Do you have some experience of advice work, preferably with a focus on housing issues, and a real desire to advance
your specialist level knowledge? Then join Shelter Scotland as a Housing Rights Worker and you could soon be
playing a vital role in helping to identify and resolve the homelessness and bad housing issues facing local
communities.
About Shelter Scotland
A home is a fundamental human need, as essential as education or healthcare. Yet over a million people in Scotland
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.
At Shelter Scotland we are united by our purpose to defend the right to a safe home. Our enemy is the social
injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. We believe that to win that fight, we must be
representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement for change. In all our
people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, fair, equitable and transparent.
We have committed to combat racism both within and outside Shelter Scotland and welcome you on our journey to
becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.
About the Team
Our three Communities Teams are responsible for identifying, investigating and intervening in housing and
homelessness practice issues. We engage with our local communities to understand the issues people are facing
and apply expert housing knowledge, insight and analysis to identify solutions to them. As well as providing
advice and advocacy for individuals, we also use our insight, relationships and influence to drive systemic
change, always ensuring that Lived experience is at the heart of everything we do.
About the role
As a Housing Rights Worker, you’ll be responsible for delivering high quality housing advice and advocacy in our
offices, in community settings and remotely in line with local pressing issues. That will involve developing
relationships within communities through a range of interactions, including attendance at meetings, events and
121 engagement. It will also involve engaging, enabling and empowering people with lived experience of
homelessness to share their story, give their views and participate in interventions at a local and national
level. Working alongside a range of stakeholders to deliver advice and rights promotion workshops and delivering
2nd Tier advice to other services to build their capacity to act on behalf of their service users will be
important too. And, when it comes to harnessing strong relationships with external partners or recording
stories, data and evidence to develop insight that helps us drive systems change, again, well count on you.
About you
Already with some relevant experience, you’re used to working with a variety of internal and external stakeholders,
have great time management skills and enjoy collaborating with people from other teams and organisations. The
ability to listen to, engage and empower individuals and communities will be key. So will your willingness to
challenge practice and hold people to account – including influencing decision makers. Adept at presenting
information and arguments in clear and compelling ways, you have a real enthusiasm for delivering workshops and
presentations too. What’s more, you’re a creative problem solver with an innate ability to gather evidence and
identify insights, issues and trends and are proficient using Word, Excel, email, the internet and in-house CRM
systems.
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, payroll giving, cycle to
work scheme and an employee assistance programme.
Shelter Scotland helps over half a million 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.
To find out more about the role and the benefits of working for Shelter Scotland 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.