Support Practitioner Emergency Accommodation

Homeless Link; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 33,000; Full time

Job summary

You Matter is seeking a Support Worker to help people experiencing homelessness move towards independent living. The role is based in Liverpool and requires 37.5 hours per week with some flexible working.

It focuses on trauma-informed, person-centred support to empower residents to live independently away from services. You will maintain electronic records, manage housing benefit processes, and work with a team to promote welfare and safeguarding.

Qualifications

• Experience in a charity, community project or homeless services is preferred.
• Understanding of housing legislation and Liverpool's housing needs.
• Excellent communication, especially when English is not the first language.
• Ability to empower people with empathy while maintaining professional boundaries.

Responsibilities

• Support residents as they enter new accommodation with a person-centred approach.
• Participate in team meetings and handovers to ensure clear communication.
• Assist with Housing benefit claims and address issues in the process.
• Maintain and update residents' records and rent payments in the DAVE system.
• Promote safeguarding and respond to incidents, complaints, and disclosures.
• Work flexibly to meet changing needs of the service and uphold SHREK values.

Skills

Experience

Knowledge

Communication

Empathy

Respect

Commitment

Organisation

Computer literacy

Education

NVQ/L2 in Health and Social Care

Job description

Location: Emergency Accommodation

Salary: £30,000 per annum

Hours: 37.5 hours per week (Mon – Fri, but may require some flexible working)

Job Type: Permanent

Shortlisting: 21st September

Interview: 25th September

Why this role would be great for you

As a Support Worker at You Matter you will be an empathetic and caring individual dedicated to providing unconditional support to those experiencing homelessness and the effects of past traumatic incidents. In the main your role will involve supporting people to live independently while focusing on the end goal of living a fully independent life away from support services. You will have a passion for supporting those that have often been marginalised and overlooked by traditional services and you will want to empower people to live their very best lives- however that may look for them.

Everyone goes through periods of crisis at some point, and some individuals require additional support to navigate these challenging times. Your responsibility will be to assist those we work alongside in a trauma-informed manner, enabling them to progress . You will work as part of a team to achieve these goals ensuring you always work with a person-centred approach

What your week may look like

• Ensuring that people entering the service feel supported in their new accommodation
• Actively contributes to team meetings and staff handovers to ensue good communication runs through the service.
• Ensure that all Housing benefit claims are made in a timely manner and address any issues that arise from the initial claim process.
• Have regular communication between yourself and the Housing solutions services team and any other move on pathways so that where appropriate fully independent living can be achieved.
• Ensuring the needs of those that you work alongside are met including good quality accommodation and advice and guidance
• Responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of adults.
• Advocate for social inclusion of the people you support ensuring they are able to access health and financial support
• Ensuring all health and safety and maintenance issues are raised in a timely manner
• Being flexible and responsive to the changing needs of the service, ensuring our SHREK values runs through all of the work that you do
• Promoting a supportive and inclusive culture within the service, valuing people and their diversity.
• Provide clear and accurate information in respect of those that you work alongside in line with agreed procedures such as daily handovers ensuring that appropriate information is communicated with the support team
• To maintain and update residents’ electronic records and rent payments on You Matter internal Housing Management System (DAVE)
• To deal promptly with all serious incidents, complaints and safeguarding/abuse disclosures

It is recognised that the association is operating in a dynamic environment and as such this job description may be varied in consultation with the post holder to reflect evolving needs of the business and changing nature of the job.

What We Can Offer You

Working with You Matter comes will a whole host of benefits. We hope that people will find deep personal fulfilment and purpose by working with alongside people in our services. Our teams are compassionate and supportive, fostering a strong sense of community. With opportunities for professional growth, You Matter offers training to support your role and personal development. For a full list of benefits see here: Careers at You Matter | Work with Us

The skills were looking for

• EXPERIENCE– ideally, you will have a background of working within a charity, community project and/or previous involvement in homeless services.
• KNOWLEDGE – A basic understanding of relevant and appropriate housing legislation and understanding of the current housing needs of those living in the Liverpool region.
• COMMUNICATION – excellent communication skills and an ability to communicate efficiently when English is not first language. Being able to foster a respectful, collaborative and professional approach to the people who you work alongside, always ensuring confidentiality
• EMPATHY and RESPECT – The ability to empower people to make positive changes, showing empathy whilst maintaining professional boundaries
• COMMITMENT – The ability to work in an innovative and solutions-focused way, including reflecting and learning as you go, and a willingness to flex and adapt approaches as needed
• ORGANISATION –Strong time management and the ability to manage to prioritise tasks
• COMPUTER LITERACY – You will be IT literate and have experience of working with multiple software programs such as Microsoft Office and Outlook.

What is a nice to have

• Understanding of different cultures and religions
• NVQ/L2 in Health and Social Care or equivalent
• Experience of working within a psychologically informed working environment
• Knowledge of housing management and IT databases
• Awareness of benefits and how they work including Universal Credit and other welfare systems

You Matter is an equal opportunities employer, values diversity and is strongly committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees and all applicants for employment. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, regardless of age, disability, gender, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation.