Description
As a Social Worker in our Joint Homelessness Team, you can make a powerful contribution in the lives of rough sleepers in Westminster. Losing work, relationship breakdown, traumatic life events, mental ill health, or problems with drugs and alcohol can push people already on the brink into rough sleeping. Together with our charity partners, we work to offer accommodation and support services that help people leave homelessness behind. We offer a wide range of housing and outreach support services to help homeless people regain their independence – from day centres and hostels, to specialist supported housing services for people with mental health problems, learning disabilities and young homeless people. We also offer counselling to help people overcome drug and alcohol addiction, befriending services and employment and skills training.
You’ll join a social work team that’s co-located alongside healthcare staff from our local NHS Trust. In a truly collaborative environment, you’ll discover scope to deliver outstanding results faster than you might expect. Especially because you’ll also develop strong links with other services, and with service users’ families. Working with rough sleepers who have co-morbidities, complex social care needs, enduring mental illness, and in some cases addiction challenges, you will be instrumental to developing packages of care that are tailored to the individual. With responsibilities including statutory social work assessments and the duties of an Approved Mental Health Professional, you’ll enjoy a truly fulfilling opportunity to help people live happier, healthier and more secure lives, in which they’re more included as part of our community.
As a qualified, registered social worker, you’ll be an Approved Mental Health Professional (or willing to train as one). Ideally, you’ll have some experience in working with adults who have mental health problems. Naturally, you’ll also bring to the role a good knowledge of relevant legislation and guidance. Comfortable working with people from a wide range of ethnic and cultural groups, you’ve got excellent communication and relationship building skills.
Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme, will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role.
At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is Our Westminster Way.
The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application , we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.
As a forward thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.