Job info |
Job info details |
Job title |
Specialist Homeless Prevention Personal Advisor |
Strategic team/Directorate |
Early Help – Homeless and Poverty Reduction Team |
Service |
Early Help |
Business unit |
Children’s Services |
Responsible to (day to day issues) |
Assistant Team Manager – Early Help – Homeless and Poverty Reduction Team |
Accountable to (line manager) |
Service Manager – Early Help Service |
Salary grade |
G |
1. Key purpose of job
- The post has been integrated into a Children’s Service Authority Early Help Service in line with Every Child Matters and the Children Act 2004. Emphasis will be on delivering practical social work support services to young care experienced adults experiencing or at risk of being homeless.
- The objectives of the post are in line with the requirements of:
- The Children Act 1989.
- The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000.
- The Children and Social Work Act 2017.
- The Children Act 1989 guidance and regulations, Vol 3: Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers, revised January 2015.
- Care Leavers Charter, DfE, 2012.
- Applying Corporate Parenting Principles to Looked After Children and Care Leavers, DfE, 2018.
- The Children Act 2004.
- The Children and Young Persons Act 2008.
- The Housing Act 2004.
2. Anticipated outcomes of post
- To provide a high standard of support to young people of in the age range of 17-25, living in and leaving care, in order to improve their life chances, safety, accommodation needs, education and employment, finances and independence skills with the primary aim of preventing them from becoming homeless.
- To improve safeguarding arrangements, assessments, preparation and planning for young people embarking on leaving care and also for care experienced young adults with the primary aim of preventing homelessness.
3. List key duties and accountabilities of the post
- As an Employee of Torbay Council all roles are expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures. The Designated Senior Lead for Safeguarding is the Chief Executive and Director of Children’s Services.
- To ensure that care-experienced young people are placed at the heart of the service, are treated courteously and fairly, and are consulted on all aspects of their service provision.
- Assessing the needs of young people in order that they achieve higher levels of independent living skills.
- To assist with the formulation of a Pathway Plan for every young person approaching the age of 18 to ensure there housing needs are recognised, assessed and planned for, and to assist with the review of their Pathway Plan every 6 months (or sooner if required) until their housing situation is established and stable.
- To assist care experienced young people in a range of practical, personal, social and financial help to enable independence and help young people to be able to secure and maintain accommodation and tenancy arrangements.
- To provide consultation and specialist information to Children and Family teams, Fostering, Housing and accommodation providers, Torbay Youth Trust, YOT, Health professionals, Adult Social Care and Community Mental Health Teams, education and training providers, Police and all other statutory and voluntary providers as required.
- To assist the allocated PA with supporting young people to reach their potential and have a positive identity as an care-experienced young person; to include support with (safer) relationship-building with birth family, if this is their wish. The primary aim here will be to support young people to establish a secure base and safe haven and gain a sense of connect and belonging to their immediate community.
- Responding appropriately in crisis situations which may necessitate re-scheduling of planned work and may require immediate decision taking and creativity. This will include responding to immediate street homelessness situations and ensuring young people are placed in appropriate emergency accommodation in the short-term.
- Accompanying young people to various appointments in relation to housing and other matters pertaining to their independent living needs.
- Liaising with and developing partnerships with other agencies and services in order to provide a full range of choices and options for young people with regards to long-term accommodation needs.
- Carrying out the full responsibilities of the post with due regard to the Council’s Diversity and Equal Opportunities policies, and to ensure all needs of BAME, LGBT and care-experienced young people with disabilities are identified and met.
- To undertake 1:1 and group work with young people aimed at practical support and preparation for leaving care with the primary focus on housing needs and independent living.
- To work intensively with a mixed case load of Eligible, Relevant, Former Relevant and Qualifying Clients.
- Encouraging young people to increase their educational attainments to give greater chances of employment and achievement and therefore provide them with the skills and means to ensure sustainable independent futures.
- Liaising with housing providers landlords and RSL’s and determining the most suitable needs lead accommodation options and supporting the young person in moving and equipping the home with basic essentials.
- Advocate for young people in need of housing and challenge inappropriate housing decisions where appropriate to do so.
- Participate in the daily Duty and Drop-in provision as rostered.
- To ensure that all records of work, paper and electronic, are up to date and comply with legal and departmental requirements and are of a high standard, containing proper recommendations and analysis.
- In conjunction with the manager, to monitor and evaluate the service and where appropriate make suggestions for modification and new approaches via supervision or the Team Meeting.
