Title: Head of Services, Housing Association for Integrated Living (HAIL)
Location: Dame Street, Dublin 2
Reporting to: CEO
Primary Purpose: Head of Services will operate at senior management team level with prime responsibility for developing HAIL Support Services within a Strategic Plan based on national housing and mental health policies.
Salary: €55,073-€68,779 (ten-point increment scale)
Key Responsibilities
Ensure that HAIL’s key value of delivering support to tenants and clients with mental health difficulties remains fully operationalised and developed within opportunities presented by housing and mental health policies
Work closely with Senior Management team members in development and management of strategic plans, operational plans, budgets and financial planning
Be proactive in spreading HAIL’s message of quality services provided to a niche tenant and client base through contributing to events, speaking at conferences and producing commentaries to promote and develop HAIL services
Initiate, develop and evaluate new project opportunities, ensuring their viability though sustainable funding sources
Lead the organisational and operational delivery of current, planed and new services.
Lead the support services team providing the environment for strong team building, motivation and innovation in HAIL’s services
Develop relationships with key stakeholders to influence national housing and mental health policies.
Ensure HAIL support services policies and procedures are revised and updated as necessary and reflect best practice in the delivery of support to vulnerable tenants and clients
Lead the design and implementation of tenant and client participation
Identify trends around the changing use of support services and the needs of tenants and clients including gaps and barriers to effective achievement of planned outcomes
Support the work of the Support Services sub-committee of HAIL’s Board
Person Specification
The ideal candidate will hold a third level qualification in social care, housing or similar relevant field; a management-related qualification would also be desirable. In exceptional circumstances, a candidate may be appointed who does not hold a formal qualification but who possesses a very considerable amount of job-related experience. Along with relevant qualifications, the candidate is expected to have core knowledge and understanding of:
the importance of housing to people with mental health difficulties;
why people become homeless and their support needs;
mental health, alcohol, drugs and other issues;
what is necessary to assist people to settle and sustain their tenancy;
team working;
tenancy issues;
neighbourhood issues.
A minimum of five years’ experience in a relevant management role is required. The ideal candidate will have the proven ability to lead by example and motivate teams and individuals to attain high performance levels; identify strategically important issues and operationalise strategic plans; engage staff teams in development of team goals and personal goals; engage, and promote and enhance supportive relationships with appropriate people and agencies. He or she will be passionate about leading the provision of outstanding services to support vulnerable or marginalised people and will share the vision and values underpinning HAIL’s work.
S/he will have excellent written and oral communication skills, ideally with experience of dealing with the media, good interpersonal and teamwork skills, and negotiation and conflict resolution skills along with the ability to advocate effectively, work well under pressure, act calmly in crisis/emergency situations, and deal with challenging behaviour. The candidate will be expected to be capable of planning, organising and prioritising their own work, and have both the ability to act on their own initiative and to work as part of a team.
The ideal person for the position will have considerable empathy with people with mental health difficulties and their families, with an appreciation of boundary issues. They will value organisational policies and procedures, with particular appreciation for the importance of health and safety policy and procedure, especially in respect of lone working. They will be interested in the development of team and individual staff competencies and their own personal and career development.
The candidate must hold a full clean driving licence and have access to a car.
How to apply:
In order to apply for this position, download the application form. Complete and return this to vanya.sargent@crowehorwath.ie by 24th April 2015. Detailed job description and specification attached below.
About HAIL
Founded in 1985, over the past 30 years HAIL has developed from a small-scale voluntary housing association to a highly skilled and specialist approved housing body providing exceptional quality housing and support services to our tenants and clients living in other forms of accommodation including private rented, local authority and other housing association tenures. HAIL currently has over 270 tenancies, housing approximately 430 people in more than 250 properties in the greater Dublin area, ranging in size from single accommodation units to large scale, purpose built mixed housing developments. HAIL have developed an excellent reputation in both the housing and mental health care sectors, where our strength lies in our professionalism and support for those with specific housing needs, primarily mental health difficulties enabling them to live independently and fully integrated in their communities.
HAIL offers housing with supports aimed at maximising our tenants’ abilities to sustain their tenancies. In recent years, HAIL has expanded its support service to provide mental health supports to those in other tenures in order to prevent homelessness and to source accommodation and offer support to those who are currently living in HSE residential services or those being released from prison.
More information is available at our website: www.hail.ie