A knowledgeable, skilled and creative Implementation Lead to design and deliver activities to help people working in and around homelessness in Scotland use evidence and data to enhance their impact of their work. 

You will also act as a leader within the Implementation Team on work relating to policy analysis and public affairs, including specialising in deepening and enhancing our impact in the UK and particularly in Scotland. You will assist in feeding practice insights into our research agenda, and in our work to map promising and effective practice.

IN A NUTSHELL

You will work in a client-centred way to make a big impact on the lives of people experiencing homelessness by developing relationships and leading projects that help local areas identify the right problems and use evidence to design better solutions to homelessness. This work will involve working with local authorities, central government, and third sector organisations.

WHY IS THIS ROLE IMPORTANT FOR THE CENTRE’S WORK?

You will be supporting our What Works Community, our core implementation initiative which aims to build capacity within local areas across the UK to use evidence, data and to achieve breakthrough and sustainable results to address homelessness. 

We are building an agile team to work closely with our partners (e.g. local authorities; regional and national government; third sector organisations), understand their context, needs and ambitions, and work with our multi-disciplinary team, delivery associates and programme  partners to design and deliver solutions that make a real difference to those affected by homelessness, as well as people working towards a future without it.

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING?

You will be part of the Implementation Team within the Centre, reporting to the Head of Implementation. By working creatively with multidisciplinary colleagues and with a focus on practical solutions, you will design and deliver ways of scaling good practice and helping organisations and people implement practice underpinned by robust evidence and trial promising interventions.

You will work closely with a small team of Implementation Leads who you will collaborate with to:

• Proactively identify, create and grow strong relationships with potential partner organisations, working in a client-focussed manner to identify opportunities, develop goals, and draft and deliver plans and projects.

• Design and deliver activities which translate evidence of what works into practical advice for practitioners, policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders.

• Cultivate a rich knowledge and understanding of practice in communities and organisations working to end homelessness, working to identify and map promising practice and opportunities for knowledge sharing.

• Synthesise knowledge, skills and expertise from relevant fields (e.g. homelessness/housing, local government, public services transformation, service design) to generate insights and provide credible and impactful analysis and advice.

  In addition to this, you will act as a leader within the Implementation Team on work relating to policy analysis and public affairs. This will include:

• Working closely with our Public Affairs and Evidence colleagues to develop evidence based policy positions and recommendations, feeding perspectives, insight and challenge from your knowledge of implementation and current practice of homelessness.

• Work closely with Evidence colleagues to help design and deliver analytical projects (e.g. value for money) requiring close interaction between evidence-generation activities and sector stakeholders. You will help bring real-world perspectives to projects, identify and build relationships with stakeholders (e.g. partner local authorities), and help scope, design and deliver analysis and interpretation of findings, drawing on your knowledge of homelessness practice and policy.

• Bringing specialism in UK housing policy and practice environment and to lead in driving forward the Centre’s profile and nurture key relationships with local areas.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE AND BEHAVIOURS

• Outstanding communication, problem-solving, and analytical skills, including strong capacity to manage and coordinate simultaneous customer relationships and projects and drive projects forwards to achieve tangible results;

• Experience in client management and/or business transformation work such as social impact consultancy or business development.

• Experience working with local government and/or previous involvement the homelessness sector or related field, ideally with deep knowledge and relationships in the Scottish homelessness sector.

• Experience working within or adjacent to the homelessness sector in Scotland.

• Enthusiasm for developing and expanding an innovative program within a young and ambitious nonprofit;

• Collaborative and flexible work style;

• High proficiency in project management software, remote engagement tools, Microsoft Office, and Google Suite.

Nice to have

• Track record in helping organisations use evidence and data to improve the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of their services or interventions;

• Experience in implementation science, service design, impact evaluation methodologies, data analysis, and/or behavioural insights.

You will be able to demonstrate the following:

• The capacity to build and nurture good relationships with diverse stakeholders and deliver tangible results.

• Ability to synthesise complex information, generate and present recommendations, and support their implementation.

• Ability to communicate confidently with a variety of audiences and in a range of media.

• Willingness to try new things in a considered and structured way and learning from experiences to improve processes.

• Interest in learning from other disciplines and curiosity to learn from a spectrum of perspectives.

• A commitment to both the aims and values of the Centre.

INTERVIEW DATE

w/c 13th January 2025