Senior Emergency Responses Manager

The Role:

The Senior Emergency Responses Manager has responsibility for leading, coordinating and delivery of all of COPE Galway’s emergency responses for single people experiencing homelessness, ensuring the delivery of high-quality services in line with NQSF (National Quality Standards Framework for Homeless Services) and leading and implementing change, identifying gaps in service delivery and designing and operationalising new services into the future. They have responsibility for ensuring the embedding of the values of COPE Galway and a trauma informed approach within the services.

The role is a strategic one which sits between Service Managers and the Head of Homelessness. Managers in homeless services that work in emergency responses for single people will directly report to them. It is also a collaborative one where the person works closely with two other Senior Homeless Services Managers as well as the wider Homeless Services and COPE Galway Teams. The person will also strategically develop and nurture close collaborative relationships with statutory and voluntary agencies across Galway City and County.

This is a new role with space for the person to contribute to shaping the role and to creatively and dynamically lead the future direction of COPE Galway’s emergency responses to homelessness.

Current Emergency Responses

COPE Galway Fairgreen Hostel is a 26 bed Supported Temporary Accommodation (STA) facility for men and COPE Galway Osterley House is a 12 bed STA facility for women. These services assign each person who avails of them an onsite keyworker who works with them to identify their individual holistic needs and to support them to identify and progress pathways out of homelessness. Fairgreen Hostel and Osterley Lodge are longstanding services in Galway and work collaboratively from an interagency approach to achieve positive outcomes for those they serve.

• The COPE Galway Day Centre provides a range of services for people who are experiencing homelessness in Galway including:

• Referral to and placement in emergency accommodation

• Provision of housing information

• Support in accessing welfare and health services

• Access to food and refreshments, showering facilities, laundry and clothes exchange

• Access to bedding for rough sleepers

• Facilitation of in-house medical clinics

• Street Outreach 4 evenings and 4 mornings per week

• Support to single people in Private Emergency Accommodation (PEA)

COPE, Galway, also operates a seasonal Cold Weather Response during the inclement cold weather months of the year. This service aims to reduce the risks of harm associated with rough sleeping in cold weather, including the risk of death due to hypothermia, through the provision of temporary supported accommodation. The service also acts as a referral point to housing and health support to help to identify solutions to homelessness and to improve outcomes for and with clients.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership & Management:

• Lead and develop a team of managers, ensure service continuity, and oversee the implementation of trauma-informed practices.
• To proactively identify gaps in service provision and design solutions for these, including the development of new services.

Culture & Collaboration:

• Foster a positive, values-driven culture, promote collaboration across teams, and ensure alignment with organizational strategic goals.
• To model leadership behaviours and embed a positive values-led culture.

Operations:

• To ensure continuity of service delivery, including adequate staffing, and to step in at times of staffing crises in Community Services.
• To ensure that managers are operating the day-to-day functions of the service to run smoothly and in accordance with the policies and procedures of the organisation.
• To ensure that confidentiality is maintained in accordance with the organisation's Data Protection Policies and Procedures and agreed information sharing protocols.

Client Services:

• To support managers to ensure a safe, welcoming and friendly environment is established and maintained in the operation of the services.
• To support the development and embedding of a proactive and flexible approach to client engagement.
• To ensure that services operate a care and case management system in line with best practice.
• To ensure that appropriate and effective procedures are in place for communication and consultation with clients including supporting the organisation’s policy of encouraging client involvement in a wide variety of ways.
• To support managers to ensure that clients are consulted and involved in the operation of the project to the greatest practical extent.
• To embed a culture of positively receiving complaints and feedback, to ensure that complaints are processed and dealt with in line with policy and procedure, to engage in the processing of escalated complaints.
• To support managers and teams to reframe challenges in positive terms as learning opportunities for individuals and the organisation and to support compassion, understanding, pragmatism and resilience in teams.

Interagency Collaboration:

• To communicate effectively and respectfully with colleagues across agencies.
• To develop and nurture positive and strategically beneficial relationships with relevant external agencies.
• To support managers to report on work and activities to funders as appropriate.
• To represent the organisation at external meetings and events and present the work of the organisation when required.

Health & Safety:

• To provide leadership in the development and operation of Health and Safety procedures and practices across all services and properties linked to the family services, including the office spaces and accommodation units.

Person Specification:

Essential:

• A minimum of five years experience of working in a management role in a comparable area of work
• A minimum of five years experience of working with vulnerable communities
• A recognised third-level qualification (minimum level 8) in Social Care or a related field
• A minimum of three years’ specific experience of working with people experiencing homelessness
• A commitment to the Vision, Mission and Values of the organisation and the achievement of the organisation’s strategic goals
• A thorough understanding of the nature of difficulties in a community and the complex needs of homeless families
• Full clean driving license and own transport

Desirable:

• Management qualification

Core Competencies:

• An ability to develop and promote a culture of understanding, ownership and delivery of the organisation’s vision
• An ability to drive and maintain a culture of expected standards of behaviour within the organisation
• Strong Management, Leadership and Mentorship Skills
• Strong change management skills
• Strong advocacy skills
• A vision for the future of responses for families in the community
• Dynamism and creativity
• An ability to strategically evaluate the services provided by our organisation and outcomes for our clients
• A commitment to working with a diverse client and staff group
• A commitment to collaborating with other agencies and services in the delivery of services
• An ability to build and maintain positive effective relationships and networks
• An ability to take responsibility for service delivery and outcomes
• A commitment to encouraging and promoting a healthy working environment which fosters trust, respect and hard work
• Innovation in identifying new ways of working with, liaising with and engaging with clients
• An ability to solve complex problems, creating effective and innovative solutions
• Promotion of a culture of high-level trust and integrity
• An ability to remain calm and composed within a demanding and stressful environment and situations, focusing on tasks and goals and role modelling effective management of challenging situations to staff
• An ability to model the highest standards of professional practice and encourage others to strive for the same
• Excellent report writing, IT, communication and presentation skills

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: €60,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Bike to work scheme
• Company pension
• Employee assistance program
• On-site parking

Schedule:

• Day shift
• Monday to Friday
• Overtime

Application question(s):

• Do you have a minimum of five years experience of working in a management role in a comparable area of work?
• Do you have a minimum of five years experience of working with vulnerable communities?
• Do you have a recognised third-level qualification (minimum level 8) in Social Care or a related field?
• Do you have a minimum of three years’ specific experience of working with people experiencing homelessness?
• Do you have a full clean driving license and own transport?

Work Location: In person