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We’re looking for passionate individuals with personal experience of homelessness, bad housing and/or any other disadvantage such as substance misuse to come and join us and make a difference to the way we do things. If you believe that people should have a say in their own support and that they should be at the front of making meaningful change then this could be the traineeship for you.

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.

This is a great opportunity to work with a lead provider of homelessness and housing advice and support and gain invaluable experience while being part of an exciting new programme. The traineeship lasts 12 months and you will receive personalised training and support to help remove some of the barriers that may have prevented you from getting meaningful employment. You'll be based in our Devon Hub and you'll be a key member of the local team delivering advocacy and advice, and promoting and supporting awareness and activism within communities. You'll have the opportunity to get involved in developing our services not only in Devon, but also across Shelter at a national level, using your experiences to influence our local strategic aims.

We are looking for people who are passionate about the opportunity to use their own life experiences to help make positive change for others. You’ll also need a commitment to equality and a zero tolerance approach to discrimination and exclusion. 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.

To apply you need to submit a copy of your CV and a completed application form. The application form can be found on the Jobs Page down at the bottom where there are 2 links (1 contains the job description and 1 contains the application form). This can be submitted either by email ([email protected]) or you can submit a paper copy to the Devon Hub: Ernest English House, Buckwell Street, Plymouth, PL1 2DA. Please don’t worry if your CV has gaps or limited work experience, this is not a problem. If you need support creating a CV, please get in touch. You can call us on 0344 515 1555 or email Katie at [email protected] or contact the GROW Team at [email protected].

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.

When applying, we appreciate it may feel unusual to be talking about your lived experience to a prospective employer. Please be assured that we ask for this only to assess your suitability for a role that’s designed to help people to use their experiences to develop a career. If you feel you have the necessary lived experience, please apply and share as much as you feel comfortable with in the application to increase your chances of being invited to interview.

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.