Relief Worker

The Riverside Group; Romford; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Part time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking organization as a Relief Worker, where your compassion and dedication can make a significant difference in the lives of vulnerable individuals. This role involves providing high-quality, customer-led support to help clients achieve their goals and improve their well-being. You will be part of a dynamic team that values empathy, flexibility, and teamwork, working in a supportive environment focused on personal growth and community impact. If you're passionate about making a positive change and have the skills to inspire others, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Qualifications

• Experience working with diverse backgrounds and vulnerable groups.
• Strong communication skills and a caring, empathetic attitude.

Responsibilities

• Provide customer-oriented care and support to improve health and wellbeing.
• Assist in planning and delivering personalized support and move-on plans.
• Maintain accurate records and ensure customer safety.

Skills

Compassion

Patience

Empathy

Excellent communication skills

Flexibility

Team player

Organizational skills

Basic administrative skills

Tools

Digital platforms for record keeping

Job description

Job Title: Relief Worker
Salary: £14.68 per hour
Working Hours: As and when required
Location: Blackmore House, Romford, Essex

If you share our values and are excited about making a significant impact at Riverside, please ensure you attach a current CV and covering letter. At Riverside we recruit to potential not just on skills and experience, so we encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all the essential criteria on the job description.

The difference you will make as a Relief Worker

You will provide a high quality, customer-oriented service and understand that all actions should be customer-led. Under the direction of the scheme manager and support team, you will assist in providing care and support to customers. You will assist in maintaining and promoting the dignity of all individuals to improve their health and wellbeing in a safe and appropriate environment.

About you

We are looking for someone with:

• Experience of working with people from various backgrounds and sectors of society (this could be friends, family, professional experience, children)
• Compassion, patience, and empathy
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal
• Flexibility to cover shifts, sometimes at short notice
• Approachable with a positive attitude
• Excellent team player who can work flexibly to meet business requirements

Role Profile

We use Psychologically Informed approaches and Trauma Informed Care principles to support our customers to make positive choices, develop new ways of thinking and take steps towards independence, by:

• Assisting in the planning and delivery of a range of personalised support and move-on plans
• Understanding the risk management process and assisting the team to organise and undertake regular reviews of support and risk
• Inspiring and motivating customers to meet agreed outcomes and develop life skills
• Assisting customers with day-to-day support and tenancy-related matters
• Assisting the team to identify and promote opportunities for employment, education and training and support customers to access them
• Signposting customers to appropriate external support services, such as food banks and other community resources
• Supporting customers to be ‘tenancy ready’, enabling successful move on
• Supporting customers to be financially independent through budgeting plans and maximising income
• Supporting and monitoring customers’ healthcare needs, ensuring appropriate contact with healthcare professionals
• Empowering customers to move towards self-management of their medication by following Riverside’s medication procedure
• Maintaining and updating clear, accurate and strengths-based records on the appropriate digital platform
• Assisting in the promotion of customer involvement and consultation
• Assisting with the delivery of a range of group work sessions

Deliver a support service:

• Support the delivery of the referral process for new customers
• Contribute to the delivery of a housing management service, including income collection and providing customers with tenancy-related support
• Work with customers to maintain a safe environment, including reporting any repairs or health and safety concerns
• Clean and prepare customer rooms as appropriate
• Resolve difficult and challenging situations in a sensitive and informed way, balancing the needs of the individual with the safety of the service
• Ensure customer safety by following local safeguarding procedures, recognising, and acting on any risks and escalating appropriately
• Contribute to and maintain local partnerships to ensure availability of a holistic range of support for customers
• Carry out day-to-day administration and operational duties
• Maintaining and updating financial administration systems including rent accounts, invoices, petty cash, and banking
• Assist in collating and submitting information returns on funding, health & safety, and performance
• Act as point of contact on the phone, reception, and deal with a range of enquiries

Other Information

• You will be required to work flexible hours to meet customer and business needs, which may not include normal office hours
• Use the Lone Worker system as and when necessary
• Ensure customers are safe at all times - carrying out all of your duties within Riverside’s Policy and Procedure framework e.g. health & safety, safeguarding, dignity at work, GDPR opportunities, cash handling, etc
• Deliver your role in line with Riverside company values – “Our Riverside Way”
• Participate in team meetings, attend regular supervisions and reflecting practice sessions
• Undertake regular training and take responsibility for continuous development to enable you to deliver your role safely
• From time to time you may be required to undertake additional duties and responsibilities in consultation with your Line Manager

Person specification

• An understanding of the barriers faced by vulnerable and diverse customer groups and individuals with complex needs
• Experience of working in a team and communicating positively with other people
• Experience of being able to organise tasks and plan accordingly whilst dealing with people
• Be a team player with a caring, empathetic, flexible and have a resilient, can-do attitude.
• Able to use initiative and have confidence to make decisions
• Basic administrative and IT skills maintain records
• Experience of working with vulnerable and diverse customer groups or individuals with complex needs
• Personal lived experience of either homelessness, rough sleeping, mental health issues or substance misuse

About Us

Riverside is one of the UK’s leading not-for-profit social housing and regeneration organisations, owning or managing around 75,000 homes from Irvine to Kent. We are a leading provider of supported housing services, particularly for those affected by homelessness, and our track record of transforming lives and revitalising neighbourhoods dates back over 90 years. We have plans to build over 15,000 affordable homes over the next decade.