Community development team members volunteer jobs

We’re currently recruiting a part-time (28 hours per week) Counselling Service Manager to manage the Charity’s Merton counselling service and work with colleagues across our services in Croydon, Merton and Sutton. For this post you need to have a counselling/mental health qualification along with extensive clinical and management experience. We are also looking for people with an open and flexible attitude; excellent engagement skills and a passion for working with children and young people around mental health.

Responsibilities include supporting less experienced staff and supporting the cohesive working between services within the charity. In addition, you will be offering a flexible range of short-term and longer-term mental health interventions to children and young people aged 11-25 including individual and group-based support; workshops; crisis support; mental health themed activities. The posts have scope and opportunity for developing new initiatives and ways of working to support young people’s mental health across South London. 

All posts are fully office based and will require flexible working across service areas and interventions and will involve some regular evening and/or weekend work to meet the needs of young people.  

Please read the full Job Description and Person Specification for this role included in the Service Manager Maternity Cover Recruitment pack below, before completing the forms.

Applying for the Posts  

In the Recruitment pack you will find the Job Description and Person Specification for the Service Managers roles. 

To be considered for the position, the Application Form and the Equality & Diversity Monitoring Form need to be completed and return to the email address on the Application Form by midday on Tuesday 5th May 2025.    

We understand some candidates may want to use AI tools when applying. Whilst we welcome the use of technology to support clear communication and structure, we also want to learn more about the authentic you, so please ensure that your application reflects your own skills, knowledge and experiences wherever possible. In the spirit of transparency - we also ask that you indicate if you have used AI in your application.    

Decisions about who to invite for interview will be based on how well someone demonstrates that they meet the person specification for the specific post, so please make sure you complete the application form fully and accurately, giving evidence of how you meet each point in the person specification and indicating your relevant knowledge, skills and experience. Please note that CVs will not be considered.   

Email applicants will receive a confirmation of receipt and shortlisted candidates will be contacted as soon as possible

*We may close this vacancy early if we believe we have enough strong applications to be able to successfully fill the role(s). Interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.

Housing First Engagement Worker

Contract- Fixed term until 31st December 2027

Salary- £32,585 per annum pro rata for part time

Hours – Part time –31.25 per week

Location- Newcastle/South Tyneside

Closing date: Monday 4th May 2026 at 11.30pm

Do you have a good level of knowledge and experience of supporting people with multiple disadvantage in a housing setting? Then join Shelter as a Housing First Engagement Worker and you could soon be making a real difference to people affected by the housing emergency.

About the role

As an Engagement Worker, you will be pivotal in delivering Shelter’s purpose to defend the right to a safe home by enabling those we assist to enforce their housing rights. You will be a key member of the Housing First team in South Tyneside, delivering intensive support to a small number of individuals with multiple disadvantage, to move from homelessness to sustaining a tenancy. You will need to form links with partner organisations and agencies and your role will be fundamental in supporting someone on their journey through Housing First, supporting up to seven clients at any one time.

About you

You will need experience of support work, a proven ability to listen to, engage and work with individuals and communicate effectively with a variety of stakeholders, especially substance misuse services, health and probation and people with lived experience of homelessness. You will have an awareness of working in a trauma informed, strengths based approach to help people with multiple disadvantage, as well as having experience of writing and implementing person centred support plans and writing detailed case-notes.  Also, you have flexible time management skills and are comfortable collaborating with people from other teams and organisations.

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.

About the team

Shelter North East has been based in Newcastle, covering advice across 12 Local Authorities, for over 25 years and is made up of teams delivering housing advice and support, administration, legal casework and DIY Skills. We also have colleagues covering Community Fundraising and Organising, Client Involvement and Business Development.  

One of our main focuses is systemic change, which we achieve through offering direct advice to clients, as well as training to partners and volunteers to build capacity across the housing sector. We aim to positively influence procedural and policy changes that will improve the experience and outcomes for all those with housing needs in the North East. 

 About Shelter

Home is a human right. It’s our foundation and where we thrive. Yet everyday millions of people are being devastated by the housing emergency.

We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Because home is everything.

We need ambitious, passionate people to join us. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. To win this fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, equitable and transparent. We are committed to combating racism both within and outside Shelter. We welcome you on our journey to becoming truly anti-racist.

Safeguarding Statement

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.

If you would like to discuss the role please contact Sarah Hilditch, Team Leader by email - see job ad

How to apply

Please click ‘Apply for Job’ below. You are required to submit a CV and a supporting statement. The supporting statement should include your responses to the points in the ‘About You’ section of the job description of no more than 350 words each.

