Housing First Senior Support Worker

Salary - Grade 4 - £35,581 plus an essential car user allowance of £802.00 per annum

Full time - 35 hours per week

Contract: Fixed term until 27th July 2027

Location: Weymouth, Dorset

Closing date: Sunday 1st November 2026 at 11.30pm

Join Shelter as a Senior Support Worker, in our mission to drive systemic change and fight for housing justice. At a time when the housing emergency continues to deepen, your experience could help transform lives and challenge the systems that perpetuate injustice. Come and play a central role in our mission to defend the right to a safe, and secure home. Working with Shelter means being part of a passionate team that believes a safe home is a fundamental right. Here, your skills don't just change lives - they shape a fairer housing system.

About the role

You will need to build relationships with a caseload of people with multiple complex needs in order to engage them with Housing First services. Together, you will then develop co-produced, outcome-focused support plans that reflect each individual's personal strengths and goals. We will also rely on you to co-ordinate interventions provided by other agencies to make sure the right support is provided at the right time, and to develop relationships with landlords to secure accommodation options. Motivating and leading the Housing First delivery team, ensuring the service adheres to our quality standards and meets required contract outcomes and adopting and modelling best practice - all are aspects of this vital role.

The Housing First project places clients into stable, independent accommodation and helps them maintain their tenancy. Each tenancy will be underpinned with wraparound support and in line with the principles of Housing First, retaining a tenancy will not be dependent on engaging with support or treatment services.

About you

You will need experience of managing, supporting and developing staff and volunteers, including monitoring quality of work and providing support services to people with multiple disadvantage and you are able to deliver to an assertive outreach model. Knowledge of the key principles of the Housing First model and how to use provisions available within housing and homeless legislation to secure accommodation is important too. You will be used to working within a safeguarding framework and be able to communicate and collaboratively with all stakeholders. Proficiency using Microsoft Office applications and a case management system is also needed.

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.

About the team

Our team in Dorset has been providing housing advice and support services within the area for over 20 years. We have office bases in Bournemouth and Weymouth as well as working in community venues and partner organisation sites. We deliver a wide range of housing rights, legal services, community and support work and advocate for change to fix the broken housing system.

About Shelter

Home is a human right. It's our foundation and where we thrive. Yet everyday millions of people are being devastated by the housing emergency.

We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Because home is everything.

We need ambitious, passionate people to join us. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. To win this fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, equitable and transparent. We are committed to combating racism both within and outside Shelter. We welcome you on our journey to becoming truly anti-racist.

How to apply

Please click 'Apply for Job' on the advert. You are required to submit your work history and a supporting statement with responses to the following points in the 'About you' section of the job description of no more than 1000 words in total. Please provide specific examples following the STAR format:

• Knowledge of the key principles of the Housing First Model and how to use provisions available within housing and homeless legislation to secure accommodation

• Experience of supporting people with multiple disadvantage, and an ability to deliver to an assertive outreach model

• Effective communication skills with all stakeholders, including people with lived experience of homelessness

• Experience of working within a Safeguarding framework and the demonstrable ability to respond effectively to concerns

• Experience of managing and supporting staff including monitoring the quality of work; supporting the development of support workers and ensuring the effectiveness of the service delivery.

Safeguarding Statement

Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.

Recruitment Agencies

Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them