Specialist Support Worker

Specialist Support Worker

Fixed Term Contract until 31/03/2025

Full Time 37.5 hrs per week

Monday -Friday

Salary-£26,341.00-£27,000

Based in Guildford

Want to make a real difference to the lives of people? For over 90 years, The Riverside Group has been providing affordable housing across the UK to people as well as care for the elderly and support for those who face homelessness.

The difference you’ll make

As a staff member committed to “best practice” in the social Housing field, you will deliver individual, positive, outcome focused support packages to customers of Riverside Supported and Sheltered schemes, ensuring that the support service promotes empowerment and independence.

So, who are you?

You are flexible, empathetic, inclusive, and resilient. Even better, you have excellent interpersonal and communication skills too.

You are experienced when it comes to working with vulnerable client groups and have delivered structure support in either a housing or a social work setting previously. You have demonstrable basic proficiency in Microsoft office as well as the willingness to learn company specific IT systems and complete relevant training.

You will be required to work flexible hours to meet customer and business needs, which may not include normal office hours and may include Lone Working

Enjoy the rewards

Working with us, you’ll enjoy competitive pay, 28 days holidays excluding 8 bank holidays, a wide range of benefits, flexible working and the chance to learn valuable new skills. We empower our people to do great work by investing in learning, personal development and technology.

If you’re the kind of person that wants to do a really great job and make a difference to our customers, we think you’ll love it here. Sound like a challenge you’d like to take on? Then get in touch and let’s talk about how you can help us transform lives and revitalise neighbourhoods.

We encourage applicants from all sections of the community so that we can truly reflect the neighbourhoods in which we work.

Applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to avoid disappointment

For your application to be considered please ensure you complete and attach alongside your CV a Supporting Statement detailing in a few sentences why you have applied and feel you are a suitable candidate for this role”

Job Profile

To deliver individual, positive, outcome focused support packages to customers of Riverside Supported and Sheltered schemes, ensuring that the support service promotes empowerment and independence and to be part of a staff team that is committed to “best practice” in the social Housing field. The Specialist Support Worker will operate as a centre of excellence in the field/ specialism and a resource to colleagues for specialist knowledge whilst maintaining a high level of specialist knowledge around the specific specialism and client groups within the service. Working with Colleagues within the team, the Specialist Support Worker will ensure customers with specialist support needs are supported to the highest relevant standards and approaches and will support colleagues to understand the latest developments in the field.

• Ensuring that opportunities for education, training and employment opportunities are integral to the support service. The aim being to enable clients to develop the life skills to live as independently as possible
• Promote and encourage a high level of client involvement, consultation, and communication.
• Maintaining an accurate and timely record of all activities including the maintenance of a support planning database.
• Providing practical support and information to clients when entering the service and throughout their involvement with the service, e.g., assisting clients in the completion of occupancy agreements and welfare benefit claims.
• Working in line with ‘health and safety’ and safeguarding requirements to ensure the overall safety and security of the client.
• Taking personal responsibility to ensure you maintain the highest level and current knowledge around specialism
• Sharing specialist knowledge with colleagues to ensure clients are supported appropriately and the service continual improves and meets the current needs and aspirations of clients.
• Specialism in her drugs and alcohol etc.
• Service delivery
• Set annual performance targets, taking complete responsibility for the performance management of all operational employees
• Ensure that service delivery complies with Riverside’s policies and procedures relating to equality and diversity
• Ensure that the views of Riverside’s customers are fully taken into account in the development
• Ensure that the Division/Department complies with Health and Safety legislation and other regulatory obligations, assessing risk and putting in place relevant control measures.
• To understand your role in the organisation and to be accountable for your contribution to maximise profitability
• To understand how your job contributes to the overall purpose of the organisation and be accountable for delivering it in the most efficient way.
• To understand that your efforts will be client led and be accountable for positive and tangible outcomes.
• To understand that Riverside is a nationally focused organisation and to be accountable for adhering to the agreed corporate policies and procedures
• Working as part of a multi-disciplinary staff team and meeting the requirements of a rota system, ensuring support is available across all schemes in the cluster.
• Actively involved in team meetings and attend regular supervisions.
• Working with colleagues to ensure key performance indicators (e.g. voids and arrears) are being met
• Working in line with company policies and procedures and the requirements of funders and stakeholders to ensure effective service delivery.
• Ability to use appropriate IT systems and maintain professional and timely records.
• Attending appropriate training and development opportunities as required.
• Staff Management and other duties
• Manage and motivate staff to provide high quality, customer-orientated services being a champion for “Mary Gober”
• Provide direction and support to a team setting improvement targets, reviewing work outputs, and appraising individual performance
• To carry out the people management functions associated with managing and leading a team, and in accordance with Riverside’s policies and procedures and statutory requirements
• Participate in the work of the management team, encouraging innovation
• Ensure equality of opportunity exists for all staff and co-ordinate the development of appropriate staff support and training opportunities for the Division
• Deputise for other managers within the Division when necessary.
• Undertake personal development and training as necessary to keep up to date with legal, political, financial, and other developments in the fields of housing and customer service
• To ensure compliance with Riverside’s Equality and Diversity policy, in respect of employment and service delivery.
• Ensure that all data is compliant with legislation and policies relating to data quality
• To actively promote Riverside locally.
• To ensure compliance with Riverside’s safeguarding policies and procedures in every aspect of service delivery.
• Any other relevant duties as required by the designated manager.
• Knowledge, Skills and Experience Essential
  

• · Experience of working with vulnerable client groups.
• · Experience of delivering structured support in either housing or social work setting.
• · Demonstrable IT skills to include basic proficiency in Microsoft Office including Word and Excel a well as willingness to learn specific IT systems used within Riverside; and complete relevant IT training where required.