Job Title:Youth Hub Triage Worker

JOB DESCRIPTION

Report to:Customer Service Co-ordinator

Location:St Basils Youth Hub, Heath Mill Lane, Deritend, Birmingham, B94AX

Salary:St Basils Scale 4, Point 18 – 21, £16,941 - £18,882, pro-rata,per annum.

Hours: 37½ hours per week Monday – Friday. Occasional evening/weekend

Work will be compensated with time off in lieu in negotiation with the

Customer Services Co-ordinator.

INTRODUCTION:

St Basils is a voluntary organisation and Housing Association whose mission is to work with young people to enable them to find and keep a home; to develop their confidence, skills and opportunities; and to prevent homelessness.

The age range of our clients is 16-25 years and the majority of the work is in accommodation provision, with additional services in information, advice and counselling, resettlement and family mediation, personal development and increasingly in employment, education and training and preventative work with Birmingham schools

St Basils operates over 30 sites, of these, 27 offer accommodation, with 413 bed spaces across three borough's in the West Midlands. The organisation is one of the largest working with young homeless people in the country and is the largest in the West Midlands. It employs over 200 staff.

We seek to work with young people in creative ways through the provision of facilities, the teaching of skills and the development of links with others in the community.

BACKGROUND:

The Youth Hub was established in 2010 in response to the requirements arising from the 2009 “Southwark Judgment” and the subsequent Department of Children Schools and Families guidance to Children Services and Local Housing Authorities (April 2010), which sets out local authorities duties to secure accommodation and support services for homeless 16 and 17 year old young people.

Birmingham recognises that the most effective response is provided through partnership working to maximize the effective use of resource, staff skills and expertise to provide the best possible accommodation options to prevent homelessness.

St Basils Youth Hub is funded by Birmingham City Council’s Adults and Communities Directorate and Children Young People and Families Directorate to work in partnership to provide a multi - agency service for young people aged 16-25 who may be homeless or at risk of homelessness.

St Basils provides a range of homeless prevention, housing advice and support services for this target client group. The aim of the Youth Hub is to prevent crisis homelessness through early intervention, prevention, development and delivery suitable housing pathways for young people aged 16-25.

JOB PURPOSE:

To provide a Single Access Point/ Gateway to the Youth Hub services for young people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or in housing need in Birmingham.

To ensure the delivery of an effective initial assessment of a young person housing and support needs, to identify the most appropriate options for them.

To provide a Single Access Point for young people and referral agencies.

MAIN DUTIES:

Referral/ Triage Duties

To provide a welcoming frontline service to young people whom attend the Youth Hub as homeless, at risk of homelessness or in need of housing related support.

To accept and process telephone referrals from a range of sources i.e. Neighbourhood Offices, Customer Service Centres, Local Area offices, external agencies and self-referrals.

To undertake a face to faceinitial triage service for the Youth Hub ensuring fair access to the Youth Hub services e.g. statutory services, housing related support services.

To carry out initial needs and risk assessments to determine the best options to assist the young person’s situation and assisting the young people to take up the support options available to them.

To undertake appropriate background checks.

To maintain accurate and professional case records/ notes on relevant monitoring systems.

Booking of Youth Hub appointments within the required timeframe utilising a centralised booking system and ensuring customers are notified through reminder texts.

To ensure Fair Access to Local Authority funded services such as, Floating Support.

Reception/ Administration Duty

To answer all calls in a timely and professional manner, ensuring that accurate messages are passed on the relevant services/ staff based within the Youth Hub.

To ensure all visitors are booked in upon arrival and booked out when leaving in line with health and safety procedures.

To effectively manage the meeting room booking system and ensure rooms are set up and resourced accordingly.

To assist in monitoring and maintaining service information such as customer feedback, monitoring information and resources.

Promote and publicise the service utilising a range of appropriate media in order to engage with client group such as email, text, twitter etc.

To ensure appropriate information and resources are displayed and available within the reception area.

Assistance in administering financial subsistence such as the Prevention Fund, petty cash and food bank vouchers etc.

To assist in administration support for the Youth Hub service as a whole.

Strategic Role

To highlight trends, areas for development and gaps in service provision,to line manager and assist in the development of action plans.

To represent and promote the work of the agency at relevant meetings and forums.

To attend supervision, appraisals, training, team meetings and case reviews.

To be involved in the induction of new staff and supervise/ support volunteers, trainees and students.

General

Promote good practice in equal opportunities and diversity in all aspects of the post holder’s work.

To be responsible for the health, safety and welfare of yourself and others at work.

To undertake any duties deemed necessary by the Line Manager, in order to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the organisation as a whole.

It is expected that the postholder will not pursue any other paid employment, which would interfere with the proper discharge of their duties.

To have the ability to safeguard young people and vulnerable adults at risk through appropriate escalation and reporting to statutory services e.g. Inter-agency referral and follow up work.

Media

To consult with his/her Line Manager and/or the agency's PR/Media Officer when likely to be involved in any campaigning issues or before any involvement with the media on matters relating to St Basils.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

Wherever you are initially based, it must be recognised that the company reserves the right, giving reasonable notice, to re-locate the post holder, dependent on the requirements of the organisation, at any time.

All employees MUST abide by the Terms and Conditions as per St Basils Staff Handbook and Equal Opportunities & Diversity Policy document.

Holiday:25 days per annum, plus 11 statutory/bank holidays days, pro rata.

Unsuccessful candidates

Applicants who have not been contacted within six weeks of the closing date will know that, unfortunately, they have not been successful.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Applicant should ensure that they address the requirements of the post within their application.

Requirements / Essential / Desirable / How identified
QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING
NVQ 2 Customer Service, Care, Advice and Guidance or equivalent or working towards /  / Application form
EXPERIENCE
Types of Work in some of the following environments:
Youth Homelessness, Youth and Community Work, Social Work or Probation or Health,Residential
Duration: Working with volunteers/Students /  /  / Application form
Interview
KNOWLEDGE
Flexible in approach to work
Flexible in weekend/evening work
Ability to work with figures, understanding of budgets etc.
Housing Rights knowledge
Welfare Rights knowledge
Relevant Legal knowledge relating to Homelessness
Relevant Legal knowledge relating to Childrens Law
Knowledge of and Commitment to E.O.P./Anti-Discriminatory practice
Knowledge of Social Skills / 
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Interview
Test
SKILLS
Legible Handwriting
Professional telephone manner
Ability to work with figures
Ability to keep accurate records
Ability to communicate verbally and non-verbally
Ability to work on own and in a team
Ability to communicate with those in authority, external agencies and staff
Ability to maintain a comprehensive and accurate filing system of both electronic and paper records.
Ability to manage conflict
Ability to relate to young people
Ability to integrate projects/agency as a whole
Ability to follow through decisions and monitor
Working knowledge of current I.T. and databases
Be proactive in the implementation of new ideas for improvement within own area of work / 
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SPECIAL APTITUDE AND KNOWLEDGE
Ability to use initiative
Knowledge based about Young People and Homelessness
Knowledge based of Local Authority and Government funding
Ability to take responsibility for own work
Ability to follow decisions and monitor results / 
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Form
Interview
MOTIVATION
Commitment to task
Commitment to ideas of the organisation
Self-Reliance
Stress tolerance
Career ambition / 
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