4 Housing advice officer volunteer roles in Birmingham

Settle is a charity that supports young adults as they leave the care system and move into their first home. We provide intensive one-to-one coaching support, helping young people develop the skills and confidence they need to sustain their tenancies, manage their finances and live independently. Our preventative approach to homelessness helps care-experienced young people build stable foundations and thrive in adulthood.

All our Trustees bring different personal experience and professional expertise to support our work. To make sure we keep young people at the centre of our decision-making, we aim to always have at least two Trustees with care experience.

We are now looking for new Trustees to help us deliver our mission. We are seeking people with experience in one or more of the following areas:

· Policy influencing and/or strategic communications

· Support for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness

· Support for people seeking asylum and refuge

Our aim is to recruit at least two new Trustees, who between them bring experience across all three areas. We don’t expect you to lead an area of work at Settle – that’s the responsibility of the staff team. We are keen to benefit from your advice, insight and understanding of the key issues we’re dealing with.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and Board team, and we particularly welcome applications from people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds, or with other lived experience of discrimination. We are proud to be a member of the Care Leaver Covenant, and care-experienced applicants who meet the criteria for this role will be guaranteed an interview.

St Basils is looking for a new Non-Exec Director / Trustee with Marketing & Communications experience to join our Board

About Us

St Basils works with young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, to enable them to find and keep a home, grow their confidence, develop their skills, increase opportunities and ultimately prevent homelessness.

We help just over 4,000 young people each year across the West Midlands, with services in Birmingham, Coventry, Sandwell, Solihull, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Our services range from providing supported accommodation to outreach, advice, support, employability and engagement services to help young people regain the stability they need to rebuild their lives, gain skills, confidence and employment and move on. The aim is to help them successfully break the ‘cycle of homelessness’ so that they can go on to experience a bright, fulfilling future and never return to a state where they are at risk of homelessness again.

About our Board

We are a registered provider of social housing, a charity and a company limited by guarantee, meaning our Board members are both Directors and Trustees.

To navigate our challenging regulatory landscape, we need to be tightly governed. At the heart of this is a Board with the right knowledge, values, skills and diversity, all whilst working towards our vision that homelessness should not be part of growing up.

As a member of St Basils’ Board, you will be a guardian of St Basils’ charitable purpose. You will be responsible for holding the Senior Leadership Team to account through constructive challenge and support, and for ensuring St Basils’ strategic priorities are met.

You will form part of St Basils’ governance framework, providing oversight of key business areas, such as business planning, safeguarding, risk, finance, health and safety, EDI and business development. 

Our Board is made up of 14 members, 2 of which are designated for young people who have lived experience of homelessness and / or St Basils’ services.

St Basils has adopted the RACE Equality Code and is actively seeking applications from those from Black communities to ensure our Board is reflective of both the young people that we serve and our dedicated workforce.

About the Role

We are looking for a voluntary Director / Trustee with expertise in marketing, communications and/or public engagement to increase the reach of our campaigns. Our new Board member will need to strong networking and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to open doors and build relationships.

As our Marketing & Communications Board Member, you will:

· Ensure marketing initiatives align with the organisation’s goals and regulatory requirements.

· Support St Basils’ PR and marketing initiatives by bringing knowledge of current marketing tools

· Help identify opportunities to increase the visibility and impact of St Basils’ campaigns.

· Leverage personal and professional networks to enhance the charity’s reach, partnerships and fundraising potential.

· Work closely with the Director of Income Generation & Value Capture to ensure St Basils’ marketing and communications strategies are being implemented effectively.

• Contribute to trustee discussions and decisions on broader charity strategy, risk management and financial oversight.

Our new Director / Trustee will sit on our Business Support & Audit Committee which oversees central functions, including Finance, HR, Fundraising and Marketing. This committee meets virtually, one a quarter.

Although the role is voluntary, reasonable expenses will be paid for costs incurred in undertaking the role.

About You

You will be an experienced professional in marketing, communications, PR or brand strategy, ideally with experience in the youth or homelessness sectors.

You will demonstrate sound judgement and be able to challenge confidently and constructively, although you do not need to have Board experience.

Understanding of governance and the responsibilities of a charity trustee is desirable, but training will be provided.

You will work within the principles of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and understand the needs of the diverse young people we serve.

You will put the needs of young people first, be passionate about ending youth homelessness and share our mission, vision and principles.

Time Commitment

You will need to be able to attend the majority of Board and Committee meetings, one of each is held each quarter (8 meetings total per year). Each meeting will last around 2 hours and will normally be held late afternoon/early evening (usually 4pm – 6pm). Board meetings are held in person at St Basils’ Head Office in Birmingham, and Committee meetings are held virtually via Microsoft Teams. The dates for meetings are set by calendar year, towards the end of the previous year.

Meeting papers will be shared via an online portal one week in advance of the meeting to allow for sufficient preparation time.

A Board away day is held each year, usually October, and every other year this includes an overnight stay. This will be fully paid for by St Basils.

We encourage Board members to visit our accommodation services to deepen understanding of our work and support effective governance and decision-making. We would like all Board members to make 2 visits a year if possible.

