Young People's Supported Accommodation Manager

YPSA Manager

Job Description

Job Title:

YPSA Manager

Salary:

Full-time £34,000- £37,000 per annum (depending on skills and experience)

Benefits include:

Generous annual leave allowance

Fair company sick pay

Maternity leave

Paternity leave

Compassionate leave

Pension scheme

Life insurance policy

Employment Assistance Program

Department:

Young people’s supported accommodation

Reports to:

YPSA Operations Manager

Direct Reports:

Progression Coaches

Availability:

Full-time, 37.5 hours per week [Oxfordshire]

Schedule:

Patterns usually alternate each week from 8.30am to 4.30pm or 11am to 7pm (will require some weekend and bank holiday work, and emergency on call work on a rotational basis)

It is essential that candidates will need to be able to drive and have access to a vehicle.

Please note that unfortunately, Oxfordshire Youth is not a sponsorship providing organisation. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Applications will be reviewed as and when they are received.

To apply, please send a copy of your CV accompanied by an application form to our recruitment team. Further information can be found here: https://oxfordshireyouth.org/job/ypsa-manager/

Oxfordshire Youth

Oxfordshire Youth is a boundary-breaking organisation, passionate about creating a future for and with young people that offers them the best possible opportunity to realise their potential. Our staff are redefining the youth sector in Oxfordshire and we envisage a world in which young people have the tools they need to approach life with creativity, resilience and brilliant mental health.

Our commitment to inclusion and diversity

OY warmly welcomes applications from the global majority, trans and non-binary people and disabled people. Your potential to learn and grow in the role is important to us, so we want to hear from you even if your CV isn’t a 100% match with a job description.

We nurture our community, creating an open, inclusive and diverse organisation where all team members feel a sense of belonging.

Young people’s supported accommodation

We are proud to have joined forces with mental health and housing charity Response to provide an innovative model of supported accommodation in Oxfordshire for young people aged 18-21. Our partnership approach ensures that:

• young people receive the best possible opportunities available
• staff receive the highest quality training to be the best coaches they can be

The YPSA model has an aspirational vision. We want to see young people transform their lives through engaging with life-changing opportunities in education, employment and training.

Our young people are being equipped with new tools and techniques to help them manage their mental health, develop financial autonomy and learn how to nurture, repair and sustain healthy relationships with the people that matter to them. For further information please visit: https://oxfordshireyouth.org/what-we-offer/supported-housing/

Job purpose

The young people’s supported accommodation (YPSA) Manager is responsible for ensuring that progression coaches provide an exceptional standard of coaching and youth work support to young people - within both their homes and community settings.

We have ambitious targets for young people’s outcomes and the YPSA Manager will be driven to make our vision of YPSA residents growing to see themselves, and be seen as, future change makers a reality.

Managing relationships expertly, with a wide range of stakeholders (in particular housing partner Response) the manager will seek out the best opportunities for young people and ensure they are taken up.

YPSA stakeholders include the Virtual School for Looked After Children, a range of charities and social enterprises, Oxford City Council’s education, employment and training (EET) specialist team, Oxfordshire’s child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) and Oxfordshire County Council.

The YPSA Manager works with the Head of Youth Services to ensure all progression coaches attend and implement learning from the wide range of training they receive. They will oversee inspirational activities promoting self-development and enabling young people to overcome the adversity they have experienced, and transform it into strengths and assets.

Oxfordshire Youth and Response have a bold new vision for this service: to provide aspirational coaching support alongside high quality temporary housing where young people feel safe, and are supported to develop healthy and positive bonds with their housemates.

The YPSA Manager will ensure all progression coaches receive high quality training enabling them to feel confident and motivated when working with young people and helping to improve their; emotional literacy skills, life skills, emotional regulation, physical wellbeing, financial empowerment, creativity and group skills.

Managers work closely with partners; Aspire, SOFEA and BYHP to ensure that positive activities and education, employment and training opportunities are integrated into every young person's support plan. Building and maintaining excellent working relationships with the teams within these organisations is of paramount importance.

