Development Officer Jobs
Whatever your experience of street homelessness and its impact on people’s lives – personal or professional – when you join the Thames Reach team as Senior Employment Specialist, we’ll make the best use of all your understanding, compassion, and commitment.
About us…
Thames Reach runs projects and services that help to end homelessness in London. We work directly with homeless people on the streets and in hostels. We work to prevent vulnerable people from becoming homeless. We help formerly homeless people get their lives back on track. We help people find work and access training and volunteering opportunities.
Is our mission easy? No, but we never give up on people. Last year we helped more than 11,000 people.
Is our work rewarding? Yes, in every sense. We’re listed as one of the top 100 Best Workplaces in the UK. There’s no better place to develop or transfer your skills and build a fulfilling career.
About this role…
The area of Prevention supports vulnerable people by providing them with skills, housing advice, accommodation, and tenancy sustainment support. All the services within the area of prevention work to help people transition towards leading independent lives.
We are looking for a Senior Employment Specialist to join the Lambeth Individual Placement Support Service team.
As a Senior Employment Specialist, you will be responsible for:
- Providing exceptional support to people with mental health issues into suitable and sustainable employment.
- Assertively engaging with people from referral, into work and beyond for sustainment, offering comprehensive support in skills identification and practical guidance.
- Playing a crucial role in supporting sustained success for people and employers post-employment.
- Establishing relationships with key stakeholders in mental health teams, with employers and skills providers for effective referrals and successful outcomes whilst supporting senior managers to compile monthly and quarterly data for reporting submissions.
- Ensuring accurate data collection, recording and maintenance of an up-to-date case management system.
- Managing volunteers and support the induction process as and when required and attending regular meetings with Mental Health teams.
To succeed as a Senior Employment Specialist, you will have:
- Knowledge and experience of providing employment support to vulnerable people.
- Experience with communicating and building relationships with diverse stakeholders.
- To be able to empower and motivate people to help build confidence and resilience.
- To be organised, have good time-management skills, and be able to keep clear and up-to-date records.
- Experience of working independently.
- Excellent IT and administrative skills.
We are listed in the top 100 UK Best Workplaces 2022 in the UK. As part of a commitment to our employees we offer:
- Generous holiday allowance – 29 days per year plus 8 public holidays (pro rata).
- Pension – we contribute 6.5% to your pension when you contribute 1.5%.
- Excellent development opportunities – career progression, regular supervision, and appraisals, and learning programmes to support your career with Thames Reach.
- Wellbeing support – our 24/7 employee assistance programme and opportunities for TOIL.
- Life assurance – four times your annual salary.
- Critical illness cover.
- Other benefits including interest free season ticket and cycle to work loans.
Closing date: 01/04/2024
Interview date: 16/04/2024
Thames Reach is committed to achieving a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We value, respect, and celebrate diversity. We welcome and encourage applicants from all sections of the community regardless of their history of homelessness, sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, or religious belief.
To apply visit our website and complete our application form.
For further information please contact, Kushba Bibi (contact details on our website).
Thames Reach is committed to safeguarding. Applicants must be willing to undergo pre-employment screening appropriate to the post, including, but not limited to checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. Having a criminal record will not exclude you from applying but you will be asked to provide further details as most posts are considered exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
Overview
The Choir with No Name runs choirs and builds joyful singing communities with homeless and marginalised people, around the UK. Currently, there are six choirs: in Birmingham, Liverpool, London, Coventry, Brighton (run in partnership with BHT Sussex) and Cardiff (run in partnership with The Wallich). We were founded on the premise that singing makes you feel good; it distracts you from all the nonsense in life and helps you to build confidence, skills and genuine, long-lasting friendships. Our choir members are people who have experienced homelessness, or who are simply going through a tough time in their lives.
“I’m so happy to have found CWNN. It’s made such a difference to me. I’ve broken a 25-year cycle with drugs and honestly, I don’t think I could have done it without the choir. I’m not existing anymore, I’m living, and that’s huge.”
