Womens Support Worker

PURPOSE OF POSITION

This role is responsible for delivering a high-quality, trauma-informed and gender-informed support service for women living in the Complex Needs service. The post-holder will hold a caseload of women residents who may be experiencing multiple disadvantage, including homelessness, rough sleeping, domestic abuse, mental ill health, substance use, exploitation, offending histories, social isolation and complex trauma.

The Women’s Support Worker will provide persistent, compassionate and practical support to women who may find it difficult to trust services, sustain engagement or accept support consistently. The role requires someone who can build safe, respectful relationships at the woman’s pace, while maintaining clear professional boundaries and supporting women to stabilise, feel safer, reduce risk and work towards their own goals.

The post-holder will work as part of the wider frontline support team, leading on support planning, advocacy and multi-disciplinary working for women residents. They will also support colleagues’ day to day to apply gender-informed practice, strengthen engagement with women and ensure support is coordinated, responsive and centred on women’s safety, choice and wellbeing.

This role forms part of a seven-day rota and will include some evening and weekend working.

WHY THIS ROLE IS DIFFERENT

This specialist frontline role is for someone who wants to make a real difference with women who have experienced exclusion, trauma and barriers to support. You will hold a focused caseload, build trust and coordinate support that helps women feel safer, more connected and able to move forward.

At Your Place, you will join a values-led organisation committed to ending homelessness and providing safe, supportive accommodation. You will be supported through reflective practice, team learning and collaboration with colleagues, managers and partners.

This role gives you the opportunity to shape gender-informed support across the Complex Needs service. You will support colleagues with engagement, risk, safety and advocacy, while keeping women’s voices, choices and experiences central to support planning. Our Values in this role:

• Compassion: We meet women with empathy, patience and respect.

• Inclusion: We value women’s identities, experiences and voices.

• Collaboration: We work with women, colleagues and partners to reduce risk and improve outcomes.

• Growth: We support women, colleagues and services to learn, develop and build on strengths.

RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Deliver safe, consistent and high-quality support to women living in the Complex Needs service.

• Hold and manage a caseload of women residents, ensuring support plans, risk assessments and safety plans are clear, current and outcome focused.

• Lead on casework, advocacy, support planning and reviews, ensuring agreed actions are followed through and progress is recorded.

• Build trusting, persistent and professional relationships with women who may be difficult to engage, distrustful of services or reluctant to accept support.

• Use trauma-informed, gender-informed, strengths-based and motivational approaches to assess needs, plan support and promote positive change.

• Assess, monitor and respond to safeguarding concerns, risk, incidents, non-engagement and changes in presentation, escalating concerns appropriately.

• Coordinate multi-agency support with health, mental health, substance misuse, domestic abuse, criminal justice, adult social care, housing, police and specialist women’s services.

• Lead or contribute to MDT meetings and case discussions, ensuring clear actions, accountability and follow-up to reduce risk and improve outcomes.

• Promote women’s safety, recognising risks linked to trauma, exploitation, coercion, abuse, unsafe relationships, rough sleeping and homelessness.

• Support women to access healthcare, benefits, mental health support, substance misuse services, advocacy, legal advice, education, training and meaningful activity.

• Support the wider frontline team to apply gender-informed approaches in day-to-day casework, engagement, risk management and safeguarding practice.

• Respond to referrals, ensuring eligibility, risks and support needs are clearly understood and recorded.

• Maintain accurate, timely and high-quality records of casework, support activity, safeguarding actions, risk, outcomes and multi-agency communication.

• Work within Your Place policies and procedures, including safeguarding, equality and diversity, data protection, health and safety and professional boundaries.

• Contribute to reflective practice, team learning and service improvement within a Psychologically Informed Environment.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The requirements below set out the experience, knowledge and personal qualities needed for this role. We welcome candidates with relevant direct experience, education, training or lived understanding of the issues affecting women with complex needs.

Experience, education and knowledge

• Experience of supporting women or adults experiencing multiple disadvantage, complex needs, homelessness, rough sleeping, trauma, domestic abuse, mental ill health, substance use, exploitation or social exclusion.

• Relevant education, training or qualification in women’s support, trauma-informed practice, safeguarding, domestic abuse, mental health, substance use, social care, psychology, criminology, housing, homelessness or a related field.

• Experience of building trust with people who may be difficult to engage, inconsistent in contact, distrustful of services or reluctant to accept support.

• Experience of holding or contributing to a caseload, completing support plans, risk assessments, safety plans, reviews and case notes.

• Understanding of safeguarding, risk management, professional boundaries, confidentiality, equality and diversity, and data protection.

• Awareness of multi-agency working and the role of health, mental health, substance misuse, domestic abuse, criminal justice, adult social care, housing and specialist women’s services.

Skills and abilities

• Ability to provide trauma-informed, gender-informed, strengths-based and practical support.

• Ability to assess risk, respond to safeguarding concerns and escalate appropriately.

• Ability to advocate for women and coordinate support with colleagues and external partners.

• Ability to communicate clearly, build professional relationships and maintain boundaries.

• Ability to manage a caseload, prioritise work and keep accurate records.

• Ability to support women to access services, build confidence and take realistic steps towards safety, stability and independence.

• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office and case management systems, or willingness to learn.

Personal qualities

• Compassionate, non-judgemental and respectful, with a strong commitment to supporting women affected by homelessness, trauma and multiple disadvantage.

• Patient, persistent and able to build trust at the woman’s pace.

• Reflective and open to learning, supervision, feedback and development.

• Calm and professional when responding to challenging, high-risk or emotionally demanding situations.

• Able to work independently while contributing positively to a wider frontline team.

• Committed to Your Place values of Compassion, Inclusion, Collaboration and Growth.

Desirable

• Experience in a women-only service, complex needs accommodation, rough sleeping pathway, domestic abuse service or specialist homelessness service.

• Experience using In-Form or a similar case management system.

• Knowledge of local services and pathways for women experiencing homelessness, domestic abuse, mental health needs, substance use or exploitation.

Offer of this role is subject to satisfactory DBS and employment checks being completed before starting employment.