JOB DESCRIPTION

POST :MISSING LINK SUPPORT AND HOUSING CO-ORDINATOR

RESPONSIBLE TO:Head of Mental Health and Homelessness

RESPONSIBLE FOR:Senior Support Worker

Senior Housing Worker

Support Workers

HOURS:37.5 per week

SALARY:Point 33 (£29,323) to Point 35 (£30,785)

Job Purpose
  • Take a lead role alongside the Head of Mental Health and Homeless Servicesin the development and delivery of Missing Links Mental Health and Homelessness Services
  • Take management responsibility for the:
  • Provision of accommodation and support services for women with complex needs within the Women’s Homelessness Pathway
  • Floating Support Services for women living in the community with mental health support needs
  • Housing management services across Missing Link and Next Link housing stock.

Main objectives
  • Alongside the Head of Mental Health and Homeless Services take direct responsibility for the leadership, operational and performance management of the teams and services under your remit.
  • Contribute to the management, promotion and development of relevent policies and procedures and quality assurance systems that support the delivery of services under your remit and embed continuous improvement within the organisations performance and development.
  • Overseecase management and monitoring systems for your services, produce performance and monitoring reports according to contract requirements and organisational need.
  • Oversee and audit the support and housing services ensuring they are of high quality, consistently and efficiently delivered.
  • Champion recovery orientated and psychologically informed practice. Ensure the team’s work with clients is recovery focused, and strengths based, enabling clients to maximise their choice and control over the support they receive, and to pursue their hopes and ambitions.
  • Manage the Housing Team to ensure the following:
  • our responsibilities as managing agents are carried out
  • compliance with relevant housing legislation
  • high standards of accommodation are achieved in relation to repairs, health and safety
  • organisational performance targets are met around voids and arrears to minimise financial losses
  • Take an active leadership role within the Women’s Homelessness Pathway; represent the interests of the organisation and its client group within partnership meetings with other agencies or commissioners.
  • Take on other management duties and responsibilities as determined by the Head of Mental Health and Homeless Services, deputing for her as required.

Key Relationships
  • External: Women’s Homelessness Pathway partners, commissioners, Registered Landlords, other partner agenciesacross the statutory and voluntary sector.
  • Internal: Senior Management Team, other Team Leaders, all other staff in Missing Link, Next Link and Safe Link Services, and clients via the engagement and involvement mechanisms.

Leadership
  • Provide inspirational and motivational leadership and management to maximise team engagement and a commitment to organisational values and goals.
  • Take a lead in the recruitment and selection process for staff in your team ensuring that appropriately experienced and skilled staff are selected.
  • Ensure that staff receive comprehensive induction to the organisation and their role, including familiarity with core policies and procedures.
  • Ensure the recruitment and development of staff is in line with the organisations policy and procedures and that staff are supported through regular supervision.
  • Embed a culture of performance within the team ensuring that staff and team performance meets contract requirements, is regularly appraised and any areas of underperformance are swiftly addressed.
  • Carry out annual appraisals to assess performance, set annual objectives for the year and identify training needs.
  • Establish a training plan for the team you manage, to ensure that staff are competent in their roles and have opportunity to develop.
  • Take a lead in the facilitation of regular team meetings, reflective practice groups and wider team development, ensuring teams are up to date with relevant legislation and good practice in the delivery of services and are working effectively and efficiently to achieve the best outcomes for service users.
  • Motivate staff through employment engagement practices, creative ways of working, and affirmation of achievements.
  • Deal with disciplinaries and grievances in line with Missing disciplinary and grievance procedures.
  • Ensure that appropriate personnel files and records are maintained.
  • Manage and support the Senior staff that report to you to carry out the Leadership role above.

Operational and Performance Management
Women’s Homelessness Pathway
  • Actively represent the organisation at pathway Co-ordination meetings and deputise for Head of Mental Health and Homeless Services at the Partnership Development Group.
  • Ensure our profile and participationwithin the Pathway is pro-active and dynamic.
  • Liaise with the contract manager of the Women’s Homeless Pathway and where appropriate with BCC commissioners.
  • Work collaboratively in accordance with the values of the pathwaywith other partner providers to maximise the best use of the accommodation pathway and in the development of joint initiatives.
  • Ensure Pathway KPI’s and contract requirements are met e.g.
  • Void targets
  • Minimising refusals and evictions
  • Planned moved into the private sector
  • Oversee the managements of the HSR to ensure referrals are assessed in a timely manner to maximise occupation.
  • Supply KPI monitoring information to the contract manager for reporting purposes and contract.
  • Ensure staff work collaboratively with support staff from other pathway providers to joint work with clients, share good practice and ensure clients experience a seamless and recovery focussed service.
  • Respond swiftly to incidents in the supported housing schemes and work alongside support workers to deal with incidents, ASB and evictions attending site where appropriate.
  • Be responsible for developing and overseeingthe management and operation of the staff shift pattern rota for New Ways, the out of hours on-call rota and group work/drop in rota to ensure staffing cover is always available.
Support/ Risk
  • Oversee the risk assessment and support planning processes of referred service users to ensure that presenting service user needs are congruent with the resourses that Missing Link offers.
  • Determine staff caseloads and activily manage service and staff capacity, co-ordinating the team’s support of service users using the full range of contact and support methods including: direct 1-1 support, telephone support, email, text, groups work, training courses.
  • Using recovery orientated support and psychologically informed interventions help staff to engage and support women in a creative, consistent and assertive way to ensure that positive outcomes are achieved.
  • Ensure the team’s work with service users is recovery focused, and strengths based, enabling clients to maximise their choice and control over the support they receive, and to pursue their hopes and ambitions.
  • Ensure that risk assessments and risk management plans are carried out to a high standard and these inform the support process and information is shared as appropriate in the best interest of the Service User, other Service Users and the organisation.
  • Ensure workers identify risks and safeguarding concerns and respond in a timely and appropriate manner in line with procedures.
Floating Support Service
  • Manage the Senior Support Worker to ensure the contract requirements and performance expectations are met.
  • Ensure HSR protocols and procedures are appropriately applied and managed to ensure consistant throughput of referrals, assessments, starts and ends on the services.
  • Manage the worker to ensure expectations around support are met.
  • Oversee the Senior Support Worker to develop and maintain appropriate monitoring and evaluation systems to demontrate the output, outcomes and effectiveness of the service.
  • Ensuring the quarterly and annual performance returns are completed and KPI’s metaccording to contract and internal requirements.

