Support Worker

**About The Role**:
Are you prepared to go the extra mile to ensure a positive outcome for your clients? Are you motivated to make a positive contribution to the lives of the people we support? If so, we really want to hear from you.

We are looking for a Support Worker to join our Male Pathway team. You will be field based within a team of 3, working with 52 single males across Bristol, alongside a Housing Officer and a Team Manager. We also work as part of a wider team supporting families and young people.

The team provides level 4 low-support accommodation as part of the Male Pathway in Bristol, working with males who have experienced homelessness in our temporary accommodation for up to 12 months. The support will be tenancy sustainment and supporting our clients to move into independent accommodation.

As a Support Worker, you will be providing housing related support, however you will be working closely with other agencies around specific needs including drug and alcohol services, mental health and DV, as well as private letting agents and landlords and/or others. You will be supporting residents to manage their tenancy, housing management, working with benefits (housing benefits, universal credits, PIP and other), bills, budgeting, exploring options around education, training and employment, writing support plans and risk assessments, engaging with other professionals and working towards move-on from temporary accommodation.

This role will be challenging at times as you will be working with and supporting clients across a range of difficult and challenging issues/behaviours; an attention to detail, using your initiative and problem solving will be key.

This role is being offered on a full time basis, working 37 hours per week. Bandwidth hours will be 8.00 am to 6.00 pm.

To be considered for the role Support Worker, you will:

- Have empathy and understanding of the needs of clients who are experiencing homelessness and the barriers they face.
- Have an understanding or experience, of issues surrounding homelessness and good awareness of associated risks this may bring such as alcohol and substance misuse, mental health, self-harm, offending behaviour
- Have understanding or experience of debt management
- Network building to be able to source accommodation options and opportunities for clients.
- Be resilient with the ability to be open and responsive to the challenging needs of clients and commissioners of the service
- Have an understanding, or experience, of lone working
- Have a knowledge and understanding of welfare and housing benefits
- Have the ability to motivate and engage clients in the service and their pathway to independence.
- Be able to adapt your style and be able to ‘think on the spot’ when reacting to difficult situations.
- Understand the impact of trauma and can show us you have experience of or the ability to provide high-quality support whilst managing challenging situations.
- Committed to LiveWest values and bring enthusiasm and willingness within all aspects of the role and service.
- Have good IT skills, excellent interpersonal skills and understand the importance of working within equal opportunities, safeguarding and confidentiality guidelines.
- Be able to communicate on different levels both verbally and in writing.
- Take ownership and responsibility.
- Have a full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle

The most important part of this role is to have pride in your work and have a positive attitude, a proactive approach and the confidence to support a diverse range of people. You will be able to balance your passion and commitment with good organisational skills, and the ability to maintain appropriate boundaries.

**What we offer**:

- Defined Contribution pension scheme - employer contribution of 6% - 9%
- Discretionary Bonus scheme
- Death in Service benefit (3 x salary)
- 26 days annual leave plus bank holidays with service related increase to your entitlement up to 30 days plus an option to purchase extra annual leave
- Family Friendly policies
- Health Cash Plan including dental and optical cover
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Health and Wellbeing programme which includes enhanced sick pay, monthly campaigns, training and yearly flu jabs
- Cycle to Work scheme
- Car Benefit scheme
- Learning and Development including coaching and professional qualification support
- Volunteering days

**About The Company**:
LiveWest provides over 39,000 homes to over 80,000 people throughout the South West from Gloucestershire to the Isles of Scilly. We have plans to build over 7,000 homes in the area over the next five years, developing new homes of all tenures including low-cost rent and sale, market rent and sale, and a range of supported housing and intermediate housing products, creating choice and flexibility.

As well as developing new homes, we continue to invest in existing properties and communities. Through the stability of good housing, we place better