Do you have some experience of advice work, an understanding of money and debt support and a real desire to develop your knowledge within this field? Then join Shelter Scotland as a Housing Rights Worker – Money and Debt and you could soon be playing an important role in helping to build the financial resilience of people in Scotland with poor financial health.

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

We recently launched a new 3-year partnership with a leading UK bank, with a strategy centred on building the UK’s financial resilience. Together we aim to break the vicious cycles that leave people with poor financial health which may negatively impact their housing situation. The project aims to improve and challenge financial resilience by delivering specialist advice and intervention and gaining evidence and insight into the issues.

In our Community Team, we identify, investigate and intervene in housing and homelessness issues. We are engaged in our local communities to understand the housing issues people are facing, and we apply our expertise to work toward solutions. Lived experience of the housing emergency is at the heart of everything we do.

About the role

You’ll be responsible for providing money and debt advice, advocacy and casework to clients, including homelessness prevention and financial resilience. We’ll also rely on you to deliver housing and financial health/resilience workshops to a variety of audiences, including clients and their families, local professionals and volunteers

About you

To succeed, you’ll need to be used to working with, and influencing, a range of internal and external stakeholders and enjoy collaborating with people from other teams and organisations. You’ll also need great time management skills, an enthusiasm for delivering workshops and presentations and a willingness to challenge practice and hold people to account. Adept at engaging with individuals and communities, you enjoy gathering evidence and identifying insights, issues and trends. What’s more, you present information and arguments in a clear and compelling way and have excellent problem-solving skills. Proficiency using IT like Word, Excel, email, internet and in-house CRM systems is also required.

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.

Are you passionate about supporting people to build resilience? Do you want to be part of system change? Do you enjoy using learning to shape delivery?

An exciting opportunity to be part of an innovative city-wide community resilience programme for people aged 60+, working in partnership with Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership and Queen Margaret University

About the role

You will lead and support a team of four Community Resilience Workers. You will manage a service delivering one to one person-centred key work with the focus on enabling people aged 60+ to remain independent at home and in their community. You will play an instrumental part in carrying out Participatory Action Research by ensuring your team are actively contributing to research, supported by Queen Margaret University.

You will ensure staff are well supported and have the resources they need to make a lasting difference to those we seek to help.

About you

You will be an experienced manager and confident decision-maker. You will be a strong advocate for relationship-based approaches and be able to both guide best practice and demonstrate the impact of our way of working to a range of stakeholders. You will have experience using learning to shape practice and of working with people aged 60+ in health and social care settings, with a good understanding of the range of challenges they may face.

How we will support you

We will encourage you to be creative and innovative in your approach.

You will be part of a small team, led by a supportive senior manager. You’ll also have access to wider Cyrenians’ support, including our learning and development programme, and staff wellbeing services.

About us

At Cyrenians we tackle the causes and consequences of homelessness. We understand that there are many routes into homelessness, and that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to supporting people towards more positive and stable futures. That’s why all our work is values-led and relationships-based.

Our values

· Compassion: We believe that everyone should have the chance to change, no matter how long that might take.

· Respect: We believe in tolerance, acceptance, valuing diversity and treating each other as equals.

· Integrity: We are committed to the highest quality of work, grounded in honesty, generosity, sincerity and professionalism.

· Innovation: We are willing to take risks, challenge convention and be creative in our search for new ways of working, in particular by taking account of the environmental impact of our decisions.

Are you an experienced communications professional with a passion for tackling social exclusion and homelessness in Scotland? Do you enjoy working with journalists to keep the stories that matter high on the political agenda? Could you persuade decision makers in Government, in Parliament and across the public sector that the time for action to tackle Scotland’s homelessness crisis is now?

If so, this role leading our public affairs and influencing work is for you.

About the role

You will achieve positive change in policy and practice regarding homelessness and social exclusion by engaging with decision makers on new legislation, including the Housing Bill, and lead our engagement with mainstream media.

