Support Worker

Job Title: Support Worker - Mental Health
Reporting to: Service Manager
Contract: Permanent, Part Time
Working hours: 23 hours per week (including one weekend per-month)

About the Service/Department
We have an opportunity for a Support Worker to join Hestia in our Croydon Mental Health Service. You will be supporting our 9-5 service in West Croydon (working 23 hours a week). Supporting two properties with a caseload of 10 service users in total.

Recording daily contacts and helping them achieve their aspirations for independence, alongside monitoring any risks and vulnerabilities identified in individual support plans. Moreover, you will key work all 10 service users, providing weekly 1:1 support sessions, and help manage care packages or work alongside other professionals in their care to build independent living skills and ready them for independent living, sheltered accommodation or residential care.

Experience of caring for a family member or a customer service background is desirable but not mandatory. This is an entry level role with plenty of opportunities for progression within the organisation.

About the role
Empower a caseload of service users to manage their health and wellbeing. Through regular support visits in their homes, you will actively monitor wellbeing, mental health, housing and living environment to ensure their journey into independence. Moreover, you will take a solution focused and co-produced approach to supporting service users with their move on into independent living.

Some other main responsibilities of the role include:

• Work flexibly as part of a team to ensure service coverage and that contractual obligations are met.
• You will encourage service users to develop support networks in the local community and help them engage in meaningful activities (including managing volunteers and befrienders for your caseload).
• Ensure referrals, assessments and service reviews are effective and timely.
• Actively monitor the health, wellbeing, safety and security of the service and its users ensuring all concerns are followed up promptly and in line with procedures.
• Ensure that administration is done in good time; that detailed, concise and accurate records are created contemporaneously and that confidentiality is appropriately maintained
• Empower a caseload of clients to manage their health and wellbeing, maintain their independence, identify their strengths and achieve their goals and aspirations.
• Empower service users to develop independent living skills as part of a planned move on process.
• Assist the manager to manage health and safety, repairs and maintenance.
• Support residents to maintain their tenancy and develop independent living skills by paying

About you

• Experience of working with people with mental health and / or dual diagnosis issues in a paid or voluntary role
• The ability to learn quickly, gather information and make decisions
• The ability to receive, process and accurately record detailed information, sharing it with others, as appropriate and within the framework of confidentiality
• The ability to work with people who may display challenging behaviour and to defuse potentially difficult situations
• Having a solution focused approach and the capacity to work constructively and collaboratively towards problem solving
• Being optimistic about the possibility of change and the clients’ capacity to change
• A calm, non-judgemental and anti-discriminatory approach
• The ability to work within a chaotic and sometimes pressured environment
• Willingness to work unsociable hours. Early, late (at least twice a week), and occasional weekend duties as part of a team rota.
• Knowledge and understanding of safeguarding issues and ability to address them appropriately

Please see the attached documents for the full job description and more information about Hestia.

What Hestia offers

• Holiday allowance of 25days/195hours per annum plus 8days/62.4hours public holidays (pro rata)
• Company Pension
• Learning and Development Opportunities (including career progression opportunities across our services and departments, a full 9 month induction providing an understanding of The Hestia Approach and all Hestia’s practices and policies to support your career in Hestia and if applicable, a foundation knowledge to attain a Skills for Care Certificate)

• Hestia Rewards exclusive membership (Hestia Rewards is our staff wellbeing and benefits scheme which provides access to fantastic retail discounts, gym membership discounts, recognise a colleague eCards etc.)
• Access to a range of health and wellbeing support tools including our Employee Assistance Programme, Flexible working (including holiday trading and TOIL) and some roles include Clinical Supervision
• Other benefits such as Eye care vouchers, Travel/Season Ticket Loans and Cycle to work scheme (with up to 40% savings on a new bike).
• If applicable to the role, Hestia will also support you on joining our existing ASYE (Assisted and Supported Year in Employment) programme if you are interested and fit the criteria.

About Hestia

Hestia supports adults and children in crisis across London and the surrounding regions. We campaign and advocate nationally on the issues that affect them. This includes victims of modern slavery, women and children who have experienced domestic abuse, young care leavers and older people.

Hestia is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of adults, children and young people who are potentially at risk, and we therefore expect all staff and volunteers to do the same. We require all staff to undertake internal and external safeguarding training throughout their employment with Hestia.

Please note
If offered a role with Hestia, you will be issued a conditional offer based on satisfactory references and an Enhanced disclosure/DBS check.

This job description is subject to change depending on the needs of the service/department.

We recommend that you apply at your earliest convenience as we screen applications as they are received as well as interview and appoint suitable candidates on this basis (regardless of the closing date). We may also contact unsuccessful applicants regarding other suitable opportunities within Hestia.

Disability confident
Hestia is a disability confident employer, committed to the employment and career development of individual with disabilities. As part of this commitment, we operate a guaranteed interview scheme for all applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the role they have applied for. We will also accommodate reasonable adjustment during the selection and interview process and throughout your employment with us.

Hestia positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity. But we particularly welcome individuals from an ethnic minority background and those with disabilities to apply. As an organisation, we are committed to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce and value the skills, abilities, talent and experiences, different people and communities bring to our organisation.

How to apply
Please click apply at the top of the vacancy page to begin your application.