Caseworker (part-time)

Working with one of our trusted partner day centres on an initial 12 month contract,  The post holder will be responsible for the following: · Providing a specialist advice and advocacy service to the homeless guests of our services, which include partner day centres and night shelters over the winter season · Employing creative thinking and practices to ensure that guests are supported and motivated to achieve their goals · Attending appointments with guests occasionally when needed · Referring and signposting guests to accommodation providers, health services and other relevant internal and external support services, as necessary · Maintaining good communication with the Managers of our partnered Drop-in Centres, Glass Door colleagues and local statutory and non-statutory services · Attending meetings with the casework team, external service providers and partner organisations when required · Collating statistics and outcome measurements of the casework service for both internal and external use · Maintaining a well-organised and easily accessible administration system for the casework programme in line with relevant legislation (e.g. GDPR) · Managing a small casework budget · Undertaking any other duties to aid the good running of the project, as required by the charity Person Specification Essential · At least one year experience of working one-on-one with -- and assessing the needs of -- homeless people or similar disadvantaged client groups · Empathetic attitude to homeless and vulnerably-housed people · Up-to-date knowledge of the welfare issues and legislation affecting homeless people · Knowledge of relevant support services available to homeless people, particularly in West London · Confident approach to, and experience of, dealing with challenging behaviour · Ability to maintain good relationships with colleagues and external service providers · Highly organised with strong time-management skills · Ability to keep clear and up-to-date case records · Ability to work independently and take the initiative to make important decisions · Flexible and supportive team member with excellent communication skills · Ability to adhere to and implement Health & Safety, HR and operational policies · Understanding of and commitment to Equal Opportunities · For night shelter caseworkers, willingness to work a minimum of one evening per week Desirable · Ability to speak Polish, Romanian or other Eastern European languages · Experience of working alongside volunteers