Senior Social Worker

The Role:

The Homeless Intervention Team is a dedicated team working with 16 and 17 year old young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless within the next 56 days.

The team comprises of 2 Social Workers and 2 Specialist family Support Workers.

There are 2 Family Support Workers within the team that assist the Social Worker.

The focus of the work is to support the young people to remain at or return home to live with their families where it is safe for them to do so.

Where young people are unable to remain living at home we explore with them and their families their accommodation options and undertake assessments to identify areas where they may require support to develop their independent living skills to ensure a positive move on into appropriate accommodation.

Many of the young people we work with have experiences trauma in their childhood and have additional vulnerabilities and are often hard to reach young people.

The team support young people through assessment, as Children in Need and also in some case as Looked After Children.

If you are someone who: Shares our passion for working with 16 and 17 year old young people and their families and has a determination to achieve positive outcomes for them Is tenacious, persistent, resilient and excellent at developing positive relationships with young people, their families and partner agencies.

Has an understanding of the issues young people have who are faced with homelessness.

Understands the legislation relating to homeless young people.

Then the Homeless Intervention Team may well be for you!

Key attributes/qualification needed for the role.

Essential:

• Significant experience of work with children and families.


• Significant post-qualifying experience as a Social Worker.


• Experience of working with children and families.
  
  It is desirable that the post holder has:


• Experience of work with abused or vulnerable children and their families.


• Experience in undertaking child abuse investigations and assessments.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

Essential

• Specialist knowledge of theories and practice relating to Social Work to achieve successful outcomes for children and families.


• Detailed knowledge of current legislation relating to children and families.


• Detailed knowledge of child development.


• The ability to communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing.


• Good inter-personal skills and the ability to relate to a wide range of people.


• The ability to organise work effectively and deal with multiple priorities.


• The ability to work as part of a multiple disciplinary team and build strong working relationships.


• Good IT skills.


• Assessment skills relating to work with children and families including complex family situations.


• Liaison and negotiation skills with other agencies and service users.
  
  It is desirable that the post holder has:


• Knowledge of child abuse, its manifestations, causes and consequences.


• Knowledge of child protection practice and procedures.


• Skills in direct work with children including those who may have been abused.


• Skills in investigation and assessment of child abuse.


• The ability to relate to children and adults from a range of cultural backgrounds.

QUALIFICATIONS/TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT:

Essential

• A professional qualification in social work.


• Current Social Work England Registration.


• The ability to travel throughout Worcester, including areas where there is limited public transport and be able to reach, including but not limited to, families, young people, internal and external clients and within a timely manner.

Desirable

• A Level 1 qualification in Essential Digital Skills or evidence of excellent IT skills in Microsoft Office.