Link Worker (Female Only)

Closing date: October 23rd, 2023

Job Title:

Link Worker

Responsible to:

Team Leader

Responsible for:

N/A

Hours of Work:

38.6 Hours per week

Location:

YMCA Together – Domestic Abuse Services

This role could be based in our Refuge, Respite or Safer Accommodation Services

Salary and benefits:

£21,389 per annum

  • 33 Days Annual leave including bank holidays per annum
  • Paid Medicash support
  • Birthday Day
  • Charity Day
  • Spiritual Day
  • Well-being Hours
  • Cycle To Work Scheme
  • Refer a Friend Scheme
  • Company Pension Scheme 4%
  • Funded Training Opportunities

This post is only available to female applicants as an Occupational Requirement and permitted under the Equality Act 2010

YMCA Together has been voted No1 Charity to work for by our employees in 2022. YMCA is a registered charity and company Limited by Guarantee. We were founded in 1846 and so we build on a long history of providing a place for people experiencing challenging times in their lives.

YMCA Together is a truly value driven organisation.

Our vision is that everyone should feel safe, understood, empowered and positive for their future. We meet our vision by working within our values of Strength, Humility, Respect, Empathy and Kindness. These SHREK values run through all that we do from recruitment to how we work alongside people in our services to our partnership approach with other providers.

Our clear vision and values come together to help us in our mission to inspire and support people to change their lives by instilling hope, valuing the person and maximising potential.

Job Purpose

Link workers will assist the Practitioners in the day-to-day management of the service, focusing on conducting the intensive housing management element of the role. All staff will be expected to undergo Cognitive Analytic Therapy Skills Training (CAT) this will provide a framework for understanding and working with individuals and colleagues in managing psychological and relational aspects of mental health, personality disorder and high-risk behaviours. Training will also be provided around Trauma Informed Care.  These approaches will be used for planning and assessing effectiveness of a variety of interventions and risk management.

Link Workers will be based across Fae and Grace House, accommodation-based services for women and their dependent children fleeing or at risk of domestic violence.  Our vision for the Services is one that breathes hope and ambition and promotes choice and independence.

Work with the Empowerment Practitioners in delivering a range of interventions to adults, children and young people to build strength, enhance resilience and encourage progress.

Duties and Responsibilities

  1. To ensure that Intensive Housing Management tasks are completed in a timely way and to a high standard
  2. To build supportive and therapeutic relationships with care givers and their children through dialogue
  3. To deliver activity-based interventions
  4. To support in preparing households to resettle into their community of choice
  5. To ensure that Housing Benefit forms are completed in a timely manner.

Intensive Housing Management and Risk Assessing

  • Assist the Practitioners with the induction and management of their case load taking direction as required
  • Ensure Housing Benefit paperwork is completed in a timely fashion
  • Update and communicate household risk assessments in line with YMCA/borough wide policy and procedure
  • Assist in the planning of workshops to individuals and groups that inform/ teach service users around how to manage a tenancy, manage a home and live independently
  • Creatively engage service users that have a wide range of complex and challenging support needs
  • Encourage households to take part in activities
  • Offer a creative but assertive approach in order to seek to re engagement
  • Assist Practitioners in the management of personalised behavior / support agreements
  • Provide clear, comprehensive and accurate information on handovers to the team making recommendations where appropriate
  • Assisting households in the cleaning of their room
  • Complete void checks and get rooms ready for letting
  • Maintain accurate up to date electronic and written records
  • Post holders must be willing to support clients who display challenging behaviour, including verbal aggression.

Service User Involvement and Engagement

  • Encourage involvement, participation and co-production from households in the running and development of the service
  • Provide a safe, welcoming environment with excellent standards and an ethos of service delivery that encourages households to engage

Multi Agency Working

  • Working closely with Practitioners to promote and encourage pathways to independent living, help prevent mental health deterioration, hospital admissions, offending behaviours and substance misuse
  • Encourage households to engage with services
  • Assist with the provision of resettlement support
  • Promote and encourage the pathway to independence working to a CAT approach.