This will include assimilating complex information and developing clear and impactful communications. You’ll collaborate with colleagues across our organisation and with others working across the sector.

About You

You will be an experienced communications professional who understands how Government and Parliament work, the process for legislation and the influence of the media in political decision making. You may not have worked in the homelessness sector before, but you will have a passion for systems change to end poverty and social exclusion and a strong track record of achieving positive change to policy and practice at a national level.

How we’ll support you

As part of the Relationships Team you’ll be supported by experienced colleagues who share your passion to tackle homelessness and its root causes. You’ll be supported by the Senior Relationships Manager and Director of Commercial and Trading, with the opportunity to work closely with colleagues across our Marketing and Communications Team and Senior Management Team. You will have the opportunity to attend training and networking events to deepen your knowledge of the issues surrounding homelessness and social exclusion and extend your professional network.

About us

At Cyrenians we tackle the causes and consequences of homelessness. We understand that there are many routes into homelessness, and that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to supporting people towards more positive and stable futures. That’s why all our work is values-led and relationships-based.

Read more about our values here.

Website: cyrenians.scot

Who Cares? Scotland is Scotland’s only national independent membership organisation for Care Experienced people. Our mission is to secure a lifetime of equality, respect, and love for Care Experienced people in Scotland and we currently have over 3500 Care Experienced members.

At the heart of Who Cares? Scotland’s work are the rights of Care Experienced people, and the power of their voices to bring about positive change. We provide individual lifelong relationship-based independent advocacy and a broad range of imaginative participatory and engagement opportunities for Care Experienced people across Scotland. We work alongside Corporate Parents and communities to broaden understanding and create change. We work with policy makers, leaders, and elected representatives locally and nationally to shape law, policy, and practice, working together to build on the aspirations of The Promise and secure positive change.

This unique role offers the opportunity to listen to and work directly with children and young people with experience of care, in an individual relationship-based advocacy role, and within participation and group activity across our North East region.

The post-holder will be a key member of the Advocacy and Participation team, supporting young people from across the region to ensure their rights are upheld and their voices are heard. In this role you will have the opportunity to provide independent advocacy, children’s rights, and participation opportunities for children and young people who are looked after, Care Experienced or subject to formal processes and structures. The role will see you actively participating in child’s plan meetings, children’s hearings, and other formal processes, as well as assisting children and young people to prepare for them. In partnership with professionals, carers, and organisations, you will help to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people by keeping detailed records of the work you undertake, writing liaison reports, and monitoring statistics.

As a vital part of the work of Who Cares? Scotland, your role will include facilitating group opportunities for and with children and young people within the North East region (Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Dundee, Angus, Rossie). This includes providing engagement and participation opportunities throughout the Who Cares? Scotland local and national network, as well as meeting with care experienced children and young people to introduce the service in agreement with the local authority. Raising awareness of Who Cares? Scotland and its services with children, young people, professionals, and carers you will also be responsible for facilitating training amongst care corporate parents.

The right candidate for this post will be able to form positive relationships with children and young people and have good interpersonal skills. You will feel confident communicating with individuals and groups, both in writing and verbally, and be able to adapt to a wide range of contexts. Secure in making effective plans, as well as evidencing your work, you can prioritise and meet deadlines. You take enjoyment from working collaboratively with partners, believing in equal opportunities and inclusive working. Committed to children’s rights, you are someone who knows that all young people can make transformative change happen in their lives if given the opportunity. You can demonstrate knowledge of the current structure, developments, policy, and practice in relation to children and young people experiencing care in Scotland. You are also flexible, given the remit of the role, as some evening and weekend work will be necessary, along with a full driving licence and access to transport.

While we would welcome the knowledge gathered through relevant qualifications, we are just as interested in relevant work experience. We welcome and encourage applications from those with experience of care.

The successful candidate will be joining Who Cares? Scotland and working within the North East team at an exciting time, when the voices of those who are in or have experienced care are growing in power, individually and collectively - bringing with them insight, challenge, hope and change.

If this sounds like the role for you, we would love to hear from you.