Accommodation caseworker

We are looking for a committed individual with strong experience of working with vulnerable women to provide essential, tailored casework support for residents living in Ella’s’ safe house accommodation. You’ll need to be caring and professional, passionate about the vision and mission of Ella’s, and able to maintain and develop strong partnerships with other community organisations and groups, both locally within boroughs and London-wide. The ideal candidate will be welcomed into a small but dynamic organisation, supporting and empowering women to recover from the trauma they’ve been through, and build lives that are safe and free.

Special conditions
● You will be asked to provide a basic DBS check.
● Due to the nature of this work, this role is for women only.
● The postholder is expected to take part in the out of hours on-call service.
● Ability and willingness to work flexibly, and at other Ella’s locations.

Two reasons why you should join Ella’s
1. You will make a difference: Ella’s is a London-based organisation working with women who have survived trafficking and sexual exploitation. Join us, and be a crucial part of ensuring survivors have all they need to recover and build lives that are safe and free.
2. You will work in a great place: We are a passionate, growing organisation. Of our staff, 100% say they would recommend Ella’s as a place to work. As a team, we are strong, women-led, authentic, professional, fun and supportive of one another.

Job description 

The purpose of this role is to provide essential, tailored casework support for residents living in Ella’s’ safe house accommodation. The main responsibilities of this role are:

● Provide one-to-one support for safe house residents This includes ensuring that survivors understand their rights and that these are met, coaching survivors to identify and work towards their personal goals, supporting survivors to access appropriate services/treatment providers and ultimately be supported into independence.
● Manage social work students, placements and interns.
● Maintain and develop borough related relationships.

We are looking for a passionate individual who has strong experience of working with vulnerable women, is aligned with the vision and mission of Ella’s and can maintain and develop strong partnerships with other community organisations and groups, both locally within boroughs and London-wide. The ideal candidate will be welcomed into a small but dynamic organisation, supporting and empowering women to recover from the trauma they’ve been through, and build lives that are safe and free. The role also offers opportunities to contribute to the direction and vision of Ella’s.

Key tasks
Casework provision
● Provide high quality casework support to residents (housing, financial, legal, mental health, and physical wellbeing support)
● Support survivor empowerment to speak out and self-advocate
● Carry out regular risk assessment with survivors and respond to any safeguarding concerns as per Ella’s’ safeguarding procedures
● Provide day-to-day support and build trusting relationships with the service users
● Be sensitive to the rapidly changing emotional and physical needs of the service users and respond accordingly
● Manage all paperwork, processing any personal data in accordance with Ella’s’ policies and procedures
● Ensure casenote records are recorded within 24 hours of each service user contact using Ella’s’ case management system
● Assist service users with administrative tasks as required: reaching out to supporting agencies, booking appointments, form-filling, and attending appointments
● Assume an advocacy role during external appointments, if required
● Assist in writing covering letters and support letters to compliment service users’ application forms, advocate for the service user in specific needs, or to keep other organisations updated as required
● Research the requirements for benefit applications and assisting service users to complete (as required)
● Liaise effectively with other agencies involved in the care or support of service users to ensure their needs are sufficiently met
● Manage referrals and new intakes
● Help create survivor led support plans
● Work collaboratively with other accommodation caseworkers
● Encourage and supporting survivors to attend sessions and activities inside and outside of Ella's

Volunteer coordination
● Oversee social work students and/or interns placed within the safe house, with support from the service manager
● Ensure relevant policies and procedures are upheld by self, all volunteers and visitors who come into contact with survivors
● Adhere to and ensure all students and interns have a good knowledge of Ella’s’ casework management forms and recording systems and oversee the consistent use of these
● Provide regular supervision to students and interns Safeguarding, and health and safety
● Work in collaboration with the Safehousee and Facilities Manager
● Ensure all major incidents, accidents, safeguarding concerns or potential hazards are managed, reported and recorded according to Ella’s’ policies and procedures
● Participate in the identification and assessment of risks and implement agreed working procedures to minimise their impact; writing risk assessments as required
● Promote awareness of health and safety amongst service users, including those who use emergency/on call systems, fire prevention and control systems as necessary
● Ensure the location confidentiality of Ella’s’ premises to protect survivors and safeguard staff and volunteers
● Participate in any relevant Safeguarding training and keep up to date with any changes to Ella’s’ safeguarding policies and procedures

Accommodation and risk management
● Run regular house meetings and house outings for residents
● Support residents with housing benefit and service charges
● Manage all paperwork in the premises, processing any personal data in accordance with Ella’s’ Data Protection Policy and procedures
● Handle emergency situations calmly and professionally
● Ensure all safety and security procedures are followed to keep self and others safe
● Maintain a safe and secure working environment
● Ensure the location confidentiality of Ella’s’ premises to protect survivors and safeguard staff and volunteers

Other/general duties
● Develop strategic partnerships with local agencies working within the Violence Against Women and Girls sector and other local organisations or businesses that could enrich the work of Ella’s
● Take part in the out of hours on-call service
● Attend any training required for the role, keeping up to date with any developments and changes within the sector
● Represent the work at Ella’s with integrity at all times
● Adhere to all of Ella's policies and procedures at all times
● Be an active member of the organisation, attending any team meetings that are required and contribute to Ella's’ strategic goals and input into its direction of growth
● Attend monthly supervision with the service manager and keep in regular contact
● Manage all paperwork, processing any personal data in accordance with Ella’s’ policies and procedures
● Support Ella’s’ fundraising and external communications by assisting with the gathering of stories, data and so on
● Complete any other duties as directed by the service manager which are within the scope of the role

See attachments for Person Specification and how to apply