Reporting/ Monitoring

  • Monitor positive feedback from households and external agencies
  • Ensure referrals to the service are processed thoroughly and within the correct time frames.

Health and Safety

  • Liaise with all emergency services
  • Ensure at all times the safety of yourself and others on the premises in which you work
  • Conduct Health and Safety checks as required
  • Report, log and communicate all incidents to the appropriate people
  • Conduct welfare checks as specified during your shift
  • Adhere to all resident checks, handover and Incident process
  • Ensure adherence to YMCA Together visitor’s policy and procedure
  • Attend to the fire panel in the event of the fire alarms being activated and the recording and following up of information.

Internal Relationships

  • Excellent communication with all YMCA staff
  • Flexible and positive approach with all team members
  • To be committed to learning and personal development both as an individual and as part of a team
  • Sharing information and expertise with the team, covering absence, and working together to provide a high-quality service
  • Attend team meetings as required.

External Relationships

  • Develop excellent and robust relationships with referring agencies, statutory services and wider stakeholders.

General

  • Uphold and develop YMCA Equal Opportunities policy of anti discrimination across all services
  • Ensure compliance with code of conduct, including professional boundaries and confidentiality at all times
  • Deal promptly with all complaints
  • Report all safeguarding incidents
  • Familiarize yourself with and ensure compliance with all YMCA policies and procedures
  • Prepare for and attend supervision and annual appraisal with your line manager taking direction as appropriate and contributing to the development of both yourself and the service.

The post holder will be expected to carry out other duties consistent with the responsibilities of the post and to demonstrate flexibility in all areas of their work including the willingness to attend team meetings and training outside of your normal working hours.

It is recognised that the association is operating in a dynamic environment and as such this job description may be varied in consultation with the post holder to reflect evolving needs of the business and changing nature of the job.

Person Specification – Link Worker

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to level 3

Desirable

  • Qualification in housing
  • Qualification in IT

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working in accommodation-based support services
  • Experience of partnership working
  • Experience of formulating risk assessments
  • Working experience of maintaining up to date electronic records and calendars
  • Experience of delivering group interventions
  • Experience of delivering co-produced activities

Desirable

  • Experience of working within a psychologically informed environment (PIE)
  • Experience of resettling individuals into independent accommodation
  • Experience of CAT – Cognitive Analytical Therapy and of working in a therapeutic environment

Knowledge

Essential

  • A working knowledge of providing support
  • A working knowledge of Health & Safety issues
  • A clear understanding of complex needs in relation to someone beginning their recovery journey including past trauma, homelessness and mental ill health.
  • Knowledge of safeguarding protocols
  • Knowledge and understanding of how to deal with challenging and chaotic individuals

Desirable

  • Knowledge of health interventions Knowledge of welfare rights

Skills

Essential

  • Computer literate, competent in working with Microsoft word, outlook, windows
  • Excellent communication, engagement and interpersonal skills
  • Excellent administration skills

Desirable

  • Analytical, data collation and reporting skills

Behaviour/Attributes

Essential

  • Committed to improving the lives of people with complex needs
  • Committed to own personal development and CPD planning
  • Creative and dynamic approach with the ability to “think outside of the box” when providing solutions
  • Energetic, highly motivated with a reputation of being held in high regard by their peers
  • Excellent interpersonal/ communication skills
  • Excellent negotiation/ mediation skills
  • Committed to own career development
  • Reliable
  • Ability to work within and have commitment to YMCA ethos, philosophy and SHREK values, Strength, Humility, Respect, Empathy and Kindness.
  • Energetic, dynamic and self motivated

If you would like to apply for this role please click here APPLY NOW

To download a copy of our application form, please click HERE

If you would like to apply not directly through the website, please email your completed application form to recruitment@ymcatogether.org.uk

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