Everyone deserves a safe place to call home.
Company Limited by Guarantee number 1741926 Charity Number 287779 Registered in England as Single Homeless Project
shp Single Homeless Project
Job title: Senior Practitioner
Delegated Authority: Level 7
Team: Camden Young Person’s High Support Accommodation
Responsible to: Service Manager
Responsible for: N/A
Job purpose
At Camden Young Person’s High Support Accommodation Service, this role exists to strengthen the quality, confidence and consistency of frontline practice with young people who are navigating high levels of risk, uncertainty and change. Many of the young people we work alongside will have experienced care, trauma, disrupted relationships, mental ill health, substance use, exploitation, offending or other barriers that can make trust, safety and progress feel difficult to hold onto. This role helps ensure they are met with skilled, thoughtful and persistent support that sees their potential as clearly as their risk.
As Senior Practitioner, you will bring depth, steadiness and practice leadership to the service. You will work alongside colleagues on complex cases, helping them think through risk, engagement, safeguarding, support planning and move-on in a way that is trauma informed, psychologically informed and rooted in young people’s strengths. This is not a line management role; it is about modelling excellent practice, asking the right questions, offering clear guidance and helping staff stay confident and purposeful when work becomes challenging or stuck.
Working closely with the Service Manager, you will help shape a service where young people experience support that is joined up, consistent and ambitious for their future. Through direct work, coaching, reflective practice and strong partnership working, you will help young people build trust, understand their options and take meaningful steps towards safety, independence and a life that feels more their own.
Key accountabilities
Practice leadership and staff support
Provide coaching, guidance and reflective support to frontline staff, helping strengthen practice and consistency across the service.
Model trauma informed, psychologically informed and strengths-based practice in day-to-day work with young people and colleagues.
Support staff to think through complex cases, including risk, non-engagement, conflict, distress and behaviour that may challenge.
Contribute to reflective practice, case discussions and learning spaces where required by the Service Manager.
Support planning, risk and casework
Support the team to ensure young people have clear, up-to-date support and safety plans that reflect their needs, strengths, risks and goals.
Hold a caseload where required, ensuring direct work is purposeful, well recorded and aligned with SHP’s casework expectations.
Support staff to complete strong assessments and understand the links between risk, trauma, relationships, accommodation and future options.
Help ensure incidents, safeguarding concerns and changes in risk are responded to, recorded and escalated appropriately.
Care navigation and partnership working
Build and maintain strong knowledge of local services, referral routes and support pathways for young people.
Support staff to advocate effectively for young people with partners including social care, CAMHS, youth offending, health, substance use and accommodation providers.
Contribute to multi-agency meetings, reviews and pathway planning to support joined-up responses for young people.
Help strengthen relationships with internal and external partners so young people can access the right support at the right time.
Young people’s progress, recovery and independence
Support staff to help young people understand their choices, build motivation and take practical steps towards independence.
Promote meaningful activity, education, training, wellbeing, life skills and move-on planning as part of everyday support.
Help young people identify strengths, build confidence and work towards goals that feel realistic and meaningful to them.
Contribute to the development and review of activities, interventions and opportunities that support progress.
Housing, service standards and information management
Support strong housing management practice, including rent/service charge prompts, repairs, voids, licence agreements and property standards.
Support staff to use SHP systems accurately to record support, risk, incidents, complaints, housing management activity and outcomes.
Use reports and case information to help identify gaps, monitor quality and support improvements in practice.
Promote safe working practice, including health and safety, lone working, confidentiality and data protection.
Safeguarding, quality and service development
Act as a point of guidance for staff on safeguarding concerns, working in line with SHP policy and local safeguarding procedures.
Support a consistent approach to responding to missing young people, exploitation concerns, harm, abuse and other safeguarding risks.
Contribute to quality assurance, Ofsted-related expectations and service improvement activity where required.
Work with the Service Manager to develop flexible approaches that improve outcomes for young people and strengthen team practice.
Miscellaneous
SHP is at discretion to amend your responsibilities and, in addition to these, you may be required to perform other duties as may be required for the efficient running of the organisation.
To create inclusive working environments and cultures to enable colleagues and clients to feel safe and empowered to achieve their full potential.
Technical and professional know-how needed for position
When completing your application, you will be required to address (using examples) some of the points below
Experience and Knowledge
Experience supporting practice, coaching colleagues or leading complex casework in supported accommodation, youth work, social care, housing or a similar setting.
Strong understanding of working with young people facing high levels of need, risk and multiple disadvantage.
Good understanding of support planning, risk assessment, safeguarding and casework practice with young people.
Knowledge of trauma informed, psychologically informed, strengths based and recovery focused approaches.
Understanding of housing management in supported accommodation, including rent/service charge issues, repairs, voids and licence agreements.
Awareness of Ofsted-related expectations, quality standards and safe practice within young people’s accommodation services.
Skills and Abilities
Able to coach, guide and support colleagues without formal line management responsibility.
Confident supporting staff and young people through challenging situations, including distress, conflict, risk and non-engagement.
Strong communication skills, with the ability to record clearly, share information appropriately and work well with partners.
Able to coordinate work across staff and agencies so actions are followed through and young people receive joined-up support.
Able to use data, reports and case information to identify gaps, improve practice and support service quality.
Able to manage competing priorities, remain organised and work calmly in a busy accommodation setting.