Engagement Manager (Leading the Lighthouse)

The role

The Engagement Manager leads the relational and safeguarding delivery of Lighthouse, ensuring the programme is experienced as a place of dignity, trust, and consistency for every participant. This role sits at the centre of the work - shaping how Lighthouse feels, how people are received, and how support is experienced in practice.

Lighthouse operates in a dynamic environment where participant needs, operational demands, and volunteer teams intersect daily. You will bring presence, judgement, and emotional intelligence to that space, maintaining strong relational consistency while responding thoughtfully and appropriately to what emerges in real time.

You will take ownership of participant engagement across the programme. This includes building trusted relationships, maintaining strong safeguarding practice, and supporting volunteers to engage in ways that are respectful, boundaried, and trauma-informed. Your role is to ensure Lighthouse is not only well run, but deeply human - a place where people feel seen, respected, and supported.

You will also play a central role in shaping how Lighthouse supports people beyond immediate engagement. By understanding participant journeys and needs, you will help strengthen pathways into stability, connection, and opportunity. This requires sound judgement, relational skill, and the ability to translate insight into practical support.

You will work closely with the Programme Manager to ensure Lighthouse remains both operationally strong and deeply responsive to the people it serves.

Key responsibilities

Participant engagement and presence

• Lead participant engagement across Lighthouse delivery
• Build consistent, trusted relationships with participants
• Maintain a visible, calm, and grounded presence during programme sessions
• Help ensure participants feel recognised, welcomed, and respected

Participant wellbeing and support

• Recognise emerging participant needs and respond appropriately
• Support participants to access information, services, and appropriate support
• Help maintain a safe, respectful, and inclusive programme environment
• Ensure participant experience remains consistent and well held

Safeguarding leadership

• Lead safeguarding practice across the programme
• Coordinate safeguarding processes, documentation, and follow-up
• Respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns and incidents
• Ensure safeguarding procedures and escalation pathways are consistently followed
• Exercise sound judgement in complex or sensitive situations

Volunteer support and guidance

• Support volunteers to engage confidently and appropriately with participants
• Provide guidance on boundaries, relational approaches, and safeguarding awareness
• Help create a volunteer culture that is consistent, compassionate, and well supported
• Ensure volunteers feel clear, confident, and supported in their roles

Partnerships, referrals, and pathways

• Build and maintain relationships with outreach teams, support services, and sector partners
• Coordinate referrals and connections to external services where appropriate
• Develop pathways into employment, training, and longer-term stability
• Liaise with employers and partner organisations connected to participant opportunities
• Strengthen the network of support available to participants beyond Lighthouse

Requirements

About you

This role requires someone who is grounded, perceptive, and confident taking responsibility within a complex, people-centred environment.

You will be able to build trust quickly while maintaining clear boundaries and professional consistency. You will bring a calm, thoughtful presence and be comfortable navigating emotionally complex situations with care and sound judgement.

You will likely bring:

• significant experience working alongside vulnerable or marginalised communities
• strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills
• knowledge of safeguarding practice and working with vulnerable adults
• confidence navigating complex or emotionally demanding situations
• the ability to remain calm, consistent, and thoughtful under pressure
• a deep commitment to dignity, respect, and trauma-informed practice

Working pattern

Lighthouse operates primarily between 8:00am and 8:00pm, with occasional evening events. Programme delivery is supported by a team of volunteers.

The two Managers coordinate their working schedules to ensure presence during key delivery periods across the programme week.

Working patterns are flexible and planned collaboratively to support delivery while maintaining sustainable workloads.

Lighthouse Management Structure

Lighthouse is delivered through a shared model, with two Managers working together to ensure the programme remains a safe, consistent, and dignified space for people experiencing homelessness.

Delivering this well requires both strong programme organisation and careful, trauma-informed engagement with participants.

The two Managers hold complementary responsibilities that ensure Lighthouse is both well-run and deeply responsive to the people it serves. While each role leads on specific areas of the programme, they work closely together to maintain consistent standards, clear communication, and a reliable experience for participants.

Joint responsibilities

Together the Managers ensure that Lighthouse operates with consistency, safety and care:

• Participants experience Lighthouse as a safe and welcoming space where they are treated with dignity and respect
• Delivery remains trauma-informed, relational, and grounded in Under One Sky’s values of presence, trust, and follow-through
• Lighthouse sessions are appropriately staffed, with volunteers and team members supported to deliver confidently and reliably
• Safeguarding is embedded into day-to-day delivery, with clear processes for responding to disclosures, incidents, risk, and vulnerability
• Participant needs, concerns, and wellbeing are recognised early and responded to appropriately
• Volunteers and staff are supported to hold clear boundaries while maintaining compassion and respect
• Communication and follow-through are strong so participants do not experience gaps, confusion, or inconsistent responses
• Lighthouse maintains a high standard of care, professionalism, and stability across the programme week

Culture and approach

The Managers help shape the tone of Lighthouse through calm, grounded leadership and consistent presence within the programme.

They help ensure the Lighthouse remains a place where participants feel:

• seen and respected
• safe and protected
• met with consistency rather than unpredictability
• supported without judgement
• able to access help with dignity

They create the conditions for volunteers and staff to provide meaningful support while ensuring Lighthouse remains structured, accountable, and deeply human.