- Richard, choir member
We have recently received funding from the National Lottery to build our participation programme to support choir members and people from the wider community work together to create safe, accessible and inclusive choir communities, as well as contribute to the national direction of the Choir with No Name. We are looking for someone to take on this exciting new role to lead the development of our participation programme at a national level as our Community Participation Manager. This role will work with our six current choirs and build a foundation for all future choirs.
As an organisation, we are committed to moving towards greater co-creation of choirs with people with experience of homelessness. This role is a crucial part of this journey.
This role could be for you if you come from a background of volunteer management, client involvement, participation, or co-production.
We are an equal opportunities employer, and firmly believe that each team member can provide a unique perspective and valuable contribution to the lives of the people we work with, and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, ethnicity, religion or belief. We particularly welcome applications from people with lived experience of homelessness. We follow an anonymous recruitment process.
Reports to: Head of Programmes.
Contract: 3-year fixed term contract with potential to extend.
Hours: Part time, 22.5 hours a week (3 days), flexible and compressed hours possible.
Location: Remote with potential to work from the Sheffield registered office, with colleagues in Sheffield, London, and Colchester. Must be UK resident/taxpayer.
Annual leave: 25 days per year pro rata (rising with length of service) + UK bank holidays.
Salary: £35,360 pro rata.
Benefits: 6% employer contribution pension, Employee Assistance Programme, home working allowance, flexible hours.
Deadline for applications: 9am April 19th
Job description
Participation framework
- Carry out a skills audit across all our choirs to understand what skills are needed to run each choir with greater involvement from choir members, facilitated by choir managers. This will include discovering what skills choirs have amongst their existing member and volunteer communities, and what support and training could be shared.
- Research other organisations’ participation frameworks and volunteer programmes to identify ways in which the Choir with No Name can learn from others in the sector.
- Identify a range of tasks, roles, and responsibilities (being clear about the distinction between the these) that members and people in the community can take part in to support the running of the choir, along with the training they would need to do so.
- Identify healthy ways to step down from roles and responsibilities.
- Design and pilot a framework of roles, responsibilities and tasks, and associated training and support, before rolling out nationally across all our choirs.
Existing volunteer programme
- Evaluate our existing volunteering programme, listening to our volunteer team about their experience as a volunteer, identifying areas for development.
- Develop the existing volunteer programme to support and value volunteers and to incorporate our new approach to co-creation and co-production.
- Work with our existing volunteers in a transition from the current programme into the participation framework, whilst continuing communicating the value and importance of volunteers within the Choir with No Name.
Manage volunteer communications
- Develop and manage accessible communications to ensure volunteers are equipped with the tools they need to do their roles (training, policies, support) and feel valued (thanks and recognition for their hard work). This could include:
- A regular email to volunteers
- An online portal for volunteers to access whenever they need
- Regular meetings for volunteers to keep them up to date with what is going on in the organisation and to share practice
Volunteer recruitment, induction, training and data
- Lead on national volunteer recruitment and support local recruitment carried out by Choir Managers.
- Develop, with choir members and volunteers, a training programme to support roles within choir. This training should come in a range of forms, and where possible, led or informed by choir members.
- Manage volunteer data, including developing our data management system (currently Monday, but we are considering using Plinth), ensuring:
- Inductions are completed consistently and reviewed for long term volunteers.
- Training is implemented and kept up to date.
- Volunteer data is managed in a central database so we can effectively communicate, track and understand our impact.
- Reporting on volunteer numbers and other information is provided to the Senior Management Team and board.
Other
- Support the development of the Board Experience Programme and the Member Advisory Panel, led by the CEO and Head of Programmes.
- Work towards the Investing in Volunteers or Kings Award for Voluntary Service.
- Carry out any other duties as may be reasonably required by the Choir with No Name within the scope of the role.
Experience/skills
Essential:
- Demonstrable skills and experience in project management
- Good listening, information gathering and research skills
- Skills and experience in at least one of the following:
- volunteer management
- client involvement
- co-production
- participation
- community development
- Ability to synthesise and represent multiple viewpoints
- Experience and comfort in working with data and databases
- Understanding of the needs of people with experience of homelessness and/or demonstrable knowledge and understanding of people who have lived through trauma.
