Team Leader - Complex Needs Support Worker

Role Overview – What is it?

To support the Supported Housing Manager to lead one of our local teams in the delivery of various supported housing services, including our new Active Opportunity Pathway (AOP) for those experiencing multiple disadvantage / severe multiple disadvantage and/or temporary accommodation for individuals or families. 
You will be an experienced supported housing professional who is familiar with leading, supporting and managing teams (in a hands-on way) to help those experiencing multiple disadvantage or severe multiple disadvantage to overcome barriers to achieving greater independence. 
You will have an in-depth knowledge of best-practice and current thinking when working with vulnerable people or families facing homelessness, who require support with mental-health, substance misuse, a history of offending and other needs. Using your knowledge and skills to help us create one of the most effective outcomes-focused services in the sector, adhering to the Making Every Adult Matter principles (MEAM). 
You will be familiar with and have experience of effectively supporting teams to work in a strength-based and trauma informed way. Taking personal pride and ownership in supporting your team (and the wider department / organisation) develop those approaches in support of helping residents achieve outcomes far beyond their expectations. 
You will have worked in an accommodation-based setting, with significant experience of providing intensive housing management, and tenancy management tasks. Drawing on your knowledge of safeguarding, housing benefit, Universal Credit and mental health, drug and alcohol specialist interventions to support your team to perform at the highest level, meeting and exceeding the expectations of internal and external stakeholders.
This is a new role in a specialist team and not one which will see you stepping too far back from those who we support. So, you will not only be supervising the team who are supporting those experiencing homelessness and multiple disadvantage, but also supporting a small complex caseload yourself.
You will be joining us at a very exciting time as we pursue significant growth across our services to develop accommodations options integrated with support, giving you a unique opportunity to use your knowledge and experience to help shape an amazing service for the future.

Main Duties – What needs to be done?
Staff management Elements:

• With a steer from the Supported Housing Manager, actively support the team to deliver a high quality and the most effective and efficient service possible, ensuring they place our residents at the heart of all that they do as they help them achieve sector-leading outcomes.
• Provide a positive role model to the team as you support and motivate them to develop and progress in their role.
• Support the Supported Housing Manager to administer an effective high-performance culture through regular 1:1s, objective setting and appraisals, providing additional support where necessary to overcome challenges and barriers.
• I identify knowledge development and skill improvement for team members, reviewing its relevance against organisational policies and budgets.
• Fulfil all mandatory line management responsibilities (e.g. annual leave and sickness management), providing strong leadership throughout the entire employee life-cycle in accordance with the organisation’s People policies.
• Provide a safe space for reflective practice.
• Create a positive culture of inclusion where your team feel able to engage and offer constructive challenge and feedback.
• Support the Manger to with all aspects of service and property compliance and H&S are maintained at appropriate levels at all times, escalating concerns without delay to senior management.
• Support the Manager with the monitoring and delivery of all relevant contract performance elements, supporting your team to proactively engage with the meeting (and exceeding) of those measures.
• Maintain oversight across all safeguarding matters for the service, leading on engagement with external stakeholders and multi-disciplinary teams, attending case review meetings where appropriate.

Support Elements:

