Senior Housing Worker

Senior Housing Worker, Social Care Worker, Social Worker, Housing Support Service Worker, Mental Health Worker, Mental Health Services, Contract, North Kent
**Senior Housing Worker**
**Job description**
A Senior Housing Worker is required by a friendly, ethical, vibrant and outward-looking place to work in North Kent.
This post is to support the delivery of Housing Support Services to people over 18 who experience mental health issues.Their accommodation is provided across 5 sites in the area with 27 self-contained units, offering low supported housing. We support 27 tenants.
**This role includes**:

- Directly providing weekly individual support to tenants
- Deputising for the Housing Manager
- Responsibilities relating to both housing management and housing support
- Direct supervisory responsibilities for Support Workers, Bank Worker, and Volunteers

**Structure of the Post**:
The Senior Support Worker is supervised by Housing Services Manager. They must be flexible to work in a number of venues throughout the North Kent area. For the calculation of travel expenses, the North Kent Offices at 20 West Hill Dartford shall be consideredthe base throughout. Support Workers must be flexible to work some evenings and weekends as necessary.
**DUTIES OF THE POST:GENERAL**
- Abides by all the policies & procedures
- Promotes Social Inclusion, Empowerment, Well-being and the Recovery Model
- Abides by the Codes Of Practice for Social Care Workers as defined by the General Social Care Workers
- Maintains good liaison with any other outside agencies
- Adheres to the principles of the Social Care Standards as defined by the GCSI
- To participate in supervision and appraisal
- To attend staff meetings and Support Services team meetings
- To attend training/meetings and some annual events as required
- To undertake any other duties which a senior manager or Board of Trustees may, from time to time, reasonably delegate or assign.

**DUTIES OF THE POST: COMMON**:

- Undertake regular tenant visits and engage with them in a recovery-based & person
- centred support model.
- Support tenants with their move-on plans and accessing move-on accommodation.
- Respond to general enquiries regarding housing support, including those, which may require signposting to services.
- Supply and maintain outcome data & up to date record as required by the Housing Services Manager.
- Manage a small caseload of tenants and intervene with complex tenants needs to assist other team members.
- Ensure full cover when support workers are on annual leave, or sick, etc.
- Working in partnership with external agencies and other services
- Respond swiftly to crisis
- Record and monitor incidents & challenging behaviour
- Signpost tenants to others services as required (safeguarding, social services, CMHT, etc.)

**DUTIES OF THE POST: Specific**:

- Give full cover and deputise in the absence of the Housing Services Manager
- Liaise with the Deputy CEO, in the absence of the Housing Services Manager
- Individual supervision, recruitment, training, and tackle performance and disciplinary staff issues.
- Oversee allocation and caseload management
- Respond to and investigate complaints as instructed by the Housing Manager
- Write letters to tenants regarding, safety concerns, tenancy agreements, or support agreement breaches
- To be the point of contact for CRS (Central Referral System) & advertise VOIDs via Com. Officer North Kent Mind
- Ensuring the achievement of targets and KPI’s
- To ensure high quality standards within the service
- Monitor, supervise and support the delivery of a life skills activity programme.
- Be part of out of hours “on call” system & maintain an effective and updated “out of hours” rota shift pattern.
- Keep accurate staff records, supervise tenants support plans and risk assessments
- Produce reports, or presentations in an accurate manner as requested
- Ensure compliance with GDPR regulations
- Attend external meetings as identified by line management
- Maintain excellent communication with internal and external partners
- Organise & chair regular catch-up meetings with support staff

**Person Specification**
**Essential skills/qualifications**:

- Knowledge & experience in the field of mental health
- An awareness and understanding of housing options & mental health services for residents
- Enthusiasm and understanding of the social inclusion agenda
- A passionate approach towards empowering and encouraging independent living
- Experience of completing referrals, support plans, risk assessments & reports
- Experience gathering and collecting data for monitoring purposes
- Ability to work on own initiative& as part of a team
- Excellent organisational skills & time management & communication skills.
- An understanding of the need for strong professional boundaries
- Experience & ability to work with challenging clients with multiple needs & manage crisis effectively
- Ability to lead teams
- Ability to work across North Kent
- Willingness to work flexible hours

**Desirable skills/qualifications**:

- Relevant academic qualification
- Experience of managing staff
- Car owner/driver
- Comprehensive knowledge of supported housing services
- Experience of housing management

**Vacancy Information**:

- Location: North Kent
- Salary range: £24,818 Per Annum
- Job type: Contract
- Job Section: Social Service
- Working Hours: Full Time
- Reference: AB183
- Contact: Alison Bradley