all required support needs in place and assisting where required, to enable tenancy sustainment. Closing the case when the client is able to access suitable move on accommodation with appropriate support in place.

Work alongside support team professionals such as RAMPH and be pivotal in capturing the service users medical and non‑medical support needs and signposting to appropriate support services. Support the participant to attend interventions.

Act as a single point of contact for rough sleepers and single homeless applicants allocated by the Rough Sleeper co‑ordinator, making sure that information about support needs is recorded and also statistical information is provided to the co‑ordinator as required.

Develop a bespoke action plan working with the Rough Sleeper Co‑Ordinator and Complex Needs Navigator to achieve the goals of finding clients suitable move on accommodation with integrated support packages in place to order for them to sustain their tenancy.

Liaising with Harrow’s Housing Benefit and other welfare departments to ensure that any allocated clients have access to all their relevant welfare benefits.

Liaising with Harrow’s Homeless Assessment Team to ensure that any allocated clients have a progressing homelessness application.

Work closely with Outreach to ensure there is a rapid response to reports of rough sleeping and street‑based activity in the borough;

Working closely with our charity‑based homelessness partner Firm Foundation to ensure that we develop a partnership that allows us to utilise their knowledge and experience of homelessness in Harrow, as well providing a them with a referral pathway to access our services and expertise.

Keep up to date with good practice around ending rough sleeping and share this with the councils’ Rough Sleeper Co‑ordinator.

Alongside the councils’ housing assessment teams, co‑ordinators and the outreach workers, deal with practical issues that may arise for rough sleepers, such as organising emergency accommodation

Assist with all customer service issues related to the Rough Sleeping and ensure that high levels of customer satisfaction are achieved with the services provided.

Signpost and liaise with Kensington Immigration Legal Services regarding any Rough Sleepers who may be ineligible due to their immigration status.

Contribute to the development of the service; develop policy and procedures relating to the activity of this post; contribute to improvements in quality and/or quantity of service(s) provided.

Undertake such other duties as may be requested by the Housing Needs Operational Manager, Senior Housing Needs Manager and Team Manager at the Local Authority.

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Some knowledge of homelessness legislation (parts VI and VII of the Housing Act 1996, as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance. Knowledge of welfare benefits related to housing. Experience of dealing with people face to face in stressful situations. Basic word processing, spreadsheet and database experience Able to demonstrate sensitivity to people’s individual needs, to act appropriately in dealing with the needs of people from minority groups and to identify the actions that can be taken to overcome barriers faced by different sections of Harrow’s diverse community. Able to communicate calmly, clearly and effectively in English and have excellent interpersonal skills for dealing with homeless people under stress Negotiating skills that enable you to control interviews and work constructively, professionally and effectively with agencies and organisations who support Rough Sleepers Able to demonstrate creativity and provide workable pathway solutions to support Rough Sleepers into appropriate move on accommodation Able to work within a team setting whilst being self‑motivating and able to plan and organise own work to tight deadlines with the minimum of supervision. Able to manage and monitor own caseload and ensure that financial and other procedures are followed. Able to write clear, legally accurate and concise letters in plain literate English. Must be flexible regarding working hours in order to ensure good customer service which, occasionally, is outside 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Must be able to carry out visits to verify reported Rough Sleeping . Essential or Casual Car User allowance may be awarded; in line with corporate policies

Qualifications

Educated to degree level or equivalent or has the equivalent relevant work experience.