Supported Housing Support Worker at YMCA DownsLink Group

Community Base; Brighton; Remote; GBP 21,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

Community Base in Brighton is seeking a Supported Housing Support Worker to join Gareth Stacey House and Lansworth House, delivering housing-related support to residents aged 16-25 with complex needs. You will manage a caseload, develop support plans, and work to promote independent living.

The role requires safeguarding, knowledge of tenancy rules, arrears handling, and a trauma-informed approach. You will work on a seven‑day rolling rota, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays, with

Qualifications

• Experience in housing or supported accommodation, ideally supporting young people with multiple and complex needs.
• Strong understanding of occupancy agreements, rent management, welfare benefits, and tenancy sustainment.
• Ability to manage arrears, ASB, and other non‑compliance issues using restorative approaches.
• Good knowledge of housing legislation, safeguarding procedures, and compliance requirements.
• Familiarity with statutory and voluntary services available to young people and ability to work proactively with a caseload to support progression towards independent living.

Responsibilities

• Support young people to understand occupancy agreements and house rules.
• Promote rent payments and financial responsibilities among residents.
• Maintain up‑to‑date knowledge of housing legislation, welfare benefits and statutory requirements.
• Respond promptly to breaches of agreement and arrears using restorative approaches.
• Coach young people to articulate aspirations and develop life skills for independent living.
• Encourage engagement with services and networking within the local community.
• Maintain safeguarding standards and professional boundaries.
• Keep client records on In-Form detailing progress, risks, and outcomes.

Skills

Record-keeping

Verbal and written communication

Stakeholder relationships

Autonomy

IT and keyboard skills

De-escalation

Tools

In-Form

Job description

We are looking for a Supported Housing Support Worker to join our teams at Gareth Stacey House and Lansworth House, who will hold a caseload of residents and meet with them weekly to build a support plan.

Gareth Stacey House and Lansworth House are our 24-hour supported housing services in central Brighton and Hove offering high levels of housing-related support for young people aged 16-25 with multiple and complex needs. The services have 15 and 20 bedspaces respectively, with shared communal facilities; the services support young people to manage their daily living activities in areas including finances and budgeting, developing life and work skills, and managing self-care.

We adopt a trauma informed and psychologically informed approach to supporting our residents to help them build essential life skills, identify their goals and work towards aspirations so that they can move on to enjoy fully independent futures.

Main areas of responsibilities are:

Housing and Compliance

• Support young people to understand and comply with their occupancy agreements, including coaching them to meet house rules and responsibilities as part of preparing for successful independent living.
• Promote a strong rent‑payment and credit culture, encouraging residents to maintain regular payments and understand their financial obligations.
• Maintain up‑to‑date knowledge of housing legislation, welfare benefits, and statutory requirements affecting young people, ensuring practice aligns with current housing law and organisational policies.
• Respond promptly and effectively to breaches of agreement, including rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, or property damage, using restorative approaches where appropriate and working collaboratively with the wider team.

Coaching and Engagement

• Coach young people so they can articulate their aspirations and ambitions and take the lead in acquiring the skills they need to live independent and fulfilling lives.
• Ensure young people are encouraged to take responsibility for their own personal development, to engage with the services on offer and build strong networks and connections within the local community.
• Ensure consistent standards of safeguarding and Trauma Informed Practice when supporting young people, observing our safeguarding procedures, and keeping yourself and residents safe by respecting professional boundaries.
• Maintain client records on In-Form (client database) detailing the young person’s journey in relation to their strengths and needs, any risks, and any outcomes (to monitor service performance).

There will be times when lone working will be a requirement for this role, but you will get to know the team and service, along with an induction and training prior to starting on a rota.

If you are enthusiastic about this opportunity but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway and demonstrate how your experience is transferrable.You may be just the right candidate.

This is a dynamic and varied role; you will be passionate about being involved in the support and growth of young people.

Experience and Knowledge

• Experience in housing or supported accommodation, ideally supporting young people with multiple and complex needs.
• Strong understanding of occupancy agreements, rent management, welfare benefits, and tenancy sustainment.
• Ability to manage arrears, ASB, and other non‑compliance issues using appropriate and restorative approaches.
• Good knowledge of housing legislation, safeguarding procedures, and compliance requirements, with the ability to maintain clear professional boundaries.
• Familiarity with statutory and voluntary services available to young people and ability to work proactively with a caseload to support progression towards independent living.

Skills and Abilities

• Confident in record‑keeping, including case notes, incident reporting, and health and safety checks.
• Ability to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing for appropriate recording of a resident’s progression, and to evidence outcomes achieved.
• Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with all stakeholders, including signposting and advocating for clients as necessary.
• Ability to work autonomously, and use own initiative, as well as being part of a team.
• Clear verbal and written communication skills, good IT, and keyboard skills.
• Ability to de‑escalate volatile situations and manage challenging behaviour appropriately.

37.5 hours per week / permanent / working onsite on a seven-day rolling rota, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays.