This vacancy has now closed

Senior Best Practice Officer

  • Full time
  • £40,902
  • Edinburgh
  • Closing 24th August 2022


  • Advertised from 10th August 2022
  • Permanent

Role

About us

Crisis is the national charity for homeless people. We know that homelessness is not inevitable. We know that together we can end it.

We have an exciting opportunity within Crisis’ Best Practice team to champion the ending of homelessness through a housing led approach. Housing led, or what is known as ‘rapid rehousing’ is an approach to ending someone’s homelessness by moving them into their own home as soon as possible.

You will lead on developing Crisis’ understanding of new and emerging solutions to homelessness and to proactively create opportunities to test these and promote learning, especially (but not only) in Scotland.

About the role

Scotland has made huge strides in tackling homelessness, but more needs to happen and we know the best way of ending homelessness is by preventing it from happening in the first place. Crisis are pleased to support the change planned by Scottish Government through proposals for a new Homelessness Prevention duty outlined in the Programme for Government 21/22.

We know, however, that we can’t prevent all cases of homelessness, so when people do lose their home, they need a rapid response to find somewhere safe and secure to live. This means mainstream accommodation – in houses and flats in ordinary communities.

By protecting all households from homelessness through the law, and by using effective rapid rehousing methods, we can ensure no one is left living in emergency accommodation. With sufficient housing, legal reform, and other bold policy choices, rapid rehousing will be crucial in ending homelessness.

As a Senior Best Practice Officer based in Scotland with a focus on housing led approaches, you will work to identify good practice already happening and show how services can be designed to ensure that a housing-led system provides stable, appropriate accommodation and any necessary support as quickly as possible to people who are homeless or at risk of it.

About you

To be successful in this role you will have great networking skills and be good at making relationships across different sectors.

You’ll understand how local authorities and wider public bodies work and be able to build connections and rapport with individuals working there.

You’ll understand housing and homelessness systems and the current legal frameworks that underpin them across the UK, but especially in Scotland. You’ll know how services can be designed to make sure that those who need help can get it and how to listen to the voices of those who use it.

You’ll be passionate about change and seeing homelessness ended, with a drive and energy to shape the role to do this.

We believe diversity is a strength and our aim is to make sure that Crisis truly reflects the communities we serve. Crisis is committed to being a fully inclusive employer that celebrates the talents and contributions everyone can make towards ending homelessness. We have not yet become the diverse workplace we want to be, and so we particularly welcome applications from people who have personal experience of homelessness, people from Black Asian and Ethnic backgrounds, and from those who identify as working class.

Working at Crisis

As a member of the team you will have access to a wide range of employee benefits including:

Interest free loans to purchase a train season ticket or a bike or for a deposit to secure a tenancy

Mandatory pension scheme, with an employer contribution of 8.5%

25 days’ annual leave which increases with service to 28 days

Alongside our excellent staff benefits, we will support your ongoing development to build your skills, experience and career.

When you join us you will have the opportunity to join our staff diversity networks, which aim to champion issues across the organisation, enable staff to be their authentic and best selves and contribute to making Crisis a truly diverse organisation.

Application notes

To find out more and apply please visit our website

Closing date: Sunday 21st August 2022 (at 23:59)

Interviews will be held on 1st and 2nd September 2022.