Senior Involvement Officer

Location - Manchester preferable but other hub locations in the North considered

Closing date: 6 January 2021 at 11:30pm

We're looking for a results-driven individual with experience of delivering involvement or volunteering projects, to join us as a Senior Involvement Officer and help us to involve people with lived experience in Shelter’s work.

A home is a fundamental human need, as essential as education or healthcare. Yet millions of people across Britain struggle on a daily basis with homelessness, bad housing conditions, soaring rents, discrimination and the threat of eviction. So, we are striving for change, with individuals, in communities, across society, and leading the way to a safe home. We need ambitious, best-in-class individuals who are passionate about our cause to join us at this exciting time. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

The Involvement Team aim to ensure that the views of those affected by the housing emergency underpin and influence all of Shelter’s work. Shelter’s Involvement Programme provides a range of opportunities for people with lived experience to shape the ongoing design, delivery and governance of Shelter’s work. This helps to ensure that Shelter’s services and campaigns are developed alongside local communities and help to effect local and national change. You'll play a big part in making sure that happens.

About the Role
Your challenge? To support staff in the North region to deliver high quality involvement programmes. That involves providing guidance, coaching and support to services staff, as well as sharing best practice and ensuring that organisational policies and procedures are followed. Working closely alongside people with lived experience to shape involvement programmes, and providing practical support delivering involvement activities across the North region will be important too. And, when it comes to assessing the learning and development needs of people involved in our work, as well as delivering Involvement inductions, again, we'll count on you. Supporting cultural change around involvement, establishing links with key internal teams and partners, managing risk and helping to evaluate our involvement programmes - all are aspects of this challenging role.

About you
We're looking for someone with a track record of delivering involvement or volunteering projects and providing support and development to clients, volunteers and colleagues. The ability to encourage, promote and support the involvement of people with lived experience in the design and delivery of services is important too. What's more, you're used to building relationships with a variety of external agencies and professionals and adept at presenting information and writing reports. The role involves line managing a team of Involvement Officers so experience of people management is essential, as is proficiency using office IT systems to record and analyse data and a proactive, customer-focused approach. We'd like to encourage people who have lived experience of housing issues and/or homelessness and an interest in how these issues can affect people's lives.

Benefits
We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.

Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through our advice, support and legal services. And we campaign to make sure that, one day, no one will have to turn to us for help. We're here so no one has to fight bad housing or homelessness on their own.

To find out more about the role and the benefits of working for Shelter please visit our website. Apply to be part of our team and be the change you want to see in society.

Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.

Shelter promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We make employment decisions by matching business needs with skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of age, disability (including hidden disabilities),gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. We also encourage applications from people, who have been homeless or have been at risk of homelessness. We are facing diverse problems, so need diverse people to tackle them.

We are happy to talk about flexible working, personal growth, and to promote a workplace where you can be yourself and achieve success based only on your merit.

Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.