- Use data to take an analytical approach to understanding the factures that contribute to care experienced young people becoming homeless and formulate solutions to combat these factors going forward.
- Work with the Care Experienced PAs to educate them on specifics around youth homelessness in order to upskill the team so that more effective Pathway Planning can take place.
- Attend statutory departmental Care for Children reviews and multi-agency meetings, which may require the preparation of detailed reports and assessments.
- Undertake regular face-to-face visits to young people throughout their time with the Care Experienced team, which may involve long distance travel.
- Being responsible for identifying financial support for care-experienced young people and liaising with your supervisor, internal finance teams, Job Centre Plus and Housing Benefits etc. in order to secure funding entitlements.
- Take part in delivering training and education to internal staff, external partners and young people in relation to youth homelessness.
- Attend the Youth Homeless prevention Panel and advocate for Care Experienced Young People.
- To undertake other duties and responsibilities commensurate with the post and departmental requirements.
- Participate in forums with internal and external partners that aim to raise the profile of the needs of care experience adults and their housing needs.
- Assist in the development of a landlords forum and rent guarantee scheme to increase the housing resource provision available to care experienced adults.
- The above outlines the duties required for the time being but this is not a comprehensive or exclusive list and duties may be varied from time to time which does not change the general character of the job or the level of responsibility entailed.
4. Budgetary/Financial Responsibilities of the post
- Ensure that necessary funding is identified within care experience young people entitlements, make appropriate request to Manager for authorisation, and complete relevant paperwork.
- Keep a running record of all Setting Up Home Allowance / leaving care grant purchases, supporting young people to make the most effective use of the budget.
- Ensuring that all benefit claims if required are in place at age 18 and changes in circumstances are dealt with urgently so that loss of funding or tenancy is avoided.
- Budget planning and funding must be considered in each Pathway Plan and additional funding for specific actions and aims must be flagged up in good time. Ongoing support to be given to care experienced young adults around budgeting and financial planning to ensure tenancies are not placed at risk.
- Emergency funding must be negotiated with Manager and young person. Recommendations may be made by worker in cases of wilful damage to property, to use some of the Leaving Care Grant as compensation to landlord/owner.
5. Supervision/Line Management Responsibilities of the post
- There is no direct line management responsibility.
6. Working environment and conditions of the post
- Working from Health and Safety assessed workplace/ office. Office base or on computer/telephone from home.
- Often working alone outside office and outside office hours. Staff must adhere to the lone working arrangements.
- Driving or travelling with young people to appointments, moving home etc.
- Home working may be required.
7. Physical demands of the post
- Normal physical demands. Work is undertaken in a variety of environments including office, college or school, young peoples’ own homes or other community resources / venues as appropriate/necessary.
- Supporting young people to clear properties is exceptional and will be risk assessed re. potential risk from rubbish, needles etc. Property clearing, listing and moving lots of personal items is usually done by local and preferred DBS-checked removal firms.
8. Specific resources used by the post
- Computer/laptop, telephone office base and mobile.
9. Key contacts and relationships
External
- Care Experienced Personal Advisors in other areas/regions.
- Adult Social Care providers and enabling teams.
- Community Mental Health Teams.
- Housing and health organisations.
- Police and Probation.
- Educational and training provisions.
- Torbay Youth Trust.
Internal
- Care Experienced PAs and SWs.
- Torbay Children’s Services teams.
- Housing Department.
- Adult Social Care.
- CAMHS.
- Supported accommodation providers.
- Job Centre Plus.
10. Other duties
- To undertake additional duties as required, commensurate with the level of the job.
Other Information
- All staff must commit to Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discriminatory Practice.
- Torbay Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo the checks appropriate to the post applied for.
- The post holder is expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures. And are aware that the Chief Executive and the Director for Children's Services are the Safeguarding Leads for the Council.
- The post is eligible for both hybrid and permanent home working.
- As this post meets the requirements in respect of exempted questions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, all applicants who are offered employment will be subject to a criminal record check (Disclosure) from the Disclosure & Barring Service before the appointment is confirmed. This will include details of ALL cautions, reprimands or final warnings as well as convictions, whether “spent” or “unspent”. Criminal convictions will only be taken into account when they are relevant to the post.
- The Council operates a Smoke-Free Policy and the post-holder is prohibited from smoking in any of the Council's buildings (including Council owned and Council leased buildings, but excluding designated areas in residential schemes), enclosed spaces within the curtilage of buildings, and Council vehicles. The Council does not permit smoking breaks within work time, however, in services where the flexi-scheme is in operation, employees may take reasonable break times outside of core hours, in accordance with flexi-time arrangements. Employees should follow the flexi-scheme procedure for agreeing time away from their duties in the normal manner with their immediate colleagues and line manager, with break start and finish times being recorded, as with any other break-time arrangement.
