It does not matter whether your route into support work has been through housing, social care, homelessness, youth work, community services or lived experience-informed practice. If you care about young people having a safe, supportive place to call home, and you know how to lead with compassion, clarity and respect, this could be the next move for you.

Supported Accommodation South Ayrshire helps reduce repeat homelessness by providing high-quality housing support in Ayr for young people aged 16 to 25. As Senior Support Worker, you will support the Service Manager with the day-to-day leadership of the programme and help make sure young people receive safe, person-centred and strengths-based support.

Right There has spent 200 years standing alongside people in Scotland. Last year, we supported almost 4,000 people to stay in their homes and stay connected to the people they love. We provide tailored support for people living with the effects of homelessness, poverty, addiction or family breakdown, meeting people where they are with no judgement and walking alongside them at the right time.

What you’ll do

• Lead and support a team. You will build positive relationships with Support Workers, provide regular supervision and appraisals, support rota planning and help create a team culture where colleagues feel supported to do their best work.
• Keep young people at the centre. You will make sure support plans, risk assessments, reviews and Keeping You Safe Plans are meaningful, up to date and focused on each person’s strengths, safety and aspirations.
• Support a safe, high-quality service. You will help maintain a safe environment, support high standards of accommodation, audit files, follow incident processes and report required Care Inspectorate notifications.
• Work in a trauma-informed way. You will promote person-centred planning, unconditional positive regard, psychologically informed practice and harm reduction approaches.
• Build strong relationships locally. You will represent Right There with local authority colleagues, social work, housing services and community partners, supporting links that help young people move forward.
• Support improvement and participation. You will contribute to team meetings, reflective practice, service development, complaints resolution and opportunities for the people we support to shape the service.

What you’ll bring

You may already be supervising or leading a team in housing, social care or support services, or you may be ready to take the next step into a broader leadership role. We are interested in the experience you bring, the way you work with people and your commitment to learning.

• You hold SVQ Level 3 in Social Services and Health Care, or an equivalent SCQF qualification, or are willing to work towards this.
• You hold, or are willing to undertake, a relevant management or supervision qualification, such as PDA Health and Social Care Supervision.
• You have experience of supervising, leading or supporting colleagues, or can show clear leadership skills.
• You have experience of working with people whose needs are relevant to this service area.
• You understand person-centred support, professional boundaries, safeguarding, confidentiality and the importance of respectful relationships.
• You can organise your time, prioritise well, meet deadlines and support staff resources around people’s needs.
• You can communicate clearly and respectfully, including through written records, reports and day-to-day conversations.
• You are confident using Microsoft Office and can work with information to support service quality and improvement.

You do not need to have followed one fixed route into this role. Experience in third sector services, housing, social care, youth work, community support, crisis work, partnership working or team coordination could all be relevant. If this role excites you but you do not meet every point, we still encourage you to apply.

Our offer

• Full-time, permanent
• Salary up to £36,002 per annum
• Core place of work: 42 Chalmers Road, Ayr, KA7 2JQ.
• Working hours are Monday to Friday between 9.00am and 10.00pm in shifts defined by your line manager, depending on service needs. Flexibility is required to work evenings and weekends when needed.
• Annual leave of 234 hours, equivalent to 6 weeks, pro rata in the first year, rising to 312 hours, equivalent to 8 weeks, pro rata in the second year. This includes public holidays.
• People’s Pension, subject to eligibility.
• Access to flexible working around programme needs, wellbeing support, learning and development, funded qualifications where appropriate, Health Shield, Cycle to Work, Blue Light Card and other employee benefits.