For over 50 years, Cyrenians has tackled 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. We meet people where they are and support them towards where they want to be.

Our mission: To tackle the causes and consequences of homelessness through learning from lived experience; by delivering targeted services which focus on prevention, early intervention and support into a home; and by influencing changes in legislation and policy.

Compassion | Respect | Integrity | Innovation

Read more about us and our values

About the team

Our Policy & Participation Team helps develop Cyrenians’ work to influence policy and systems change through learning from lived and professional experience.

Based within Cyrenians’ Outreach pillar, we work closely with services across the whole organisation, as well as external stakeholders and partners, including national and local government, funders and other third sector organisations.

The team currently consists of a Policy & Participation Manager and Youth Participation Lead.

We cover three main projects:

• The Scottish Frontline Network: Part of a UK wide network for frontline professionals who support people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. We facilitate free events and training opportunities, providing a regular opportunity for frontline workers in Scotland to network, share expertise and link to policy makers.
• All in for Change: A platform for lived and professional experience of homelessness in Scotland. The programme is co-facilitated by Cyrenians and Homeless Network Scotland and led by the Change Team – a group of around 25 people who bring their own unique experience and expertise of homelessness to influence policy change.
• Youth Participation: taking a youth work approach, we provide opportunities for young people supported by Cyrenians to share their experience and expertise and influence change in policy and practice in areas such as youth homelessness, The Promise, neurodiversity etc.

In addition to delivering the projects above, the team works closely with the Press & Public Affairs Manager on influencing opportunities and – when capacity allows – supports other policy and participation initiatives across Cyrenians’ services, e.g. cross-organisational responses to public policy consultations.

About the role

This is a new role created to mainly support delivery on two of our participation projects: the Scottish Frontline Network and All in For Change.

Working closely with the Policy & Participation Manager, you will deliver activities across both projects. The main focus will be to create safe and inclusive ways for people with experience of homelessness and frontline staff to share their expertise and influence change. Key activities will include organising and facilitating various types of engaging events, workshops, focus groups and meetings (both online and in-person) for frontline professionals and people with lived experience of homelessness.

As this is a new post and there will be scope to shape the position depending on your own interests and experience. We are keen to support you to try things out and bring your own ideas to the table.

We are looking for someone who can listen to, and learn from, people from all walks of life; has a passion for participation and co-production; and a desire to make a difference and create change at policy and systems level.

Crisis is the national charity for people experiencing homelessness. We have embarked on our 10-year strategy for ending homelessness. We know it is not inevitable. We know together we can end it.

About the role

Working at Crisis Skylight Edinburgh, you will lead on the delivery of our volunteer programme. You will be responsible for the recruitment of new volunteers, the support of existing volunteers and volunteer to maintain a positive volunteer experience. You will work across teams to ensure volunteers’ experience of volunteering is positive and play a key role in volunteer retention. You will be collaborative and dynamic in working with the team to identify and develop new volunteering opportunities. You will have the ability and confidence to increase the diversity and variety of our volunteering opportunities to reflect our local community and better serve our members. You will be flexible and innovative in reaching a diverse group of people from across the local community. You will also lead on the delivery of events that involve our members, build networks and increase awareness of Crisis’ work in Scotland.

You will have experience of working with people who are socially excluded or with support needs. You will understand the importance of delivering equitable services and can empower our members to share their experience and contribute to continuous service adaptations and improvements. You will be creative and inclusive in establishing service-specific member involvement opportunities so members can influence our service locally. You will work across teams to ensure we deliver our service with people experiencing homelessness, instead of delivering a service to people experiencing homelessness. You will work with the central Crisis team to respond to member involvement opportunities, influencing policy and providing members with the opportunity to share their story with the wider public and media.