All travel expenses incurred in attending Board meetings / conducting site visits will be reimbursed by St Basils.

What’s in it for you?

We offer a series of essential online training courses (for example GDPR, Cyber Security, EDI, Safeguarding, Risk Management) and the opportunity to do additional online or in-person training, such as Psychologically Informed Environment training. As part of our commitment to race equality, we provide mandatory Anti-Racism training for all staff and Board members.

You will be part of a knowledgeable and supportive Board and have the opportunity to work alongside young people with lived experience.

You will have the guidance of a knowledgeable Chair to support your development as a Director / Trustee, and you will have access to St Basils’ Senior Leadership Team to help you fulfil your role.

St Basils is a learning organisation and therefore we are able to support and develop Board members who are new to the role. In addition, St Basils has membership with the Board Development Agency, which provides our Board Members with access to webinars and development tools specific to housing sector Boards.

Being a Director / Trustee at St Basils is more than just attending meetings – if you would like to contribute to an organisation that has young people at its core, where you can visibly see the difference you are making, then this is the role for you.

For further information please see the link to the full job pack.

We welcome early applications and will interview on a rolling basis.

What we do

Respair Therapy C.I.C. began in 2023 with a simple belief: dance belongs to everybody, and every body. Like many of the people we work with, Respair does not fit neatly into one box. Our work exists on a spectrum, from the gloriously frivolous to the deeply serious.

At one end, we hire out silent disco equipment so that people can turn their living room, kitchen or garden into a dancefloor. We create joyful events where people can put on a pair of headphones, choose their music and dance together without worrying about what they look like. Income from silent disco hire goes back into Respair, so a party in someone’s garden can help another person access psychological support.

At the other end is Dance Movement Psychotherapy, or DMP. This is not a dance class or an informal wellbeing activity. It is a recognised form of psychotherapy in which movement, the body and the relationship between client and therapist are central to the clinical work.

In the UK, Dance Movement Psychotherapists complete postgraduate training at Master’s degree level, including clinical placements, personal therapy, supervised practice and academic research. Qualified practitioners register with the Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy UK and work to professional and ethical standards. DMP is used within NHS services, as well as in schools, mental health services, social care, charities and private practice. It is serious clinical work that can support people experiencing trauma, abuse, anxiety, depression, loss, relationship difficulties and other forms of psychological distress.

Between these two ends are projects such as Babe Club, our silent disco for parents, carers and babies; therapeutic movement in schools; and work with neurodivergent people, adults with learning disabilities and people living with dementia.

Our work is inclusive, trauma informed and anti oppressive. Whether we are helping somebody throw a brilliant party or supporting a person through specialist psychotherapy, we are creating more opportunities for people of different ages, backgrounds and abilities to experience movement, connection and psychological support.

How do we what we do

Respair is run by a Founding Director and team of Supporting Directors who volunteer their time. The Founding Director is also the Lead Psychotherapist and Facilitator. We meet quarterly to discuss the finance, legal and compliance aspects of the work. We have an accountant and a book keeper and we use Quickbooks to keep everything in one place. We apply for funding from local and national funding bodies. We have been successful in securing over £24,000 in restricted funds, and we have plans to apply for more. 

What we need

Respair is a creative and responsive organisation, so new ideas and opportunities can appear quickly. We need a Finance Director who can help us pause, understand the numbers and decide what is realistic.

The right person will be financially experienced, practical and approachable. They will look beyond whether the figures add up to help us understand what they mean, ask difficult questions and give clear advice.

Essential skills and qualities

The successful candidate will:

• Have substantial experience using QuickBooks.
• Have experience working with a charity, Community Interest Company, social enterprise or other small mission driven organisation.
• Understand restricted grants, funder budgets and financial reporting.
• Be able to prepare and interpret annual budgets, project budgets, cash flow forecasts and management accounts.
• Compare actual income and expenditure against agreed budgets, identify significant differences and recommend action.
• Assess the financial impact of new projects, contracts, staffing decisions and significant purchases.
• Develop proportionate financial policies and controls, including reserves policies and spending limits.
• Read annual accounts and ask sensible questions before they are approved.
• Explain financial information clearly to people without a finance background.
• Give honest, independent advice and offer thoughtful challenge, including when the Managing Director or Board may have hoped for a different answer.
• Be trustworthy, reliable and able to handle sensitive information confidentially.
• Support Respair’s commitment to inclusion, fairness and accessible mental health support.

The Finance Director will work closely with Debbie, our Founding Director, so a warm, straightforward and respectful working relationship will be important.

Desirable skills and qualities

It would be helpful if the candidate also has:

• A recognised finance qualification, such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA or AAT.
• Previous experience as a finance director, treasurer or board member.
• Knowledge of payroll, PAYE, pensions, Corporation Tax and Companies House reporting.
• Experience working constructively with bookkeepers and external accountants.
• An interest in mental health, therapy, community work or the creative arts.

We do not expect one person to know every answer. We do expect them to recognise the limits of their knowledge, ask questions and seek specialist advice when needed. A sense of humour and an understanding of the slightly unpredictable nature of a small, growing organisation would also be very welcome.