GROW Trainee - Sheffield

Come and Join us

The GROW Traineeship gives people with experience of homelessness and other disadvantages (including but not limited to; experience of the criminal justice system, mental ill-health or substance misuse) access to paid employment, training and personal development opportunities. The traineeship lasts for up to 15 months, and each Trainee receives personalised training and enhanced support to give them the skills and confidence they need to secure meaningful employment at the end. This is an opportunity to learn skills, gain on the job experience and be supported to move on to employment after the traineeship.

We are looking for people who are passionate about using their own experiences to help make change for people in Sheffield experiencing bad housing and homelessness.

About Shelter

A home is a fundamental human need, as essential as education or healthcare. Yet millions of people across Britain struggle on a daily basis with homelessness, bad housing conditions, soaring rents, discrimination and the threat of eviction. So, we are striving for change, with individuals, in communities, across society, and leading the way to a safe home. We need ambitious, best-in-class individuals who are passionate about our cause to join us at this exciting time. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

At Shelter we are united by our purpose to defend the right to a safe home. Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. We believe that to win that fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement for change. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, fair, equitable and transparent. We have committed to combat racism both within and outside Shelter and welcome you on our journey to becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.

About the role

The GROW trainee will be working with our specialist Drug and Alcohol Prevention and Recovery Service in Sheffield, which supports people with current or previous substance misuse to maintain their home and live independently.

This vacancy is an opportunity for you to gain experience working with a leading provider of homelessness and housing advice and support. You will be part of a thriving Hub of advice and support services in Sheffield, supporting vulnerable people. The traineeship is open to anyone who has previously experienced any form of substance misuse and can bring their insight of how substance misuse affects housing need. The GROW trainee programme is an opportunity for us as an organisation to learn via your expertise. You will help us to develop our services in Sheffield and across Shelter at a national level, ensuring that they follow the principles of co-production and being trauma informed. You will use your experiences to bring knowledge and insight to influence this work.

You will be given extensive on the job training, support, and supervision, and will have access to a personal budget to help in your own personal and professional development. Previous trainees have used the personal budget for things like mental health support and training or educational qualifications. The successful candidates will also have access to Shelter s Employee Assistance Programme and will have dedicated wellbeing support.

About you

We are looking for people who have experience of overcoming personal challenges and barriers and who are passionate about using their own life experiences to help make positive change for others. Good communication skills and the ability to make people feel heard will also be essential. Basic computer skills, e.g. word processing, the internet and email would be useful, but support can be provided. Above all, we need people with a real desire to develop personally and learn new skills.

How to apply

To apply you need to submit a copy of your CV and a completed application form (available on our website). This can be submitted either online, by email or you can submit a paper copy.

We will be holding support sessions at our hub in Sheffield to give people practical support and advice on how to complete an application, or to pick up a paper application. This session will also give you the chance to find out more about the role as well as other opportunities at Shelter Sheffield. More information and contact details on our website.

If you can t attend, we encourage people to give us a call to discuss the job or arrange a visit. We encourage all applicants to attend a session before submitting an application.

We operate Fair Chance Recruitment practices and will not ask for any information about convictions during the application process. This role is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. We are open to and inclusive of applicants with criminal convictions for this role; having a criminal conviction will not prevent us from considering you. Following the interview stage, we will ask our preferred applicant to disclose any past unspent convictions. The information disclosed will be considered by a panel and a decision will be taken about making an offer.

Please note

This role is ring-fenced for those with lived experience of multiple disadvantage.

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.

Safeguarding

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 of 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.

Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs submitted by external recruitment agencies