Youth work principles of reflective practice, active listening and co-design will drive your work ethic. The Oxfordshire Youth YPSA team takes a youth work approach. This means you will ensure:

1. listen to, and are led by, the needs, ambitions and assets of the young person

2. support young people as they acquire the skills needed to design their roadmap to personal growth

3. are reliable, consistent and aspirational role models who clearly define and adhere to professional boundaries.

All YPSA team members receive high quality training ensuring they are upskilled to take their part in building an excellent service. YPSA managers attend up-to-date training in emotional literacy, emotional regulation, physical wellbeing, financial empowerment, creativity and group skills.

Key responsibilities and main duties

The YPSA Manager is responsible for:

Ensuring young people’s voices are valued.

They will recruit to and support the Children and Young People’s forum (CYP) and be actively involved in the design, delivery and implementation of the new service model, ensuring children and young people are actively listened to and that their ideas, interests and concerns are central to our engagement process. The YPSA Manager supports Care Leaders consultants in the development of a CYP service-wide participation and co-design strategy that actively supports the values and objectives of the organisation.

Pathway plans

Take overall responsibility for ensuring that children and young people’s individual pathway plans are in place, reflect assessed needs and aspirations, and are implemented, regularly reviewed and updated to reflect day-to-day changes.

Management

Provide leadership and model high quality management skills to progression coaches, night and weekend workers through regular supervision and group reflective practice.

Supporting progression coaches

Ensure that individual children and young people’s needs and aspirations are assessed appropriately and sufficient resources available to meet them. This includes planning and leading thorough and robust induction programmes involving probation meetings, training and performance assessments.

Safety of young people

Establish, maintain, and ensure that robust safeguarding practices for young people and staff are in place and regularly reviewed in line with policy change and Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board (OSCB) guidance. Ensure risk assessments are routinely updated and communicated with relevant team members. Managers will be required to be on call for emergencies on a rota basis.

Partnership

To work collaboratively with partners across the county. Liaise and build relationships with third sector organisations, ensuring progression coaches are working collaboratively within those organisations as required.

Evaluation and monitoring

Ensure the delivery of evidence-based interventions and, where appropriate, develop these in partnership with other service providers. Ensure young people’s pathway plans are routinely updated and information shared with relevant stakeholders such as the Brokerage Team. Ensure risk assessment policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and that data returns and evaluations are carried out accurately and in a timely fashion.

Policy

Be conversant with relevant and associated policy developments e.g. housing and homelessness prevention, EET opportunities and CAMHS transformation requirements.

Reporting

Link with contract organisations to ensure robust management information sharing and reporting arrangements are in place, and report and track progress against key performance requirements.

Innovation of resources and tools

Lead on development of tools and materials supporting the implementation of community service provision and CYP participation.

Being a role model

Set and demonstrate good standards of work practice, with particular emphasis on maintaining professional boundaries.

Recruitment

Lead on recruitment of progression coaches, ensuring this is done in accordance with Response policies and procedures.

Administration

Complete and return all required information in relation to staff terms and conditions, pay and sickness as outlined in Response’s policies and procedures.

Referrals

Ensure that referrals are processed in a robust manner, including working to help oversee matching, pathway suitability, trauma-informed moves and strong partnership working (including family group conferences).

The YPSA Manager assumes overall responsibility within their service area for guaranteeing:

• proper record keeping - including incident reports and complaints
• staff have a good operational working knowledge of their role and are provided with the support required to apply this in their practice
• staff are properly supervised and appraised and have access to advice and support
• staff use their knowledge and skills to meet the needs of those using the service as outlined in their plans
• staff are properly inducted into the service, with a clear understanding of the YPSA vision and their role in helping to make this a reality
• the service is continually reviewed and evaluated and improvements are achieved within agreed timescales
• performance is effectively managed through supervision and professional development plans
• all records relating to children, young people and staff are kept in line with guidance and in accordance with the principles of Oxfordshire Youth’s GDPR policy
• support the Head of YPSA with quality assurance and monitoring
• identify risks to children, young people and staff and ensure that appropriate risk assessments are in place and regularly updated
• apply agreed intervention strategies when a child or young person’s behaviour presents a challenge to staff and ensure that staff have the required skills, knowledge and training to implement these
• establish and/or maintain positive and effective communication partnerships and networks with relevant parties
• through support and supervision staff have the appropriate skills, knowledge and training to support the identified needs and aspirations of the young person.
• conduct audits to ensure that all mandatory training and service specific training has been completed within agreed timescales.

