Veterans Case Worker – Operation Fortitude

Full time:  37.5 hours per week 
Salary:  £26,341 Plus £4,000 London Allowance
Working Pattern:  Monday to Friday
Location:  Timber Wharf, Hackney

Applications may close before the deadline, so please apply early to avoid disappointment

For your application to be considered please ensure you complete and attach alongside your CV a Supporting Statement detailing in a few sentences why you have applied and feel you are a suitable candidate for this role

Op FORTITUDE is the newly established pathway to end veteran rough sleeping in the UK. The Op FORTITUDE Pathway Team will play a central role in achieving this by creating the links between the veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness and the organisations that can provide them the support they need.

The difference you’ll make

Preventing homelessness is critical if we are to end veteran homelessness, and for some veterans the best outcome will be keeping the home they already have but are at risk of losing.

This is a key role and on a day to day basis, you will change the lives of veterans across the country.

Your will develop relationships with the providers of services to veterans, understand the needs of the veterans referred to us, and linking the veteran with the service best able to support them to keep their home.

So, who are you?

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a team that will make a real difference to the lives of veterans in the UK and make a significant and meaningful difference.

If you have a passion for the mission, the ability to create excellent working relationships, and an understanding of the causes and solutions to homelessness, then you could be ideal for this role.

While desirable, being a member of the Armed Forces Community is not essential.

Enjoy the rewards

Working with us, you’ll enjoy competitive pay, 28 days holidays plus bank holidays, a wide range of benefits, flexible working, and the chance to learn valuable new skills. We empower our people to do great work by investing in learning, personal development, and technology.

If you’re the kind of person that wants to do a really great job and make a difference to our customers, we think you’ll love it here. Sound like a challenge you’d like to take on? Then get in touch and let’s talk about how you can help us transform lives and revitalise neighbourhoods.

We encourage applicants from all sections of the community so that we can truly reflect the neighbourhoods in which we work.

Role Profile

To work in partnership with key stakeholders to achieve the Op FORTITUDE mission to end veteran rough sleeping, which is a Government funded referral service that supports veterans who may be rough sleeping or are at risk of homelessness.

Work collaboratively as part of a committed team to deliver an outstanding service by delivering a support service/referral management service to single veterans at risk of or experiencing homeless to access suitable accommodation.

To put customers first and empower them to achieve their goals and aspirations.

Undertake a range of tasks that contribute to the safe and effective service delivery to customers.

Role requires you to:

Deliver a support service/referral management service:

• Conducting initial assessment of allocated referrals, and current housing status.
• Confirming veteran status.
• Identifying root cause of insecurity of current home.
• Identifying best solutions to address root cause.
• Developing a detailed understanding of support available, both veteran and non-veteran specific. This may include Local Authorities, Op COURAGE for mental health support, grant giving bodies for financial support, local Third Sector Floating Support services to provide ongoing tenancy sustainment support, employment support, and signposting to other relevant agencies to meet their needs.
• Making referrals to the most appropriate organisation from our list of approved providers, to assist the referred veteran to address the underlying cause of homelessness.
• Ensuring 100% compliance with the recording of all referral and case management activity.
• Contributing to and maintaining partnerships across the Op FORTITUDE Pathway.
• Carrying out day-to-day administration and operational duties.
• Assisting in the collation and submission of information returns relating to funding and performance, including capturing information for contractual requirements.
• Using IT systems appropriately, including adding updates to the referral portal.

Support customers:

You will use psychologically and trauma informed approaches to engage and support veterans to make positive choices.

Using an active casework model, you will assess:

• The immediate safety of the veteran, their current housing situation as well as the areas, levels, and complexity of their need.
• Their informal support networks in their current area (family etc.), where they currently have a ‘local connection’ and whether they are currently on an LA housing list, and likely levels of priority.

From an assessment of need, and led by the veteran’s own choice, you would be responsible for a range of supportive interventions which may include:

• Tenancy sustainment, where there is suitable and safe accommodation.
• Reconnection to family where safe and in the veteran’s best interest.
• Referral to either specialist mainstream services where their needs would be best met, to specialist veteran supported accommodation, to veteran social housing or to mainstream social housing.

Understanding the risk management process, escalating appropriately where you have concerns for the safety of the veteran or others.

Ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion is always considered.

Other Information

You will be required to:

• Work flexible hours to meet business needs.
• Travel to different locations within the defined area as and when required.
• Carry out all of your duties within Riverside’s Policy and Procedure framework e.g. health & safety, safeguarding, dignity at work, GDPR, cash handling.
• Deliver your role in line with Riverside company values – “Our Riverside Way”.
• Participate in team meetings, attend regular supervisions and reflective practice sessions.
• Undertake regular training and take responsibility for continuous development to enable you to deliver your role safely.
• From time to time, you may be required to undertake additional duties and responsibilities in consultation with your Line Manager.

Person specification

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

Essential

• An understanding of the barriers faced by vulnerable homeless people with complex needs.
• Ability to work in partnership and communicate with other people to reach positive outcomes.
• Ability to organise tasks and plan accordingly.
• Be a team player with a caring, flexible, resilient, can-do attitude.
• Ability to use initiative and have confidence to make decisions.
• Competent and accurate administrative and IT skills.

Desirable

• Understanding of the veteran sector.
• Personal lived experience of serving in the forces or of homelessness

Apply here.