Housing Rights Worker- Kensington and Chelsea

Salary - Grade 3 - £31,133 plus £5,023 London Weighting

Contract - Permanent

Full Time - 37.5 hours per week

Location- London Hub- Kensington and Chelsea

Closing date: 7th January 2025 at 11:30pm

Are you compassionate, proactive and collaborative with experience, knowledge of and/or proven ability in housing and homelessness advice and advocacy? If you re looking for an exciting new career opportunity join Shelter as a Housing Rights Worker you could soon be playing your part in standing up to the housing emergency.

About the role

You will deliver high quality housing advice and advocacy in line with the hub s local community priorities and work with people who are experiencing homelessness and bad housing to identify issues facing local communities. You will plan and deliver casework to individuals and communities to resolve their housing situation and engage with community groups, local organisations and individuals to understand local housing issues and raise awareness of people s rights.

You will also work in local community settings and with community groups to deliver advice and rights awareness workshops and make sure that people with lived experience of homelessness have opportunities to share their story, give their opinions and participate in the design and delivery of Shelter services. Offering day to day support to volunteers, providing learning, shadowing and mentoring and being a consistent role model for our values are also key aspects of the role.

About you

You are able to listen to, engage and work with individuals and communities and with all stakeholders, including people with lived experience of homelessness. You will have experience, knowledge of and/or proven ability in housing and homelessness advice and advocacy and are able to progress to specialist level knowledge, as well as the ability to carry out casework related interviews, maintain detailed case records, advise and support clients to make informed decisions. A proven record of delivering group workshops and presentations is essential, as is a collaborative, flexible and professional approach to your work.

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.

Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through our advice, support and legal services. And we campaign to make sure that, one day, no one will have to turn to us for help. We re here so no one has to fight bad housing or homelessness on their own.

About the team

Our London hub specialises in providing housing advice and emergency homelessness work, intensive support to families, people experiencing domestic abuse and people experiencing multiple disadvantages. With 50 staff, we provide front line support to over 5,000 people a year and work to bring about systemic change with the ultimate aim of people being able to live securely in suitable, safe, affordable homes. London Hub s priorities are improving the practice of local authorities and Registered Social Landlords and focussing on households disproportionately affected by the housing emergency.

In our Kensington & Chelsea service we provide advice and support casework to residents of RBKC with a particular focus on those affected by the Grenfell Fire as well as supporting those in poor social housing quality / disrepair in housing association properties in RBKC. We support the community through intentional casework, workshops and feeding in the views of small scale agencies to local government.

About Shelter

Home is a human right. It s our foundation and where we thrive. Yet every day 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 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.

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 listed below, of no more than 350 words each. Please provide specific examples following the STAR format:

• Ability to listen to, engage and work with individuals and communities
• Effective communication skills with all stakeholders, including people with lived experience of homelessness
• Experience, knowledge of and/or proven ability in housing and homelessness advice and advocacy and the ability to progress to specialist level knowledge
• Ability to carry out casework related interviews, maintain detailed case records, advise and support clients to make informed decisions

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