Support and Assessment Officer

Support and Assessment Officer
£27,667 - £34,730

The Rough Sleeper Service works to prevent people sleeping rough and to help them move away from sleeping on the street. Where someone does end up sleeping rough, the service intervenes to try and ensure that this episode is rare, brief and non-recurring.

The Support and Assessment Officer will offer support to people accessing the Somewhere Safe to Stay Hub (SStS) as they start the journey away from rough sleeping. The position is based in a centrally located newly built 9 bed Support and Assessment Hub, in Truro. The SStS Hub offers a room for an average 72-hour period and is offered to anyone who is identified, as non-priority need, as being at imminent risk (within 24 hours of) or already rough sleeping.

The SStS Hub acts as a single point of contact for all rough sleepers (via the Single Referral Form), capturing all vacancies and accommodation options for appropriate onward referrals.

Hub staff implement a triage process, complete assessments of need and work with people using the service to work up personalised support/action plans. The Hub has concierge-style staffing overnight and specialist Support and Assessment Officers during the day.

The role holder will support individuals in their recovery to move from the street back into accommodation, access support to address personal needs, and recultivate positive social circles. Support needs will range from low to very complex and including, but not limited to, drug and alcohol addiction, offending history, poor mental/physical health and financial difficulties.


The post-holder will work in a way that is creative, innovative, agile, flexible, and solution-focused, tailoring their approach to the needs of the person using the service. They will employ a trauma-informed and psychologically informed approach, building on the individual’s strengths, working in an assets-based way, and will seek to reduce harm.

The Hub operates 24/7, 365 days of the year, the Support and Assessment Officers work on a 8-hour shift-rota basis which is based around day, evening and weekend shifts, including bank holidays. The Role involves weekend work on a rota basis.


The role profile can be found here.

All members of the team ensure a safe and respectful environment and encouraging maximum service user engagement and contribute to the day-to-day development, and delivery of the Hub.

As a service, we actively encourage people with lived experience of homelessness and associated services, to apply for our roles.

The role is a permanent appointment.

Fairness and inclusion are at the heart of our vision for Cornwall. In order to best serve our communities, we are striving to achieve a diverse workforce that is inclusive of all backgrounds, cultures and identities; e.g. race, disability, sex, gender, age, religion and sexual orientation. We are an equal opportunities and Disability Confident employer, and we will assess applicants on their merits.

Cornwall Council is committed to safeguarding and following safer recruitment principles to help make sure our staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children, young people and adults at risk. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keeping all service users safe from harm.

Whilst the location/work-base for this role has not been specified, our evolving ways of working mean that the role may require you to also work remotely (e.g. from home/other locations). We will discuss this with you during the recruitment process.