Are you an inspirational individual with a genuine desire to help people transform their lives and a commitment to doing so? Join us as our Supported Housing Officer in our mission to fight homelessness and transform lives!
This is a new project seeking to support homeless clients in restoring stability and hope, enabling them to address their challenges and access housing, essential services, and employment.
Reporting to the Homeless Support Service Manager, the Supported Housing Officer will be responsible for assessing client needs and, developing and delivering effective support plans to help clients achieve their housing goals. You will provide clients within the supported housing with a structured timetable of activities, projects, and events, and offer a holistic approach to help clients engage in activities, education, employment, and volunteering that will enhance their opportunities to move forward in their lives.
Hours: This is a flexible role on a 37.5 hours-per-week rota, including evening, weekend, and bank holiday hours in Folkestone.
Purpose
The Supported Housing Officer’s role is to support clients in restoring stability and hope, enabling them to address their challenges and access housing and necessary services. Above all, we are looking for an inspirational individual with a genuine desire to help people transform their lives and a commitment to doing so.
As a Supported Housing Officer, you will be responsible for assessing client needs and developing and delivering effective support plans to help them achieve their housing goals. You will provide clients at Hamlet House with a structured timetable of activities, projects, and events, and offer a holistic approach to help clients engage in recreational activities, education, training, employment, and volunteering that will enhance their opportunities to move forward in their lives, whilst promotion their physical and mental wellbeing and introducing life skills.
Principal Responsibilities
• Working alongside the Homeless Support Service (HSS) Manager and team to help screen and select clients suitable for the Hamlet House.
• Serve as the primary point of contact and primary support for up to 8 clients at Hamlet House. Provide additional support to other clients as needed, ensuring all clients receive guidance and assistance appropriate to their individual situations. Assess clients’ needs and produce support plans, and work with them to achieve their goals
• Advise clients of their rights and work with those with complex needs to identify their personal aims and ambitions, and help them achieve these.
• To work with clients to identify and thereafter support their appropriate move-on option.
Gather current information on available housing options and communicate these opportunities clearly to clients. Advise them on their housing rights and eligibility, supporting them to make informed decisions.
• Make referrals to specialist organisations and services.
• Design and deliver in-house practical training sessions for clients. Cover key areas such as basic skills, job application processes, opportunities for involvement, and volunteering. Evaluate learning outcomes and adapt sessions to meet clients’ needs.
• To actively promote healthy living to all service users and to ensure accessibility of all health promotion services and local health facilities.
• Remain accessible to respond promptly to client enquiries, resolve concerns, and offer extra support as individual circumstances require. Monitor clients' ongoing needs and serve as the first point of contact for emerging issues.
• Assist the Supported Housing Manager with all aspects of client arrivals and departures, including facilitating move-ins and move-outs, handling licence renewals, and managing room vacancies. Support the enforcement of house rules and the collection of service charges to maintain compliance and smooth operations.
• Attend to reception and respond to the intercom in the concierge's absence.
• Maintain the HSS database by monitoring and logging clients' records and activities.
Knowledge and experience
• An understanding of working in homeless support services, with a demonstrable knowledge of Housing and other related legislation or willing to be trained (Desirable)
• Experience of delivering high-quality, structured and time-limited interventions that prevented or relieved homelessness. (Desirable)
• Experience in completing assessments and producing planned co-produced support plans focused on setting and achieving goals. (Essential)
• Experience of assessment and interview processes (Essential)
• Ability to work in close partnership with external agencies and effectively liaise with a range of service providers or agencies, to establish or improve services for clients. (Essential)
• Ability to be self-motivating, work under pressure, and manage time effectively, prioritising different areas of work according to need. (Essential)
• Knowledge and understanding of the roles of external agencies (Social Services, Prison Service, Probation, Education providers, Police, other voluntary and statutory organisations). (Desirable)
• Work within the Rainbow Centre's policies and practices, particularly those related to adult safeguarding, data protection legislation, and good practice