Please provide specific examples following the STAR format and ensure you demonstrate how you address the behaviours below throughout your responses:

• We learn from our experiences and are open to risk
• We work together to achieve a shared purpose

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

Do you want to support people with mental health issues in a moment of crisis? 

Are you calm, non-judgemental and able to work effectively with people experiencing distress? 

If you can embody our values of Hope, Courage, Togetherness, and Responsiveness, and want to help others build resilience and manage their wellbeing, we’d love to hear from you. 

Nightlight Helpline / Crisis Café Support Workers (x2) 
Reference: 339
Responsible to: Crisis House Coordinator
Salary: £24,366 per annum (pro rata for part time)
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time 37.5 hours (Part-time from 22.5hrs considered)
Based:  
Hatfield Crisis Café (x1)
Stevenage Crisis Café (x1)

About the Service 

Our Nightlight Service (Cafés, Helpline, 24/7 Crisis House and Daylight provision) is proud to provide urgent support, crisis intervention and emotional support to people experiencing a mental health crisis in Hertfordshire as an alternative to statutory pathways. 

We provide support to adults across Hertfordshire 7 days a week, 365 days a year through our helpline, crisis centres, crisis cafes and a weekend Crisis House. We aim to provide a safe space for people in crisis to talk and feel supported, be listened to without judgement, access relevant support with problem solving and facilitate access to external services when necessary.

As a member of our team you will work closely with service users in crisis by using a person-centred approach as to ensure that each individual is supported with dignity and respect. By honouring the individual experience of each service user, we are able to respect their autonomy as well as encourage and facilitate positive steps towards management of crisis and recovery. 

Service Objectives 

The objectives of Hertfordshire Mind Network’s (HMN) Nightlight Mental health Crisis House are: 

• To endeavour to improve the mental and emotional wellbeing of people experiencing a mental health crisis across Hertfordshire. 
• To provide 24/7 support for individuals experiencing mental health crisis in a safe and non-judgemental environment. 
• To increase early access to help for people experiencing mental health crisis in Hertfordshire, by providing clear and effective pathways to other services provided by HMN and other third party and/or statutory providers. 
• To remain a source of independent support for all Service Users. 
• To provide an alternative pathway to people in distress and crisis, employing a person-centred approach in order to enable better outcomes for those in need as to reduce the demand on statutory Crisis and Emergency services. 

At the Crisis Cafes we promote and enable people to access support in a way that suits them, whether that’s through talking to someone or simply by providing a safe space to have time alone or engage with trained staff. 

About the Role 

You will be a key member of staff delivering the Nightlight Mental Health Crisis Service. Taking part in a rota covering 7 days per week, ensuring the delivery of high quality crisis support  and instilling Hertfordshire Mind Network’s values throughout the Crisis Cafe and Helpline services. Working closely with other staff such as: The Service Manager, Team Leaders, Co-Ordinators, Contract and Bank Support Workers and Volunteers in order to ensure services are of the highest quality and to support the continued growth and development of the service.

We offer: 

• Annual leave entitlement of 25 days per year pro rata, rising in increments to a max. of 29 days after 5 years employment (plus 8 days Bank Holidays) 
• An additional day of leave each year for your birthday following completion of probation period. 
• Ongoing training relevant to your role. 
• An Employee Assistance Programme. 
• Health cover (after 6 months employment) – compensation payment for Optical, Dental, Chiropody and Therapy Treatments. 

Being able to drive and having access to your own vehicle (or equivalent) is essential for this role. 

Closing date for receipt of applications is 29th May 2026  
Interviews to be held on a rolling basis in our Watford office or Microsoft Teams.
N.B. Please quote reference number 339 when completing your application for this role. 

Interested?

If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.

Equal Opportunities

We welcome applications from all suitably-qualified candidates, irrespective of gender, disability, marital or parental status, racial, ethnic or social origin, colour, religion, belief, or sexual orientation. In addition, during the various stages of recruitment, specific measures can be taken to ensure equal opportunities for candidates with disabilities or special needs.

Hertfordshire Mind Network is committed to the Disability Confident and Mindful Employer charters. We actively recruit staff who have a lived experience of mental ill health. We recognise and value the unique combination of skills, knowledge and perspective that employing people with a lived experience, at all levels across the organisation, brings. We create an environment where the sharing of experiences and vulnerabilities to support others and create positive change is welcomed and work towards breaking down the ‘them’ and ‘us’ culture. The organisation is committed to nurturing peer relationships that allow all staff to thrive.

No agencies please.