Torridge Rough Sleeper Project Worker

**Title**: Torridge Rough Sleeper Project Worker

**Hours**: 21 hours per week

**Salary**: £24,000 - £25,000 depending on experience (Pro Rota)

**Contract**: 6 month contract

**Reports To**: Service Lead - Rhiannon Churchill

We are currently looking to recruit a highly motivated and resilient support worker whose passion is to deliver quality client support to people who are rough sleeping and those that have moved into accommodation having previously been rough sleeping. The role will work as part of our Torridge Rough Sleeper (TRS) team and will operate across the Torridge area.

**Purpose of the Job**

Working in close collaboration with our existing TRS support team, you will provide support to occupants to help them maximise benefits and improve their financial independence from, primarily, temporary supported accommodation or emergency modular accommodation in Torridge. This may also include private rental accommodation and social housing. You will also work as part of the TRS team to provide flexible support which will include outreach, providing food vouchers, tents and sleeping bags, keeping accurate case files, generating reports and attending weekly team meetings. This inreach/outreach part of the role will take up 14 hours of this post and the remaining 7 hours will be to offer more general support to residents of the modular accommodation, these will be a similar cohort of people, but that have been identified to be in need of this specific provision.

The post holder will work with the experienced team to provide an integrated programme of homelessness and crisis prevention, resolution and resilience building measures tailored to individual need. They will provide advice, information and support aimed at empowering people that have experienced homelessness to take control of their finances and benefits, promoting better informed decisions by increasing awareness of financial support resources and benefit strains, improving quality of life, to help get people setup in new accommodation and support in the journey towards independence.

**Main Duties**

Key Relationships
- Torridge Council temporary accommodation team and housing options officers
- Internal supported housing projects across North Devon and Torridge
- External Partners including: Wis£rmoney, potential landlords and various grant providers.
- The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)

The day-to-day role
- Support rough sleeping clients through outreach, case work and provide them with appropriate resources to move towards accommodation.
- To develop relationships with local agencies and wider organisations (both statutory and voluntary) to give clients the best possible chance of maximising their income and standard of living.
- Supporting clients with the initial set up of their accommodation, including understanding their tenancy agreement, changing address, and setting up utilities etc.
- Attend weekly Torridge Rough Sleeper meetings and prioritise caseload from that forum, including delivering ongoing feedback and recommendations to TRS workers and housing options staff.
- Feed into monthly returns which provide information for Torridge District Council about the Rough Sleeper project and the clients it supports.
- Work as part of the Torridge Rough Sleeper to identify and support homeless people in the district, advocate for their support and find appropriate solutions for accommodation.

Quality of Care
- To help create and promote an ethos whereby clients are empowered to make positive choices and plans for a healthier future.
- To develop a relationship of trust with clients to enable them to develop a sense of identity and help them gain confidence to achieve their goals.
- To liaise and feedback to the wider teams at Encompass with regards to any issues, concerns or development with individual clients, particularly relating to issues around safeguarding.

Communications
- To be able to communicate respectfully and compassionately with clients, team members, and managers.
- To be able to communicate well with partner agencies.
- Ability to communicate passionately and effectively about the different issues affecting clients in society.
- Participate in handover and staff meetings.
- To be able to produce coherent verbal and written reports and case notes.

Working Relationships
- To behave in such a way as to build positive working relationships between service users and staff.
- To build effective working relationships between the staff and service users of Encompass and other partner agencies.
- To build working relationships within the local community.

**Administration, Records and Statistics**:

- Manage an account on Sage (training/guidance will be given) to keep track of hours and working patterns.
- Accurately maintain all project records /reports/client records/client notes & etc.
- Actively be involved in the development of outcomes and outputs related to the project. Record, monitor, analyse and present