Homeless Prevention Worker - Coventry

The main focus of the role will be to assist in the delivery of an Advice and Wellbeing services that will work alongside the local authority’s duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

We usually respond within two weeks

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. StBasils 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 challengingbehaviours. Youshould 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

• Locations
• Coventry

Coventry

Our Mission & Vision

Our Mission
St Basils works with young people to:

• Enable them to find and keep a home
• Develop their confidence, skills and opportunities
• Prevent youth homelessness

Our Vision

Our vision for all young people is that:

• Homelessness is not part of their experience of growing up
• There are integrated education, employment and housing pathways
• They are able to access the support and development opportunities they need to secure their futures and realise their potential

Our vision for St Basils is that:

By 2027 we will continue to be the leading provider of accommodation, support and psychologically informed services for young people across the West Midlands.

• Our service developments will include:
  • Increasing our bed spaces outside Birmingham and growing our services in new areas
  • a nationally renowned centre of excellence for young people with complex needs
  • extending our service offer to Care Leavers
  • additional Live and Work schemes for young people engaged in education, training and work
• We are the national lead for:
  • Psychologically informed consultancy, training and reflective practice services
  • Youth Voice engagement and support

About St Basils

From 2024- 20254,118 young people received advice and support

1,685 young people were supported by us during the year

1,053 young people lived in our 40+ accommodation schemes

Up to 582 young people lived with us at any one time

91% of young people moved on from St Basils in a planned, positive way