Multiple Roles with CHESS Homeless
Office Administrator
Hours per week: 37.5 hours (Monday to Friday, 9 to 5pm with occasional evening, weekend and bank holiday working, as required.)
Salary Scale: £26,000
Location: Hodgkinson House, 200 New London Road. Chelmsford.
Overall purpose of the job
The Office Administrator will provide effective administrative, reception, records and office support to help ensure the smooth running of the organisation. The role will support staff, volunteers, clients and service delivery teams by maintaining accurate records, coordinating routine administration, assisting with meetings and events, and ensuring information is handled securely and professionally.
Key Responsibilities
- Reception, Communication and General Office Support
- Office Facilities, Supplies and Equipment
- Meetings, Training and Events Administration
- HR, Recruitment and Volunteer Administration
- Records, Databases and Compliance Support
- Donations and Basic Finance Administration
- Projects, Investigations and Service Support
Safeguarding and Confidentiality
The post holder must work in line with the organisation’s safeguarding, confidentiality, data protection, health and safety, equality and diversity policies and procedures. They must report any safeguarding concerns promptly and handle all sensitive information securely and appropriately.
Person Specification
Essential Criteria
- Good administrative and organisational skills, with the ability to manage routine tasks, maintain accurate records and prioritise workload effectively.
- Good written and verbal communication skills, including a professional telephone manner and the ability to deal with visitors, staff, volunteers and clients appropriately.
- Ability to use Microsoft Office, email, calendars, databases and electronic filing systems.
- Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with discretion and in line with organisational procedures.
- A flexible, reliable and professional approach, with the ability to work as part of a team and support the wider organisation when required.
Desirable Criteria
- Experience of working in a charity, housing, homelessness, support, health and social care or similar service environment.
- Experience of using databases, maintaining compliance records, supporting DBS processes or assisting with volunteer administration.
Support Worker
Hours per week: 37.5 hours
Salary Scale: £26,500 (£27,474 Pro rata per annum depending on experience.)
Working hours: 37.5 hours weekly Monday to Sunday between the hours of 8am and 9pm including weekends, and bank holiday working.
Overall purpose of the job
The Support Worker role is to provide practical support and guidance to service users who have experienced homelessness. The support will be effective and responsive to equip individuals to move on independently. The role will involve partnership working with relevant agencies for a joined-up approach.
Key Responsibilities:
- Assess the needs of homeless individuals approaching CHESS for support and help the team identify suitable applicants for CHESS accommodation.
- Deliver high quality support and guidance, developing support plans with individuals, that reflect their ambitions and aspirations with clear actions for achieving these.
- Make appropriate referrals to agencies regarding accommodation and specialist support.
- Assist in providing broader homelessness prevention services including giving advice, support, advocacy, making homeless applications and contributing to eviction prevention work as assigned from time to time.
- Effectively and professionally manage a case load of residents as allocated.
- Work to maintain expertise in regard to what accommodation options are available and ensure residents understand their rights and options. Providing information and advice on welfare rights, housing options, tenancy rights and responsibilities, and advocacy and assertiveness skills support in these areas.
- Work with clients to identify their own housing issues, give advice and support them in addressing these issues.
- Actively support residents to achieve tangible progress in areas such as tenancy management, independent living skills and training/education.
- Assist with the transfer of moves for service users in, out and within CHESS accommodation.
Service Delivery:
- To ensure residents receive a welcoming, supportive and positive experience whilst accessing CHESS services.
- To build warm, positive relationships with service users, keeping their best interests at heart.
- To complete support referrals, risk assessments, support plans and meetings.
- To ensure all service users have an accurate, fully maintained electronic case file.
- Contribute to risk assessments and safeguarding plans.
- Provide person-centred support to help residents achieve personal goals and aspirations for independent living, training, employment and education.
- To work with clients to improve skills and overcome barriers so they are able to successfully move on to independent housing
- Working with residents throughout their stay in CHESS accommodation with regular meetings focussed on clients working towards personal goals and celebrating success.
- Motivating and facilitating residents to be actively involved in meaningful daytime activity including skills development, training, volunteering, employment, healthy activities.
- Working with residents to help them learn, or improve, their practical life skills (eg budgeting, paying bills, planning meals) needed for their survival in independent housing.
- To support and promote diversity and equality of opportunity in the workplace.
Person Specification
- Behavioural Competencies
- A proactive, solution focused attitude
- Self-motivated and self-disciplined
- Focus on achieving results for clients and funders
- High level of persuasive and negotiating skills- Able to resolve conflict
- Tenacity and an innovative attitude
- Be able to work alone following the lone working policy and procedure
- Must have good interpersonal/communication skills and be able to work within a team.
- Desire to learn new skills and navigate IT systems
- Confidential
- To be able to represent the Charity and its Ethos in the community
- Able to deal with challenging behaviour in a calm manner.
Other requirements for the role:
A full driving licence is required for this post to facilitate house checks, support activities and moves
This role is subject to the satisfactory completion of a DBS check
Both job descriptions are a general outline of the duties and responsibilities of the post holder and may be amended by CHESS Homeless as the service develops and the expectations of the role change. The post holder may be required to undertake other duties as may reasonably be required from time to time.
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