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- Look after accommodation for residents
- Provide advice and support
- Help with day-to-day maintenance and health and safety
Accommodation wardens manage the day-to-day running of services like sheltered housing, youth hostels and other types of managed accommodation. Depending upon the setting they may provide support for residents as well as ensuring that the environment is safe and well-maintained.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Allocate and manage accommodation
- Control rent arrears
- Inspect property and arrange for repairs to be carried out
- Supervise catering, cleaning and maintenance staff
- Look after the welfare of residents
- Check on health and safety and conduct risk assessments
- Work with outside agencies, carers and parents
- Deal with emergencies
- Manage community spaces and facilities
- Deal with any problems with the buildings or tenants
In a care home setting you may be
- Working with homeless people, older people or those with some level of physical disability
- Checking on residents each morning
- Making sure they're well
- Helping residents to live independent lives
In a youth hostel setting, you may provide information on local activities and tourist attractions.
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
Accommodation wardens work in care homes, youth hostels, hostels for the homeless, and other forms of managed accommodation. They may liaise with other services, e.g. maintenance, social care and other support agencies.
You'll need
There are no set entry requirements for this kind of work, but paid or unpaid experience of working with vulnerable groups, or in a care setting would be helpful.
A college course in facilities services, health and social care, housing or caretaking would be useful but not essential. Courses include Level 2 Certificate in Facilities Services, or Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care. If you want to work with the Youth Hostel Association (YHA), you could work as a voluntary warden or start as an assistant and work towards a level 2 or 3 qualification in customer service. You can train for this job through an intermediate housing and property management assistant apprenticeship or an advanced apprenticeship in housing and property management.
You may need a driving licence and use of a car. You may also need clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), which checks your criminal record.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could move into accommodation management with responsibility for several centres and wardens, or into housing or block management. With further study, you could also work in related fields like social work or counselling.