• Ensure you and your team employ a strength-based and trauma-informed approach to building trusting relationships with residents, using that to help create accurate, realistic and meaningful (outcome focused) support plans.
• Use your knowledge and experience of working with people experiencing homelessness and multiple-disadvantage to support your team in identifying and capturing risks, to help design mitigation strategies and inform coping mechanisms. 
• Support and challenge your team to engage pro-actively and effectively with residents to help them identify barriers which are preventing them gaining greater levels of independence.
• Uphold the highest levels of safeguarding awareness and protection for individuals, residents, colleagues and the wider community. Working within local frameworks to ensure policies and mechanisms are applied correctly.
• Ensure all team members are up to date with training in line with the organisation governance and policies. 
• Maintain and regularly update accurate records of all support engagements, support plans, risk assessments and other support pathway elements, using them to support appropriate partnership working with local partner agencies. 
• Champion the principles of trauma-informed engagement and support across the service and wider organisation, helping colleagues develop their skills and communication approaches to support the achievement of outcomes. 
• Take time to engage pro-actively with all residents in the scheme, using the less formal engagements to help deepen the understanding and effectiveness of support plans and achievement of outcomes. 
• Work with the service manager and senior leaders to engage pro-actively with local multi-disciplinary and network groups, seeking to maximise outcomes for individuals and build added-value into the service as a whole. 
• Deliver a blend of both individual and group sessions, with a focus on helping residents to build and develop their independent living skills and abilities, recording all engagements within our digital support system. 
• Manage your caseload of residents in an effective and dynamic way, ensuring all residents receive and engage with appropriate amounts and types of support for their needs.
• Work in a non-risk averse and non-judgemental way, helping residents understand the negative impact of their behaviours, then providing harm reduction information and advice where necessary.
• Act as a positive role model for residents, using a strength-based approach to helping them set realistic (but aspirational) goals, prompting, encouraging and motivating them to make them a reality. 

Intensive Housing Management:

• Work with colleagues at service and organisational level to ensure maximum levels of service utilisation, including the processing and review of referrals in a non-risk averse and balanced community way. 
• Support in the process of referral management and support / needs / risk assessment, recording all relevant findings accurately in our digital support management system. 
• Support residents to understand and complete all necessary tenancy documentation and service entry requirements, recording them as required in our various housing management systems. 
• Take ownership of any rent management matters for your residents, helping them to understand the importance of appropriate money management and to take necessary action to avoid arears.
• Support residents to understand their benefits and money management skills, using that to identify knowledge gaps which can be added into support plans and future engagement activities. 
• Complete regular accommodation inspections, using the opportunity to help residents develop further independent living skills (e.g. reporting of repairs) whilst ensuring all necessary compliance and H&S requirements are met.
• Proactively support residents to identify knowledge gaps in terms of their ability to manage a tenancy and live independently, building that into support plans and helping them acquire the skills and knowledge required. 

Relationships – Who will I be working / engaging with?

• Internal – Other AOP service colleagues (e.g. concierge, support workers) / Maintenance and Facilities Teams / Head of Service and Senior Leadership Team / Residents. 
• External –Officers / Third Sector Partners / Statutory Partners (e.g. Police and Probation) / Housing Benefit Officers / DWP and Employment Partners etc.

Competencies – Who with and your skill level? 

• Extensive and demonstrable knowledge and experience of working with people (including families) experiencing homelessness and multiple disadvantage
• Extensive and demonstrable experience of working in an accommodation-based service, with specific reference to effective rent management and accessing positive move-on options.
• Proven abilities to work in a strength-based and trauma-informed way for the benefit of individuals and families, helping them to achieve a level of positive outcomes beyond their expectations. 
• Experience of completing and managing accurate support plans and risk assessments, then using those to design and implement engaging and impactful support activities for groups and individuals. 
• Extensive and demonstrable knowledge and experience of maintaining the highest standards of safeguarding for vulnerable individuals.
• Comfortable and familiar with working in a non-risk averse way.
• Knowledge and experience of best-practise and current approaches (e.g. adverse childhood experiences) to deliver effective intervention and therapeutic engagements for people with mental health and drug and alcohol support needs. 
• Highly developed ICT skills and familiarity with digital support management systems, and personal abilities and focus on maintaining accuracy at all times.
• Excellent written / verbal communications skills, with the confidence to engage with external partners and stakeholders for the benefit of residents, the service and organisation as a whole. 

General and Additional 

• The responsibilities contained within this job description are indicative, but not exhaustive. As the role develops, the requirements of the post may change, and as such the post is subject to review in discussion with the post holder.
• The post holder may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as the organisation may reasonably require which are commensurate with the grade of the post.
• The post holder shall comply with the organisations policies and procedures, ensuring appropriate actions and reporting protocols are followed at all times.
• The post holder shall attend regular staff or other related meetings, contributing positively where appropriate and relevant.
• An Enhanced Disclosure is required for this position.