- The post-holder is expected to familiarise themselves with and adhere to all relevant Council Policies and Procedures.
- The post-holder must comply with the Council’s Health and Safety requirements as outlined in the H&S policy appropriate to the role.
- The post-holder must be committed to the Council’s Core Values for employees – “Torbay Council employees are committed to being forward thinking, people orientated and adaptable - always with integrity”. Evidence will be sought during the probation and appraisal processes.
- If this post is a customer facing role and meets the requirements of the Immigration Act 2017 (part 7) the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.
- If you are required to access a government system such as HMRC, DWP or The Public services network (PSN) as part of your role with the Council you will be required to complete a basic disclose with your line manager before you can access these systems. Your manager will be required to complete a verification form that confirms your identity, nationality and immigration status, employment history and unspent convictions (third party).
- If you are required to use your own vehicle on Council business or drive a council vehicle you will be asked to provide information on any driving endorsements by accessing gov.uk/view-driving-licence and providing a code to your Line Manager in order to share your driving licence information with the Council.
Person Specification
Note for Candidate
All Candidates
The supporting statement on your application form will be used to assess ability to meet the essential requirements of the role, so you should explain how you meet each of the numbered essential requirements within your supporting statement.
In a competitive situation, the desirable criteria may be taken into consideration, so you are encouraged to show how you also meet each of the desirable criteria.
Candidates who consider that they have a disability
Reasonable adjustments will be made to the job, job requirements or recruitment process for candidates with a disability.
If you consider yourself to have a disability you should indicate this on your application form, providing any information you would like us to take into account with regard to your disability in order to offer a fair selection interview.
Where ever possible and reasonable we will make adjustments and offer alternatives to help you through the application and selection process.
If you have indicated that you have a disability on your application form you will be guaranteed an interview if you clearly demonstrate in your supporting evidence how you broadly meet the essential requirements of the role.
Job info |
Job info details |
Job Title |
Specialist Homeless Prevention Personal Advisor |
Strategic team/Directorate |
Early Help – Homeless and Poverty Reduction Team |
Service |
Early Help |
Business unit |
Children’s Services |
Skills and effectiveness
Essential skills and effectiveness
- Ability to engage and communicate effectively with young people and form positive working relationships with them, their families and carers, specialist services and colleagues.
- Ability to initiate, negotiate and maintain partnership-working relationships with young people, their support networks, and professionals.
- Willingness to learn effective use of IT.
- Ability to compile concise, timely and accurate assessments and reports.
- Commitment to anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice.
- Willingness to undertake training in areas of skill and knowledge that require enhancing.
- As this post meets the requirements of the Immigration Act 2016 (part 7), the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.
Desirable skills and effectiveness
- Partnership working with Care for Children, Care Experienced young adults and care providers.
- Partnership working with Care Experienced young adults, parents and other agencies.
- Experience of using Word, Excel and the Paris or Liquid Logic data bases.
Knowledge
Essential knowledge
- Understanding of child and adolescent development and the needs of young people, including physical, emotional, cultural and social needs.
- Knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
- Self-awareness; own strengths and limitations.
- Knowledge of Torbay / resources for young people.
- Knowledge of Health and Safety issues.
Desirable knowledge
- The Children Act 1989.
- The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000.
- The Children and Social Work Act 2017.
- The Children Act 1989 guidance and regulations, Vol 3: Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers, revised January 2015.
- Care Leavers Charter, DfE, 2012.
- Applying Corporate Parenting Principles to Looked After Children and Care Leavers, DfE, 2018.
- The Children Act 2004.
- The Children and Young Persons Act 2008.
- The Housing Act 2004.
Experience and achievements
Essential experience and achievements
- Experience of working with young people and adults.
- Working autonomously and as part of a team.
Desirable experience and achievements
- Working effectively with other professionals, disciplines and agencies.
Qualifications/professional memberships
Essential qualifications/professional memberships
- Educated to GCSE O Level standard or equivalent including Grade C or equivalent in English.
- Evidence of consistent pattern of learning from education, training and experience.
Desirable qualifications/professional memberships
- Relevant qualification in social care, youth work, youth justice, benefits or housing.
Other requirements
Other requirements of the job role
- Demonstrates a commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people.
- Ability to accommodate unsociable hours.
- Ability to accommodate occasional/permanent home-working.