Reconnect Worker
This is an exciting opportunity to join an important charity for the new development of our Reconnect services in London.
Position: Reconnect Worker
Location: London
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week
Salary: £29,742 per annum (ILW) plus pension and other benefits
Closing Date: Sunday 8th December, 2024
Please note we reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so we encourage you to apply as early as possible.
About the Role
Working with the support and guidance of your manager, you will be responsible for delivering our Reconnect, family support and mediation service across the London Region
You will work collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation's services and with external agencies to reduce family breakdown. You will build and maintain a caseload of clients at risk of, or experiencing homelessness. You will work with clients in a variety of situations, including young people at school who are experiencing a breakdown in their family relationships, those who have been forced to leave their homes and are temporarily staying with our volunteer Nightstop hosts, and those who are now living in our accommodation services.
You will provide a wide range of support and guidance to these clients and their families, aiming to improve understanding and communication, reduce conflict and strengthen relationships, amongst other things. This will include a range of methods, including one-to-one and joint party mediation. Occasionally you may also provide basic guidance to young people and parents regarding their housing options.
With full support, you will be responsible for ensuring effective and safe management of the service on a day-to-day basis, including working in line with all relevant policies, procedures and best practice guidelines, as well as maintaining arcuate and up-to-date records on our database.
Key responsibilities include:
- Work directly with young people aged 11-25, and their families, who are experiencing family difficulties and at risk of homelessness, providing guidance, personalised family support and one-to-one and joint party mediation if appropriate;
- Carry a caseload of 15 – 20 clients per FTE for whom you will be the named keyworker;
- Process referrals from relevant agencies in order to build and maintain a full caseload of clients.
- Work in partnership with young people and their families to complete risk assessments, needs assessments and changes plans and outcome questionnaires to work with them towards measurable outcomes.
- Build strong working relationships with all colleagues and services across the region, as well as other relevant agencies and local authority teams, to promote the service, build effective referral routes and processes and provide holistic support to young people.
- Maintain clear, accurate and up-to-date records of all aspects of your work, in line with monitoring and evaluation processes and standard operational procedures.
- Work closely with statutory bodies and other agencies to support any relevant safeguarding procedures, advocating on behalf of young people and parents/carers when necessary.
About You
You will need to have the following skills and experience:
- Significant experience working with young people and families in crisis; reflective, creative and solution-focused in your approach and committed to working in an assets-based way.
- To hold or complete a Level 4 Interpersonal Mediation Practitioner's Certificate (IMPC). Training will be provided if the candidate doesn't hold the qualification, but training will have to be completed before the end of the probation period.
- Experience of working independently and managing own caseload; self-motivated and able to prioritise tasks and carry out efficient organisation and administration.
- Experience of carrying out risk and needs assessments and support planning for clients.
- Ability to develop strong, collaborative and productive relationships with colleagues and key external agencies, promoting the value of our work and its impact on families.
- High level understanding of professional boundaries and ability to maintain impartiality
- Willingness and ability to travel independently and work from a number of different locations across the London region.
- Commitment to working in a manner, which promotes diversity and equality ensuring that everyone is treated with respect and dignity and no one, suffers from discrimination.
In return for working here, you will receive:
- A comprehensive training package tailored to your needs and role
- Flexible working model for suitable roles.
- 26 days annual leave rising to 30 after five years of service.
- Family-friendly leave policies including - maternity, adoption and parental leave and Carers leave.
- Auto-enrolment to pension scheme employer from day 1 with employer contribution up to 7% and increasing with service
- Employee Assistance Programme and access to the app – 24/7 GP appointments, prescription service, health checks and nutrition advice.
- Discount vouchers including gym, retail, food & drink, travel, electricals and more.
- Cash benefit plan for you and your partner (living with you) and children under 18 including covering Dental, Optical, Hospital Stays, Scans and More
- Death in service (4x Base salary)
- Legal Advice line
About the Organisation
The employer delivers a wide range of support and housing services for young people and adults at risk of homelessness. We specialise in the provision of services that prevent homelessness, increase the resilience of those we work with and energise opportunities for employment, education, training and volunteering in the communities we work within. Our organisation reaches from Newcastle to London, Greater Manchester and Milton Keynes.
You may have experience in areas such as: Family Support Worker, Reconnect Worker, Support Worker, Social Care Worker, Mental Health Car