Job Description

Joshua Robert is working with an award-winning charity based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

They reduce the harm homelessness causes:

• Into emergency accommodation
• With emergency food packs, clothing, hygiene products and more
• Apply for benefits and other support
• Apply for ID and other important documents, register you to vote, help with bank accounts, offer access to the internet and more
• Connect to our support services and direct you to other organisations that may be useful
• Register you with a doctor and help you get healthcare including dentistry, we can accompany you to appointments
• Help you collect evidence of your health conditions to help with social support claims

They are looking for several Night Shelter Co-ordinators to join their team temporarily (until end of March 2025). This is to support homelessness in the local area by providing shelter during the coldest months of the year.

The working pattern for this role meets the needs of the night shelter project which is open seven nights a week during January, February and March 2025 and is hosted at a rotating set of seven locations.

There are three distinct phases: preparation, delivery and review.

Preparation phase: Mid-November to end December 2024

• Working with the staff and volunteer team, finalise preparations for beginning of the shelter in January.
• Participate in training and assist at WHC support services to get to know what help we offer and to start working with guests.
• Work with the support team to prepare the shelter guest list for the pre-shelter, Christmas accommodation project which runs from 23rd December until 6th January.

Delivery phase: January, February, March 2025

During the delivery phase, the two coordinators will work afternoons and evenings, alternating four days and three days a week. They will be able to swap working days as needed.

Example rota:
Week one:
Coordinator 1: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur.
Coordinator 2: Fri, Sat, Sun.
Week two:
Coordinator 1: Mon, Tue, Wed
Coordinator 2: Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun

Daily tasks will include:
2.30pm - 5.00pm: Prepare for the evening s shelter and manage the shelter guest list.

• Reviewing log from previous evening s night shelter, assess and take arising actions.
• Ensure records are updated.
• Manage new shelter referrals, carry out necessary checks. Add and remove people from the guest list following relevant guidance.
• Check the contents of the shelter van, tidy and replenish stocks.
• Communicate with guests as to their night shelter allocation.

5.30pm - 6pm: Break

5.30pm - 7.15pm: Attend shelter venue and oversee set up:

• Ensure that the van is driven to the shelter venue for that evening and unload kit.
• Assist volunteers to set up venue

7.15pm - 9.45pm: Ensure guests are safely welcomed into the night shelter

• Brief volunteers about the guests.
• Ensure only pre-registered guests are admitted into the night shelter and carry out checks to ensure that guests are able to be admitted.
• Ensure there is a clear record of laundry and other tasks to be done the next day.
• Supervise safe running of the evening shift in collaboration with the shift leader
• Provide a full briefing for the night shift volunteers.

9.45pm 8.30am: Be on call to deal with emergencies.

You will be contactable to liaise with shelter shift leaders. You may be asked to return to
the venue to help deal with a critical situation. Neither of these are expected to be a
frequent occurrence.

Review phase: April 2025

• Ensure all equipment is recorded, stored and/or returned and complete various follow
  up actions to ensure any future night shelter runs smoothly
• Participate in reviewing the project.

About you
No one person is expected to embody every aspect of this role and training and development support will be offered. This role would suit a candidate with the following skills and characteristics that will set them on a path to fulfil and be fulfilled by the role.

• Driving along-wheel base hire van is essential to this role so you will need a full UK driving licence, be over 25 and have had your licence for at least 12 months.
• Be a great communicator, both written and verbal especially when it comes to working in a team and with clients who will have a range of needs.
• Capable of safe-manual handling. You will need to be able to lift and a carry equipment, such as bed packs, and help set up the venues.
• Be comfortable setting and following procedures and protocols to enable an effective, safe and efficient working environment.
• Have administrative and IT skills and an ability to maintain accurate records and produce clear written and oral reports. Understanding of data protection and privacy principles is desirable but not essential.
• Be self-motivated with the ability to show initiative and resourcefulness and the ability to innovate and problem-solve.
• Experience of working with volunteers.
• Be comfortable working in an environment where confidentiality is applied to many areas of our work. You ll need to set and maintain boundaries with clients.
• Be aligned to our vision, mission and values and to be happy to act in line with our
  code of conduct.
• Be flexible, resilient and adaptable to change, with the ability to thrive in an environment where change occurs regularly as we adapt to the needs of our services users and the economy and society in which we work.
• Must have an Enhanced DBS (Issued with the last 12 months)