Homeless Prevention Worker - Coventry

CLOSING DATE: Tuesday 21st April 2026

Job Title: Homeless Prevention Worker

Reports to: Homeless Prevention Coordinator

Salary: Scale 6, Points 26-28, £27,016 - £28,821 per annum, pro rata

Hours of work: Full Time (37.5 hours per week)

At St Basils, we are dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect our staff to create an environment and culture that promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion and advocate for anti-discriminatory practices and behaviours.

Key Responsibilities:

ASSESSMENT/ SUPPORT

• To process and triage referrals – agency and self-referrals via telephone, electronic and walk-ins.

• To undertake comprehensive and detailed assessments of housing and support needs and risks, to ensure the prevention of homelessness, where safe to do so.

• To undertake investigations into housing and personal history to ascertain eligibility, priority need and local connection to support the local authority.

• To ensure relevant background checks are undertaken to assist in the development of a robust risk management plan.

• To maintain accurate and professional electronic case records, ensuring internal and external data and monitoring systems are always kept up to date.

• To provide high quality homelessness and housing advice to young people, ensuring that their needs are met, and expectations managed.

• To make and issue decisions in line with legislation under the Housing Act 1996 and Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

• To present cases where a homelessness main duty is owed under the relief pathway in a timely manner to the local authority.

• To manage a case load of young people through the prevention and/or relief pathways.

• To build and maintain effective and professional working relationships with internal and external partners/agencies.

• To provide a holistic multi-agency response to young people’s housing and support needs.

o Preferred on and signposted appropriately to relevant services e.g. Floating Support, specialist agencies

o Engaging with the actions of their PHP

o provided with the relevant support (56 day duty), leading to the prevention or relief of homelessness

• 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.

• To operate within a duty system at the Youth Hub

ADVOCACY

• To promote young people’s comprehension of assessment and application processes, ensuring that they are supported to fully understand their rights, decision outcomes and the decision review process.

• To advise and advocate on issues relating to benefits, accessing specialist support services, housing rights etc. ensuring the young people are fully supported to access such services.

• To utilise legal advice services to effectively advocate on a young person’s behalf.

HOME VISIT & MEDIATION

• To undertake mediation sessions with young people and their excluders to improve relationships and prevent homelessness incl. initial meetings and family sessions.

• To utilize agreed assessment tools to identify the needs of a young person and complex trauma. St Basils provides a programme of PIE training and reflective practice to help staff understand the behaviours of the young people that we work with and help staff to work more creatively and constructively with challenging behaviours. You should actively engage with St Basils PIE programme and all events and activities that you are required to attend.

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential:

• NVQ 3 Advice & Guidance, Health & Social Care or equivalent or working towards Youth Work, Social Work or equivalent

Desirable:

• Housing qualification

ROLE EXPERIENCE

Essential:

• Working with young people in the following settings/Types of work – Youth Work, Residential or Social Work, Probation, Community Work, Education and Training, Housing.

• Delivering frontline triage or assessment service

Desirable:

• Working with volunteers/students

KNOWLEDGE:

Essential:

• Housing Rights, Welfare Reform Knowledge

• Housing Legislation; i.e. Housing Act and Homelessness Reduction Act

• Knowledge of Children’s Act i.e. Section 17, 20 and 47

• Knowledge of and commitment to E.O.P/Anti-Discriminatory practice

• Knowledge of Social Skills/Job Training Skills

Desirable:

• Ability to work with figures

• Ability to maintain and improve standards