Client involvement and empowerment
  • Alongside Seniors and support staff create the conditions in which clients can grow and realise their potential and utilise their strengths, networks and resources to achieve their desired outcomes.
  • Take into account clients’ views and ensure our services:
  • Are accessible to all potential service users;
  • Value and respect service users as the experts of their experience;
  • Work in strength-based and solution-focused ways with clients;
  • Use service user feedback and involvement to improve our services.
  • Explore opportunities for the full range of service user involvement activities including peer support and house meetings.
  • Ensure complaints are dealt with promptly and effectively in line with policy and procedure.

Development and partnership working
  • In conjunction with theHead of Mental Health and Homeless Services work jointly and cooperatively to improve and develop services including sustaining and developing strong and effective partnerships with statutory and voluntary agencies, including commissioners.
  • Ensure productive working relationships between partner agencies to facilitate effective joint working and to maximise positive service user outcomes.
  • Work alongside the Head of Mental Health and Homeless Services in the development and implementation of new or re-configured support services.
  • Represent Missing Link at internal and external meetings, as required, promote the organisation through building professional links with outside bodies as appropriate.

HousingManagement
  • Manage the Senior Housing Worker and support her to deliver an effective and responsive housing management service across Missing Link and Next Link housing stock.
  • Alongside the Senior Housing Worker work with the partner Registered Landlords, establish and monitor the annual plan and budget for planned, cyclical and other improvement works.
  • Direct and manage the support and housing team to ensure that rental income is maximised and voids and arrears are minimised by ensuring support workers understand and carry out their responsibilities in these areas.
  • Manage the Senior Housing Worker to ensure the accommodation complies with
  • Health and Safety requirements
  • The requirements of the Standards for Supported Accommodation
  • Maintenance, repairs, renewals are carried out to a high standard, within budget
  • Voids works and re-lets are planned and managed in timely way
  • Carry out property audits to ensure the above standards are in place.
  • Provide advice to staff on complex cases requiring legal action and represent the organisation at court where necessary.
  • In consultation with the Head of Service and Finance Director, agree, establish and monitor the annual plan and budget where our responsibilities lie for repairs, voids and renewals and replacements.

Quality Assurance
  • Ensure all policies, procedures and protocols in respect the work and the services you manage are in place and adhered to, and participate in their review where appropriate.
  • Be responsible for ensuring your team are proficient in the application and use of Missing Link’s Case Management system (and any other monitoring systems required),and that clients’ records and outcomes are accurate and kept up to date through regular monitoring of caseloads, referrals, waiting lists and completeness of data.
  • Using the agreed quality standards, carry out regular service audits, including service user file reviews on the case management system, shadowing of support sessions,Housing Management file reviews, health and safety audits to make sure the service is fully compliant.
  • Fully utilise reporting functionality and identify service trends and outcomes to propose improvements to systems, processes and the client experience.

Financial Management
  • Work with the Head of Service and finance team to set the budgets for the services that you manage and take the lead responsibiltiy for managing these and ensuring spending is contained within agreed limits.
  • Authorise invoices in line with standing orders and financial regulations.

Strategy and Legal Compliance
  • Ensure the Health & Safety Policy and Procedures are followed and applied as it relates to staff, clients and the delivery of housing and support services.
  • Work alongside Missing Link’s Safeguarding Champion to ensure staff have the appropriate training and understand their responsibilities in regard to Safeguarding and Protection from Abuse strategies, policies and procedures relating to Children and Vulnerable Adults.
  • Promote equality, diversity, accessibility and inclusion. Challenge discrimination and stigma and work to the social model of disability.

Other
  • To uphold the values and good name of Missing Link at all times, represent the organisation in a way that is consistent with its philosophy and ethos and within the Missing Link’s Code of Conduct.
  • Maintain confidentiality of information about staff, service users and Missing Link’s business and be aware of the Data Protection Act 1998.
  • To attend staff meetings and take an active part in the staff development programme.
  • Develop own knowledge and practice by:
(1) Undertaking strategic training as required and relevant to role as agreed with the Chief Executive.
(2) Meet regularly with the Chief Executive for supervision, support and guidance.
  • Maintain knowledge of and follow relevant policies and procedures in day to day work.
  • Undertake other duties and responsibilities in keeping with the nature of this post as may be required from time to time.

This job description is for guidance only and outlines the general ways in which it is expected you will meet the overall requirements of this post. The list of tasks is not exhaustive and duties may be varied from time to time, with the job description being subject to review and periodic amendments