Street Outreach Worker

About the role

Reaching out, building trust, changing futures.

Are you passionate about making a real difference to people's lives?

As a Street Outreach Worker, you will play a vital role in supporting people who are sleeping rough across North Northamptonshire. Through outreach, engagement and partnership working, you will build trusted relationships with some of the area's most vulnerable residents, helping them access accommodation, support services and opportunities to move towards a more stable future.

Working across North Northamptonshire, you will deliver a proactive and person-centred outreach service, identify those at risk of homelessness, support rough sleepers into accommodation, and help individuals sustain their housing to prevent repeat homelessness. This is a rewarding opportunity to make a lasting impact within local communities while working alongside a wide range of statutory and voluntary sector partners.

What will you be doing?

As a Street Outreach Worker, you will be at the forefront of supporting people experiencing rough sleeping across North Northamptonshire. Through outreach, partnership working and person-centred support, you will build trusted relationships with individuals, helping them access accommodation, improve their wellbeing and take positive steps towards a more stable future.

• Conduct regular outreach sessions to identify, engage and support people sleeping rough.
• Build trusting relationships and provide intensive, person-centred support tailored to individual needs.
• Carry out assessments, develop support plans and coordinate appropriate interventions.
• Help individuals access accommodation, healthcare, substance misuse services, benefits advice and other support services.
• Support people to develop independent living skills and sustain accommodation, reducing the risk of repeat homelessness.
• Work closely with Housing Options, Adult Social Care, healthcare providers and other partner agencies to deliver coordinated support.
• Lead and contribute to multi-agency meetings for individuals with complex needs.
• Work proactively with hospitals, prisons, landlords and accommodation providers to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping.
• Support the delivery of rough sleeper initiatives, including annual rough sleeper counts and Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) responses.
• Maintain accurate case records and act as an advocate for rough sleepers, ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are met.
• Develop positive relationships with community and voluntary organisations to increase support opportunities for those experiencing homelessness.

About you

• Hold a minimum of 5 GCSE’s grade A-C (or other Level 2 NVQ qualification) or able to demonstrate an equivalent capability
• Experience of working / volunteering in housing or care related post providing support to vulnerable customers
• Practical experience of assessment, providing support, key working and advocacy with persons/groups requiring support
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• A good understanding and awareness of housing and homelessness issues
• A good understanding and knowledge of the main causes of rough sleeping, the barriers that people face when trying to access accommodation and support services
• Working knowledge of the welfare benefits available to single homeless people
• Ability to form and develop professional and effective working relationships with colleagues, partners and service users and work effectively and enthusiastically as part of a team
• The ability to work with vulnerable people in difficult situations and handle challenging behaviour
  Excellent listening and interviewing skills, with a proven ability to inspire and motivate people to improve themselves and/or others
• A skilled problem-solver and negotiator with an organised and imaginative approach to work and the ability to manage difficult and sensitive situations
• Ability to work well under pressure, on own initiative, and manage and prioritise workload
  IT and keyboard skills, including the ability to use Microsoft Office and maintain accurate records and case files
• Ability to demonstrate awareness/understanding of equal opportunities and other people’s behaviour, physical, social and welfare needs.
• Full driving licence and access to own transport for work purposes
• Willing to complete Street Outreach Sessions (outside of office hours
• This post will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check

  
  

Our Benefits

Here at North Northamptonshire Council, we’re transforming for the better, using all our creativity and imagination to create the best life for our local people.

You’ll find that we have a wide range of careers that may be more surprising than you think!

Why choose us?

We offer a vibrant working environment with:

• a competitive salary
• a pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council
• generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days
• hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work-life balance.

We provide a range of great benefits such as an Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.

About us

Our Values and Behaviours

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are:

Customer-focused
Respectful
Efficient
Supportive
Trustworthy

Our key commitments help ensure that the priorities we make, now and in the future, maintain the necessary breadth of focus in those areas that we believe matter most.

Disability Confident Employer

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and is committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role.

Our Employment and Disability Service provides bespoke support to individuals facing barriers to employment, helping them work towards their goals to start, stay and succeed in employment. For further information please click here The Employment and Disability Service (EADS) | North Northamptonshire Council

Armed Forces Community

The council obtained the Gold status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Further information can be found at Jobs and careers | North Northamptonshire Council (northnorthants.gov.uk)