DIY Skills Advisor

Closing date: 17 September 2017 (at 11.30pm)

We're looking for proactive individuals with excellent decorating, gardening, plumbing and general DIY skills, to join us as DIY Skills Advisor and teach our service users how to maintain and improve their homes.

Specialising in housing, welfare benefits and debt advice, Shelter operates services around the UK where people in housing need can access a comprehensive range of support services. These include legal advice and representation, housing related support, an information and resource facility and training in practical home maintenance. Join us, and you could soon be playing your part in our future success by helping service users, predominantly in their own homes, in Bristol, London and Manchester.

Benefits include 30 days annual leave, flexible working and significant opportunities for learning and development.

Your key responsibilities:

• Taking on a demanding caseload, working at times with people who may have, amongst other problems, issues relating to child or vulnerable adult protection
• In consultation with other staff in the service, prioritising work according to the relative needs of the families involved
• Providing practical support and assistance, ranging from painting, tiling, decorating and gardening, to basic DIY skills and purchasing tools and health & safety advice, on a "how to do" basis
• Assisting with the development and promotion of Shelter services and liaising with the council and other housing providers on behalf of clients regarding repairs that should be undertaken by them.

And what you'll need:

• Demonstrable practical skills in a variety of household DIY areas, e.g. decorating, plumbing, gardening etc. and excellent skills in prioritisation, organisation and boundary setting with service users
• Experience of advising and supervising others undertaking practical tasks around the home
• A proven ability to network proactively gather information, skills in advocacy, negotiation and problem solving and up to date knowledge of all relevant policies and procedures
• A full clean driving licence and proficiency using Microsoft office applications.

Please note that you will be required to have an enhanced DBS check for this role.

Shelter is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of clients, in particular children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all staff, workers and volunteers to share this commitment.

At Shelter, we welcome and encourage applications from everyone regardless of age, disability, gender, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. We are facing diverse problems, so need diverse people to tackle them.

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.

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