Housing Night Worker

37.5 hours per week / permanent / working onsite / this role operates on a sevenday rolling rota following a fouron, fouroff shift pattern. Shifts will include evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Working hours are either 8pm to 7am or 9pm to 8am and are subject to ongoing review.

At YMCA DownsLink Group, our mission is to help children and young people have a fair chance to be who they want to be. We do this by providing a safe home, building life skills and self-confidence, and supporting emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Our Values - we do what's right, we work with heart, and we build real connections - guide and shape how we show up for children and young people we support and for each other.

We are looking for a Housing Night Worker to join our 16+ Older Looked After Young People (OLYP), Care Leavers and Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) services. In this role, you will help ensure the safety, security and wellbeing of our residents by providing a friendly and reassuring presence within the service at night. You will manage challenging situations calmly and professionally, while keeping essential administrative tasks and housekeeping duties running smoothly.

Our OLYP services delivers specialist 24-hour supported accommodation where young people are supported to acquire the necessary skills in preparation for living independently, safely explore their increased freedom of choice and develop responsibilities associated with adulthood, whilst still having the appropriate level of support from an experienced team. We adopt a trauma informed and psychologically informed approach to supporting our residents to help them build essential life skills, identify their goals and work towards aspirations so that they can move on to enjoy fully independent futures. We have a dedicated team of Support workers, Night workers and additional Bank workers who provide support, guidance, and signposting around areas such as housing, budgeting, living skills, jobs and relationship building.

What you will be doing

This is more than a night shift role - it's an opportunity to make a real difference, working as part of a dedicated team committed to helping young people grow and develop.

Main areas of responsibilities are:

Safety and security

• Provide a friendly, professional presence and ensure the building remains safe, secure and welcoming at night.
• Support resident wellbeing by upholding health and safety procedures, house rules and tenancy requirements.
• Monitor risks and respond to incidents calmly and appropriately, recording and reporting to the relevant teams.

Resident engagement

• Welcome residents and offer informal, responsive assistance to help them develop confidence, independence and life skills.
• Encourage residents to share their views and engage with available services and opportunities.
• Assist with evening groupwork sessions that promote learning, wellbeing and positive development.

Administration and housekeeping

• Complete essential admin tasks including data entry, case notes and record management.
• Carry out routine health and safety, compliance and room checks.
• Log maintenance issues to ensure the building remains safe and well maintained.

General

• Work collaboratively on a fouron, fouroff rota, providing consistent, nonjudgemental support overnight.
• Maintain a calm, professional approach and handle challenging situations effectively.
• Take part in ongoing training and reflective practice to support psychologically informed care.

This role involves lone working, so you will need to be confident in decisionmaking and in following procedures. However, before joining the rota, you will have the opportunity to get to know the team and services, take part in a full induction, complete the required training, and undertake shadow shifts to ensure you feel confident, supported, and well prepared.

If you are enthusiastic about this opportunity but don't meet every single requirement, we still encourage you to apply. Your skills and experiences may be more transferable than you think, and you could be exactly the person we are looking for.

About You

A dynamic role for someone passionate, empathetic and committed to young people's development.

Experience and knowledge

• Experience in a customerfacing role, staying calm and solutionsfocused during challenging situations.
• An understanding of the needs and experiences of young people and adults at risk.
• Awareness of trauma and the ability to work in a strengthsbased, compassionate way.
• Confidence in accurate recordkeeping, including incident logs and health and safety checks.
• Basic safeguarding knowledge and the ability to maintain professional boundaries (training provided).

Skills and abilities

• Clear verbal and written communication, with accurate handovers for daytime colleagues.
• Strong interpersonal skills, able to build positive relationships.
• Comfortable loneworking, using initiative, and working as part of a team.
• Competent IT skills, including Microsoft 365 and basic system navigation (training provided).
• Ability to deescalate situations and manage challenging behaviour calmly.
• You will bring an awareness of the challenges young people face and the ability to connect with them positively

If you would like any further information or an informal discussion about this post, please contact . Should you require any assistance with our application process, please email us at .

CLOSING DATE: Sunday 29 March 2026 at midnight.

PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to provide work permits or visa sponsorship for this role, so applicants must already have the right to live and work in the UK independently.

An inclusive workplace We are committed to policies and practices of equity, diversity, and inclusion and to supporting our people to make sure our culture is consistent with this commitment.

Accessibility If you require assistance or have questions regarding the application process, please do contact us.

YMCA DLG requires all staff and volunteers to be committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and to respond proactively to safeguarding concerns.

Successful applicants will undergo a thorough background screening process, conducted by an accredited third-party provider. This includes an Enhanced DBS check (with Children's and Adults' Barred Lists) as well as comprehensive reference and activity check.