At René House and The Kyem Initiative (our partner charity), our Referrals Coordinators are the bridge between someone experiencing homelessness and them having the keys to a safe, stable home.

It's a role that requires lots of organisation, empathy, and a genuine passion for helping people - and it's absolutely vital to the work we do.

If you're currently considering a career in the homelessness sector, or you're curious about what this role actually involves, here's everything you need to know about the job!
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What Is a Referrals Coordinator?

A Referrals Coordinator is responsible for managing the referral process for people accessing supported accommodation. In simple terms: they're the person who receives referrals from local authorities and partner organisations, assesses whether someone is suitable for the service, and coordinates their move into safe, supported housing.

It's part admin, part relationship management, part assessment work - and entirely focused on getting vulnerable people into the accommodation and support they desperately need.
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What Does a Referrals Coordinator Do?

The role involves several key responsibilities:

1. Carrying Out Face-to-Face Assessments with People in Need

When someone is referred to our supported accommodation service, the Referrals Coordinator meets with them to carry out a face-to-face assessment. This involves understanding their situation, their needs, their history, and whether supported accommodation is the right fit for them at this point in their journey.

These assessments are crucial. They're not about gatekeeping or finding reasons to turn people away - they're about ensuring that the person referred can be appropriately supported by our service, and that moving into our accommodation will genuinely help them move forward.

2. Coordinating the Move-In Process into Supported Accommodation

Once someone has been assessed and accepted into our service, the Referrals Coordinator coordinates their move into one of our supported accommodation properties. This involves organising viewings, preparing the property, arranging move-in dates, and ensuring everything is ready for the new resident to arrive.

This part of the job isn't just about handing over the keys, it's about making sure someone's first experience of stable housing (in potentially years) feels welcoming, organised, and safe.

3. Building Relationships with Referral Organisations

The Referrals Coordinator is the main point of contact for organisations that refer people to our service - local authorities, homelessness charities, housing officers, probation services, mental health teams, and more. Building and maintaining strong relationships with these organisations is essential. It ensures referrals keep coming, that partner organisations understand what we offer, and that we're all working together effectively to support people experiencing homelessness.

4. Managing Referrals Efficiently

Behind the scenes, the Referrals Coordinator is managing a constant flow of referrals - logging them, responding to them, following up, keeping accurate records, and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. This requires excellent organisational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to manage multiple priorities at once.

When someone is experiencing homelessness, time matters. Efficient referral management can be the difference between someone getting housed quickly or spending weeks longer in unsuitable temporary accommodation.
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Why The Referrals Coordinator Role Is So Important

The Referrals Coordinator sits at a critical point in the homelessness pathway. Without this role functioning effectively, people don't get housed. Referrals don't get processed. Relationships with partner organisations break down. The whole system stalls.

When this role is done well, people move from crisis to stability quickly and smoothly. They get assessed fairly and compassionately. They move into properties that are ready and welcoming. And referral organisations trust that when they refer someone to the service, they'll be looked after.

It's not a support worker role - the Referrals Coordinator isn't delivering ongoing one-to-one support to residents. But it's absolutely a people-focused role that requires empathy, professionalism, and a genuine commitment to helping vulnerable adults access the housing and support they need.

What Skills Does a Referrals Coordinator Need?

Here are the key skills and attributes that make someone effective in this role:

• Experience working with complex needs: A Referrals Coordinator needs to understand the realities of homelessness and the complex needs that often accompany it - mental health challenges, addiction, learning difficulties, trauma, criminal backgrounds. You don't need to be a trained social worker, but you do need experience working with vulnerable people and an understanding of what that complexity looks like.
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• Strong organisational skills: This role involves a lot of self-management of lots of moving parts. If you're not naturally organised, this role can be overwhelming.
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• Excellent communication skills: You'll be communicating with a wide range of people - individuals experiencing homelessness, housing officers, support workers, referral organisations, colleagues. You need to be professional, empathetic, clear, and responsive.
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• Empathy and professionalism: You're often meeting people at one of the most difficult points in their lives. They might be anxious, frustrated, defensive, or simply exhausted. You need to be able to hold empathy and professionalism at the same time - kind but boundaried, understanding but clear.
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• Problem-solving ability: Things don't always go smoothly. Referrals come through with missing information. Move-in dates change. Properties aren't ready when they should be. A good Referrals Coordinator can think on their feet, find solutions, and keep things moving forward even when challenges arise.
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• Driving licence and vehicle access: In most supported accommodation services, the Referrals Coordinator needs to travel - to meet people for assessments, to show them around properties, to attend meetings with referral organisations. A full UK driving licence and access to your own vehicle is usually essential.
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Beyond the technical and organisational skills though, certain people just thrive as Referrals Coordinators. They're usually people who:

• Genuinely care about helping others and making a difference
• Find satisfaction in getting things done efficiently and well
• Can handle a varied mix of office-based admin work and face-to-face people work
• Stay calm under pressure and can manage competing priorities
• Enjoy building relationships and being a connector between different organisations
• Want to be part of the solution to homelessness without necessarily being a frontline support worker

If that sounds like you, this could be the perfect role for you.
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What Does a Typical Day Look Like for a Referrals Coordinator?

No two days are exactly the same, but a typical full day for a Referrals Coordinator might include:

Morning: Checking emails and responding to new referrals that have come in overnight. Logging them into the system, reviewing the information provided, and flagging any that need urgent attention.

Mid-morning: Travelling to meet someone for a face-to-face assessment. Spending an hour with them, understanding their situation, explaining what supported accommodation involves, and assessing whether it's the right fit.

Lunchtime: Back in the office, updating records from the assessment, liaising with the support team about potential move-in dates, and preparing paperwork for an upcoming move-in.

Afternoon: Meeting with a housing officer from the local authority to discuss referral pathways and build the working relationship. Then catching up on admin - chasing missing information on referrals, scheduling viewings for next week, updating spreadsheets.

Late afternoon: Coordinating a move-in - meeting the new resident at the property, showing them around, handing over keys, making sure they know who to contact if they need anything.

It's varied, people-focused, and genuinely meaningful work.

Career Progression and Development

A Referrals Coordinator role is often a great entry point into the homelessness and supported accommodation sector. It gives you exposure to how charity services work, how referral pathways function, and what people experiencing homelessness actually need. From here, people often progress into:

• Support worker roles (if they want more direct client-facing work)
• Service coordinator or manager positions (if they enjoy the organisational side)
• Partnership and development roles (if they thrive on the relationship-building aspects)
• Housing management positions

It's also a role that builds highly transferable skills - project coordination, stakeholder management, assessment work, admin excellence - that are valuable across the charity and social care sectors.
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Is This Role Right for You?

If you're reading this and thinking "this sounds like exactly what I want to do”, The Kyem Initiative is currently hiring a Referrals Coordinator to join our office team in Nottingham.

This is a part-time role (25 hours per week) working alongside René House CIC to provide supported accommodation for adults transitioning out of homelessness across Nottinghamshire.

If you're organised, empathetic, experienced working with complex needs, and passionate about helping others, we'd love to hear from you.

Find out more and apply: Referrals Coordinator - Nottingham NG7 6LH - Indeed.com
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Or email info@kyem.org.uk for more information.