The YPSA Manager will:

• support the Marketing and Communications team by providing updates on key achievements of the service, including those of staff and young people
• work closely with the fundraising team to establish young people’s needs and when donations are allocated to the YPSA, effectively distribute these to the young people recording the impact of gifts and sharing information with the Fundraising and Marketing and Communications teams
• work with the Youth Engagement and Skills Manager to ensure that youth voice is embedded into the service, support rogression coaches to empower young people to join the youth forums
• represent the company in a professional and appropriate manner at all times by being punctual, professionally dressed and adhering to clear boundaries
• place diversity and equality of opportunity at the heart of your practice.

General

• To attend team meetings and regular supervision with line manager.
• To ensure all DBS procedures are carried out in accordance with Oxfordshire Youth’s guidelines, policies and procedures.
• To undergo training enabling personal and professional development.
• To undertake other relevant duties related to the further development, promotion and sustainability of the charity.

Safeguarding

• Understanding that safeguarding children, young people and adults is everyone’s business and accessing training and supervision appropriate to the role.
• To ensure concerns are responded to appropriately in line with the OY's Safeguarding Adults Policy and the Child Protection Policy and interagency safeguarding procedures.
• To comply with recruitment and other checks as requested by the organisation including undertaking a DBS check.

This job description is subject to amendment following discussion with the post holder.

Person specification

Expertise and qualifications

Essential

• Similar experience in a managerial/coordinator role or qualification in management
• Experience of managing/coordinating teams
• An understanding of mental health issues affecting Young People
• Overview of Services Provision for CYP
• Proven track record in managing/coordinating similar services
• Full UK driving license and car owner

Desirable

• Management qualification(s)
• Vocational qualification(s) in related fields including mental health, children’s and young people’s social care, youth and community development
• Training in Trauma Informed Approaches (TIC) and Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE)
• Not for profit sector experience

Knowledge, skills and abilities

Essential

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including being able to positively engage and motivate others
• A flexible approach to work including a willingness to take on tasks outside the normal remit and to work irregular hours, travel
• Work well under pressure and prioritise effectively, working to tight deadlines and targets
• Strong planning and organisational skills
• Excellent people management skills
• Ability to work well as part of a team
• Be able to demonstrate an ability to work with colleagues from external agencies both voluntary and statutory
• Ability to assess and manage risk
• Able to solve problems and think creatively
• Able to motivate and support staff on an ongoing basis and through periods of change
• IT skills including Excel, Word, PowerPoint and CRM systems
• A flexible approach to work, including a willingness to take on tasks outside the usual remit and to work irregular hours
• The ability to solve problems and think creatively

Desirable

• Proficiency in a range of online digital tools for project management such as , Slack and others
• Previous experience working in the not-for-profit sector

Personal qualities

Essential

• An unwavering commitment to Oxfordshire Youth’s vision, mission and values
• The ability to relate to and empathise with young people
• Integrity and discretion when dealing with sensitive information
• A commitment to treating people equally, being aware of unconscious bias and working proactively and openly to challenge it within your own and within others practice
• Respecting differences and challenging prejudice and discrimination
• A positive, enthusiastic and can-do approach that demonstrates the attributes of a growth mindset
• Commitment to your own learning and development
• Accountability for the quality of your work and responsibility for maintaining and improving your knowledge and skills

It is essential that candidates will need to be able to drive and have access to a vehicle.

Please note that unfortunately, Oxfordshire Youth is not a sponsorship providing organisation. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Applications will be reviewed as and when they are received.

To apply, please send a copy of your CV accompanied by an application form to our recruitment team. Further information can be found here: https://oxfordshireyouth.org/job/ypsa-manager/

Pay: £34,000.00-£37,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Additional leave
• Casual dress
• Company events
• Employee discount
• Free parking
• Health & wellbeing programme
• On-site parking
• Sick pay

Work Location: In person