- Good written and verbal communication skills
- Experience in facilitating and leading group sessions and workshops with different stake holders
- Ability to lead online sessions and use zoom and teams effectively
Desirable
- Experience of leading change within an organisation or culture
Personal requirements
Essential
- Ability to work evenings and weekends occasionally
- Willingness to travel
- A desire to be part of a committed and hardworking team working in alignment with the values of the Choir with No Name.
- A self-starter who can work with a high degree of autonomy.
- Good at managing multiple priorities and remaining calm under pressure.
- Consistently work with integrity and confidentiality.
Desirable
- A love for music and singing
For full job description and details of how to apply, visit our website below
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
COMPASS PROJECT - MANAGER
Chrysalis Group are offering an exciting opportunity to an experienced individual to join the Group Support Services team as a manager for the Compass Project.
We are looking for a manager that is passionate about helping people in recovery and has their own personal experience to draw from.
The Compass Project is a Bristol Social Enterprise founded in April 2012 set up for and informed by people in Recovery from Addiction and its related Mental Health and Social Consequences, and managed by a team of skilled professionals and trained mentors. Its main focus is to help others recovering from addiction and mental health issues, so they can receive the support, skills and direction to enable them to feel, empowered, and be confident enough that they have the necessary skills to move into mainstream society and live lives that are free from the harmful consequences of Addiction, living freely, happily, autonomously and independently.
Compass supports the teaching of skills such as IT, English, CV Building, Driving, Retail Sales & Management, Recycling, Gardening, Property Maintenance, Furniture Restoration, Handy Man Services, Managing Donations, Stock Management, Customer Service, Time & Attitude & Behaviour Management, Self-Management, Conflict Management, Relational Confidence, Building Supportfull and Enabling Relationships. We also provide tailored One to One support, Peer-Support, Support Groups, Peer Led Community Activities, Counselling and or Psychotherapy, Psycho-educational Workshops, including Non-Mandatory Spiritual Workshops from a Catholic/Christian perspective open to all whether from other faiths or from non-believers or agnostics, (the only requirement is respect for others and an open mind). We also provide as part of our wider support network within the Group, Structured Supported Accommodation for those who are in or seek Recovery from within an Abstinence Based Perspective.
The ideal candidate will have a passion for helping others as well as a track record of :
- Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team to deliver objectives and income targets through excellent customer service and be able to instil your passion and abilities in your team.
- Have excellent communication skills when dealing with team members, other group employees and other stakeholder.
- Managing safeguarding for service users, staff and volunteers including monitoring any going through recovery.
- Planning and delivering inclusive community engagement, enabling our identified communities to contribute to, promote and share the project’s vision.
- Experience of working with a wide range of people with an equally wide range of needs as well as an awareness of, and sensitivity to, addiction, recovery, mental health, addiction related offenders, those with a disability, and social inclusion issues.
- Excellent and high-level organisational skills with the ability to prioritise workloads to meet deadlines without compromising business deliverables.
Key responsibilities:
- Work collaboratively, pragmatically and enthusiastically with group senior management to ensure outcomes are met and delivered in line with the Group business plan
- Maximise income by ensuring a great retail offer, excellent customer service and communication, supporting services offered, efficient stock rotation, collection and delivery schedules, active grant applications and good use of financial data.
- Address where necessary and seek further support where required in addressing any concerns or contraventions to our Code of Conduct and provide regular inductions, re-inductions and appraisals using a reward and recognition system.
- Plan and deliver inclusive community engagement and activities, enabling our identified communities to contribute to, promote and share the project’s vision.
- Build and maintain relationships and networks with our partners, collaborators and identified communities.
- Effectively communicate with team members, other group employees and other stakeholders including undertaking internal and external reporting requirements for trustees, funders, and project partners.
- Contribute to the collaborative nature of project delivery, supporting team members, sharing learning and co-developing the work programme.
- Publicise and promote our services and shop, e.g. social media, creating presentations, giving talks and preparing documents.
- Be able to work flexibly to meet the needs of the organisation.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.