Housing Solicitor or Paralegal

1 post available

Location: Doncaster - linked to Sheffield Hub

This can be a hybrid role based on service demands

Salary: Solicitor - Grade 5 - £38,724 or Grade 6 - £44,323 depending on experience or Paralegal Grade 3 - £32,585 per annum

Hours: Full time - 35 per week

Contract: Permanent 

Closing date: Sunday 17th May 2026 at 11.30 pm

Join Shelter as a Housing Solicitor or Paralegal, in our mission to drive systemic change and fight for Justice.

If you are a dedicated legal professional with a strong commitment to addressing the housing crisis, we welcome you to apply for this role.

At a time when the housing emergency continues to deepen, your experience could help transform lives and challenge the systems that perpetuate injustice. Come and play a central role in our mission to defend the right to a safe, and secure home.

Working with Shelter means being part of a passionate team that believes a safe home is a fundamental right. Here, your legal skills don’t just change lives - they shape a fairer housing system.

About the roles

Based with our partner organisation, Doncaster Housing for Young People, you will ensure you deliver high quality legal services through casework, the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Scheme and ensuring Legal Aid contract requirements and performance targets are met.

Solicitor

You will challenge unfair housing practices and systemic causes of homelessness through strategic casework and litigation. Working closely with our Sheffield team and the Managing Solicitor to strengthen housing rights awareness across the region, you will support Legal Advisers, ensuring high professional standards and compliance.

Paralegal

You will help our solicitors to maintain an active caseload, enabling our clients to enforce their housing rights. Your role will be varied and will include taking instructions and witness statements, drafting letters, making applications, providing court representation and making sure time recording and income targets are met. Please note this role is being advertised as a Paralegal but on appointment the job title will be Legal Adviser.

About You

For the Solicitor role, we are open to newly qualified candidates with a demonstrable interest in social justice, as well as those who have 3+ years PQE and a strong track record in housing law and Legal Aid work. You will have experience or a demonstrable interest in legal practice in the private or not for profit sector with experience of working on a wide range of housing cases, knowledge of legal aid, housing, homelessness and welfare law. You have the ability to research, write reports, time record and meet financial targets, as well as meeting or be willing to develop to meet the Housing Supervisor Requirements (September 2023).

For the Paralegal role you will need a good understanding of litigation work, be able to carry out legal research and provide a good standard of professional service and client care. You will have excellent communication skills, both in writing/drafting and face-to-face along with proficiency using case management systems and time recording, as well as the ability to manage your time and workload. If you have housing law experience and knowledge of Legal Aid/ CCMS this would be an advantage. You enjoy collaborating as part of a team, respond quickly and positively to change and are not afraid to challenge the status quo and introduce new ideas when appropriate.

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

Our legal Teams (Managing Solicitors, Solicitors, Legal Advisors and Trainees) are based throughout our England hubs. We are currently based in London, Plymouth, Bristol, Norwich, Birmingham, Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Sheffield and Newcastle.

We are enthusiastic, driven and champions for fighting housing injustice. Whilst generating an income, we also address the housing crisis.

You will be part of an existing multi-disciplinary team that offers housing and homelessness advice and support across South Yorkshire. It consists of a solicitor led legal team providing advice and representation, and an advice service providing advice, support and guided self-help to people with housing, debt or welfare benefit issues. There is also a committed and skilled team of volunteers that offer peer support, mentoring and more general volunteering, adding significant value to our core service offer.

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.

How to Apply

Please submit your CV with a supporting statement with responses to the 'About You' points 1-7 outlined in the job description of no more than 1000 words. Please provide specific examples following the STAR format and ensure you demonstrate how you address the behaviour below throughout your responses:

• We prioritise diversity and have an inclusive and open mindset

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.

Recruitment Agencies

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