About you

• Experience of developing and implementing volunteer programmes.
• Experience of organising successful events.
• Experience of working with socially isolated and excluded groups.
• Awareness of psychologically informed approaches.
• Person-centred, sensitive, and empathetic to the needs of members.
• A track record of successful partnership working.
• Flexible and adaptable to change.
• A strong team player, able to use own initiative and reflect on own practice.

Please see the full Job Pack linked below, for a full list of requirements for this role. We realise that long lists of criteria can be daunting, and you may not want to apply for a role unless you feel 100% qualified. However, if you feel you have relevant examples to answer the screening questions, we encourage you to apply.

We believe diversity is a strength, and our aim is to make sure that Crisis truly reflects the communities we serve. We are actively working towards our organisation being a place where everyone can thrive and make their best contribution to our mission of ending homelessness for good. We know that the more perspectives, voices, and experiences we can bring to this work, the better. We particularly welcome applications from people who have lived experience of homelessness, and people from all marginalised groups, communities, and backgrounds.

Working at Crisis

Our values, Bold, Impactful, Collaborative and Equitable, are at the heart of everything we do as we continue in our mission to end homelessness.

Our staff, members and volunteers are vital to getting the right government policies in place, providing breakthrough services, and building a supportive community. We’ll lead by example to nurture a positive and ambitious workplace guided by ending homelessness.

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

• A competitive salary. Please note our salaries are fixed to counter inequity and we do not negotiate at offer stage
• Interest free loans for travel season ticket, cycle to work, and deposit to secure a tenancy.
• Pension scheme with an employer contribution of 8.5%
• 28 days’ annual leave (pro rata) which increases with service to 31 days and the option to purchase up to 10 additional days leave
• Enhanced maternity, paternity, shared parental, and adoption pay.
• Wellbeing Leave to be used flexibly
• And more! (Full list of benefits available on website)

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.

As a result of planned retirements and Board renewal, we have two opportunities to join our Board as Trustees for Shelter Scotland:

Role 1 Trustee

Role 2 Chair of the Scotland Committee and Vice-Chair to the Board of Trustees.

We’re looking for people with a range of professional and personal experiences. Strong candidates will relish the chance to join a high-performing Board, working with an extremely talented and highly motivated Executive Leadership Team. 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 in Scotland.

Experience in the following areas would be key:

• Knowledge and understanding of the operating environment for third sector organisations in Scotland.
• Experience of public affairs or social policy development in a Scottish context.
• Experience of delivering anti-racism policy and in practice.
• Knowledge and understanding of fundraising in the Scottish context.

What is the Voluntary Sector?

The ‘voluntary sector’ refers to organisations whose primary purpose is to create social impact rather than profit. It is independent from local and national government, and distinct from the private sector. Charities are the largest single category within the voluntary sector.

About Shelter and 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. Our Trustees play a vital role in making sure that we achieve our core purpose.

Being a Trustee

Our Board of Trustees is a non-executive Board with overall legal responsibility for the direction, management and control of Shelter and is collectively accountable for compliance with charity law, company law and other legislative and regulatory requirements. As a Trustee, you will have the chance to support and shape our work and strategic direction. Trusteeship can help you gain experience of strategy and leadership. It will give you experience of setting a strategic vision, influencing and negotiation, and managing risk. If you already have significant experience in these areas, it can be stimulating to use it in a different and potentially challenging context. As a Trustee, you will be part of a team and will have the opportunity to apply your unique skills and experience while learning from others. Working closely with a passionate team of people who have different perspectives is often one of the most enjoyable aspects of the role. People with lived or learned experience of homelessness can bring powerful perspectives to our Board and play an important role in shaping our strategy. Terms of Appointment Terms of office are normally limited to a maximum of two terms, each of three years.

Remuneration

Trustees receive no fees, remuneration, salary or other financial benefits nor any other material benefits in their role at Shelter. However, they can claim reasonable expenses for attendance at Board and other meetings or events in line with the Trustee Expenses Policy.

