Housing Service Manager

We are looking for an experienced and passionate Housing Service Manager to manage and lead our dedicated team at Willow Lodge, Folkestone.

1 x Part-time opportunity available - 21 hours per week, flexible hours between 9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday.

Imagine being part of an organisation whose common purpose is to help those who are severely impacted by mental illness. We believe that everyone should be treated with respect and dignity – and that’s why equity is one of our core values.

This is an exciting opportunity to manage our Willow Lodge Service. Willow Lodge is a welcoming nine-bed supported living accommodation located in Folkestone. Our facility includes seven bedsits and two self-contained flats, providing a comfortable and supportive environment for residents. Our dedicated, friendly, and experienced staff are committed to fostering a supportive and positive environment, ensuring tenants feel at home while they work towards their personal goals.

How you will make a difference:

• Ensure effective two way communications are in place and teams are kept fully informed of national and local developments.
• Maintain excellent working relationships with professionals, referrers and stakeholders.
• Ensure effective liaison between service teams, service users and other professionals.
• Work with the team to deliver what is important to commissioners and the people they support to achieve recovery goals and service outcomes.
• Identify and enable meaningful opportunities for user involvement in shaping services.
• Manage the recruitment of staff as the selection panel leader, ensuring compliance with Recruitment & Selection policy and Equality legislation.
• Ensure that services are accessible and meet the needs of service users from a diverse range of backgrounds and are representative of the needs of local communities.
• Be the positive role model and coach, as lead practitioner providing expertise and guidance on practice issues to the team.
• You will be responsible for ensuring the assessment, recording and reviewing of our Outcome Focussed Support Planning and Risk Management Planning is embedded into practice.

Essential skills and experience required:

• Experience of managing and leading a team within a social care/care setting.
• Experience of providing support to people with a mental illness; or experience of providing care and/or support services within another social care setting in either a paid or voluntary capacity.
• Knowledge and understanding of recovery principles and embedding the ethos of recovery into your own practice.
• The ability to make a comprehensive assessment of an individual’s situation and needs; to develop, implement and review risk management plans and devise support plans to meet these needs.
• QCF Diploma or NVQ level 3 in Care or Certificate in Community Mental Healthcare (or working towards) or an equivalent qualification.

Caring for our people.   

We offer a wide range of support. Some of our benefits include:   

PULSE – our recognition, rewards, wellbeing, and benefits platform. Providing access to thousands of discounts and benefits including cashback; reloadable cards; savings etc. As well as being able to thank colleagues and nominate them for awards.  
Wellbeing support: our Wellbeing hub gives physical, emotional, and mental health support. We also have an Employee Assistance Programme with access to appointments.  
Taking time for you: we work flexibly and have generous annual leave, starting at 25 rising to 30 days, plus bank holidays, as well as your birthday off. We also offer the opportunity to buy and sell annual leave.  
Planning for the future: We have a contributory pension scheme.  
Structured Corporate Induction: Onboarding you into the Charity supporting your wellbeing along the way.  
£300 when you introduce a Friend: receive up to £300 when you introduce a friend or family member.  

Who are we?  
 
We’re Rethink Mental Illness, a leading charity provider of mental health services in England. We support thousands of people through our groups, services, policy, campaigns and advice and information. Our work supports us in delivering on our mission: “A better life for everyone severely affected by mental illness.”   

It is an exciting time to join our growing charity. We are on a transformation journey, one that supports the delivery of the organisation strategy – delivering Communities that Care. Supporting employees, managers and leaders through this change is a key priority for the People function. Just like its key that we attract diverse people to come and work for us.   

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion 

Diversity is important to us and we appreciate difference through difference, inclusiveness and belonging. It gives us a deeper understanding of the world, our society and the diverse communities we’re working with. By including everyone, we are able to draw on the unique experiences and expertise of our people to help shape and enrich our workplace and improve our services. One way we are doing is through our valued staff networks which play a critical and highly valued role in keeping us focused on creating a diverse, inclusive and engaged employer.  We recognise and support staff networks for our Black, Asian and minority ethnic and our LGBTQIA+ colleagues. We are also proud to have been awarded Disability Confident Employer status and are a signatory to the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter. 

Becoming a truly anti-racist organisation 

We have an ambition of become a truly anti-racist employer, campaigning organisation and service provider - and in our efforts to influence policy and wider societal factors impacting on mental health set out in our anti-racist statement . We have designed a multi-year anti-racist programme of work contained in our Race Equality Action Plan which demonstrate our intention to hold ourselves accountable and be judged on our progress on becoming a truly anti-racist organisation. 

We therefore actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including applicants with lived experience, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (or questioning), Intersex and (asexual) (LGBTQIA+), people with a disability, and people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. 

We do reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.   

Please see further details on our website  

You can also follow us on Facebook / Twitter / Instagram and LinkedIn to find out more about the work we do!