Outreach Support Worker
We are recruiting a full-time, Permanent Outreach Support Worker.
Our ethos is one of co-designed services - inclusive of customers’ ideas and feedback – services that are truly accessible to people in need of support. We offer an individualised, trauma-informed support programme.
The post holder will work as part of a response team assisting with the resettlement and integration of Syrian & Afghanistan refugee families in Southend.
Key responsibilities
- As an outreach support worker, you’ll be expected to:-
- Provide information, support and guidance to customers to increase their independent living skills. These may include budgeting, support to get into training & education, dealing with tenancy related issues, and signposting to specialist agencies.
- Participate in all parts of the service from the initial referral, being able to confidently triage to the right level of support, completing assessments and crisis support as required and to hold an individual caseload of customers requiring various levels of support living either in the community.
- Encourage customers to recognise the benefit of additional support services related to their mental health, or other health issues and assist with access to these services,
- Plan a structured programme with the customers to reduce the support needed
- Ensure that customer participation and consultation forms an integral part of the service.
- Support customers to make full use of community facilities, play an active role in their community and take up cultural, recreational, educational and employment opportunities.
- Support customers to develop and maintain positive and effective relationships with their family, friends, carers and other professionals
- Promote self-advocacy and advocate for all customers
- Follow all relevant association policies and procedures and undertake any other reasonable requests from your line manager.
Person Specification
Experience
- Experience of supporting vulnerable people to live independent lives in the community
Knowledge
- A knowledge of a variety of support interventions and techniques
- A good knowledge of statutory and community services
- A good knowledge of welfare benefits and a practical understanding of tenancy law
- A good knowledge of safeguarding vulnerable adults
- A good understanding of equal opportunities and diversity and how these relate to the support of vulnerable people
Skills
- Able to carry out strength-based assessments and support plans
- Advocacy and liaison on behalf of vulnerable people
- Able to use IT software packages (e.g. spreadsheets, word processing and databases)
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Numeracy skills sufficient to advise customers on benefit entitlements, debt issues and household budgeting and management
- Ability to work with customers who have experienced trauma and crisis and chaotic situations
- Ability to engage with, motivate and encourage customers
- Able to work on own initiative, as well as a being a committed team player
- Have a proactive and customer centred approach to customer care.
- Able to consider and assess risk to customers and yourself
- The ability to speak Arabic, Dari, Pashto would be preferred but is not essential
Circumstances
- Able to work outside of normal office hours when required including some weekend working
- Ability to take part in the on call rota when required
- Full UK Drivers Licence & Access to Vehicle
At Peabody, where possible, we provide flexible working opportunities from day one to our employees, as we recognise the importance of a good work-life balance; and to improve our productivity and performance, we embrace agile working, which means if you are in a desk based role, that will be a hybrid of office and home working. If your role is in a client facing environment, appropriate base location will apply.
Our mission is to help people make the most of their lives and an important part of this is to ensure that our organisation reflects the wider communities we serve. We want to attract recruit and retain a diverse, inclusive and creative workforce to give us the best opportunity to meet the diverse needs of our residents and customers. We actively encourage applications from all groups and communities, as well as from BAME, LGBTQ+ and disabled people.