Application Criteria

Charity Commission CC30 Guidance and the Charities Act 2011 disqualifies some people from acting as a trustee. Shelter will not appoint a person who is not allowed by law to be a trustee.

Our Legal Coordinator will play a key role in our work directly assisting solicitors in the provision of our helpline and legal outreach services, assisting with legal casework, information, advice and representation and contributing to our policy work.

A great Legal Co-ordinator is someone that holds a combination of skills, qualities, and behaviours that contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the team they support. We are looking for someone who is a strong communicator who thrives when working as part of a team. As our Legal Co-ordinator you will serve as a point of contact for our clients directly of via our helpline service, we are looking for someone who is empathetic, patient, and supportive.

We are looking for someone who can work independently to complete tasks, and act quickly to find workable solutions in sometimes high-pressure situations. You will be someone who works to high standards and can drive those high standards in others. This role is ideal for someone who is great at managing their time, has rigorous attention to detail and the ability to interpret and analyse data. As this is a new role for Clan it offers lots of opportunity to bring new ideas to the way we work that will enable us to achieve our goals around legal work and our helpline service.

About Clan Childlaw

Clan Childlaw stands with children and young people when they stand up for their rights.

Clan is an award-winning, independent children’s charity that actively supports children and young people to take ownership of their rights.

We are the only charity in Scotland that provides free, independent legal representation exclusively for children and young people, which is child-centred by design. Because our lawyers work directly with children and young people whose lives are affected by legal decisions, we bring that unique practice-based knowledge to every aspect of our work. This includes our specialist training, our helpline supporting others who help children to use their voices and their rights, and our work to influence children’s rights respecting changes to practice, policy and law.

What We Do

We stand with others who help children use their rights – Through our membership and training for legal professionals and in legal education we are making being a “children’s lawyer” an accredited legal skill set in Scotland. Our practical training and helpline and support for advocacy in Children’s Hearings provides adults that support children and young people information and guidance that they can use to empower young people to stand up for their rights.

We stand out through the excellence of our work – We want our work to have as much impact as possible. We listen to what children and young people tell us about what they need from lawyers and others who support them to use their rights. We use what we learn to develop and design the services they need and talk about why young people’s rights matter, and why children and young people need lawyers.

We stand for change – We are lawyers for children and young people representing children and young people in court, at Children’s Hearings, and in important meetings working to give them equal opportunity to heard and use their rights. We take cases that make change for individual children and young people and help shape better rights respecting policy and practice. We use our knowledge of the law, and experience as practising lawyers for children and young people, to ask decision makers and lawmakers to change the law and the way the law is used to make sure that children and young people's rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.

Our Values

Our values are the principles we uphold in all our work, no matter what. They are the foundation of our workplace culture. Everyone who works at Clan shows our values in all they do and say.

We are supportive: We listen and respond, we provide encouragement and emotional help to children and young people, to others who support young people, and to each other.

We are bold: We are confident and courageous in amplifying the voices of children and young people. We are prepared to take risks when we need to, to defend children and young people’s rights.

We are dynamic: We are always active, always progressing. We are positive, full of energy and new ideas. We ask for change where it is needed.

What we can offer you

Clan Childlaw’s mission is very important to us, but our people are important too. We recognise the importance of a good work-life balance and a friendly supportive work environment. We offer:

• 33 days annual leave (inclusive of public holidays) increasing to 35 after 2 years’ service
• Auto-enrolment into our pension scheme after 3 months service
• Offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and the option to choose the base location that works best for you.
• Flexibility around your working day and the option to work from home some of the time.
• Access to our employee counselling service.

Learning and development is important to us and our team. We hope it’s important to you too. You will be encouraged to engage in learning and continued professional development.

"I have never worked in such a lovely organisation before! I feel valued, seen and heard as an individual here." - A member of the Clan Childlaw team

"I love my job at Clan. It's busy and varied and no two days are ever the same. We have a great team here and everyone is really supportive." - A member of the Clan Childlaw team