Project Worker, Homeless Services

Job Title :   Project Worker, Homeless Services

The Role

The Project Worker is tasked with providing practical assistance and support to families and / or individuals during their engagement with COPE Galway Homeless Services with a focus on assisting to source and secure appropriate accommodation options and on supporting to address health and care needs where appropriate. The role carries with it an opportunity to develop skills across a variety of homeless services in Galway City.

These include :

• Short Term Accommodation facilities for single homeless people and for families
• Support to families and single people residing in Private Emergency Accommodation
• A Day Centre and Outreach service for people at risk of rough sleeping
• Resettlement, Tenancy Support and Community Based Housing
• A seasonal Cold Weather Response

The successful candidate will be deployed to work within COPE Galway's homeless services where needed and on a periodic rotational basis where appropriate and will be first assigned to work in the service named in the advert. They will carry a key working case load in the services where deployed with responsibility for care and case management and on duty they will have a responsibility to, as part of a team, ensure the smooth and safe operation of that service. They will work with their colleagues to collaboratively embed the values of COPE Galway and a trauma informed approach within COPE Galway Homeless Services.

Current vacant assignments are :

Family Services x 1 (Contract 1 Year Fixed Term Full Time)

Family Services X1 (Specific Purpose 18.5 Hours Part Time)

Our Values, Our Work, Our People

COPE Galway  is a charity that has been providing social services in Galway since the 1970s. Our homeless services offer people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness a range of residential and non-residential supports. Our team works tirelessly to find individualised creative solutions. Ours is a learning organisation where we seek to innovate in line with evidence based best practice. We embrace strengths-based approaches, harm reduction, trauma informed care and rights-based service provision.

Our Vision  is a community where every person is valued, cared for, and supported at every stage of life. We work to achieve this by providing essential supports for people at challenging times in their lives, and by advocating for systemic change to remove the root causes of inequity and disadvantage that constrain the wellbeing and development of individuals, families and communities.

Our Mission  is to make a difference by empowering people, creating change and strengthening communities. We understand, respect and respond to the needs of our clients who are always at the forefront of our work. COPE Galway is committed to becoming a  Trauma Informed Organisation  through an implementation plan that includes training for all team members across all roles and departments. Trauma Informed Practice (TIP) aims to support us to recognise trauma and to react and respond to it in ways that minimise triggering and retraumatising people, so that we continue to provide the best possible services to those who need us most. TIP also encourages us to focus on our organisational culture and how we each interact with one another to create psychologically safe environments for clients, volunteers and staff. It encourages us to reflect on our own triggers and responses and considers personal and organisational responses to staff wellbeing to ensure that our people are supported to deliver the best services they possibly can to those who need them most.

Everything we do is guided by the  COPE Galway Approach  to help us achieve our vision of a community where every person is valued, cared for and supported at every stage of life.

This assets-based and person-centered approach recognises that each person has attributes and strengths that can make positive differences in their own lives. We achieve results for the people we work with because of our Approach. The COPE Galway Approach is built on :

Understanding  - Deep listening, storytelling, learning, developing, openness, connections.

Respect  - Valuing the whole person, empowering, trusting, believing in the potential of others, drawing on strengths and abilities.

Response  - Quality, professionalism, making an impact, challenging ourselves, continuous improvement.

Strong human relationships form the basis for the COPE Galway Approach. These relationships are established on how we understand and respect those we work with and how we respond so that we positively impact people's lives.

Our Team  is supported by regular support and supervision, and access to our Employee Assistance Programme. Our people receive a wide variety of on-the-job training, with core training including Trauma Informed Practice, First Aid Responder, MAPA (Management of Actual and Potential Aggression), Overdose Response and Naloxone Administration and additional trainings including Values Workshops, Diversity Workshops and Harm Reduction Workshops.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Project Worker is responsible to the Team Leader / Manager. Their (not exhaustive) key duties are :

Client Services and Support

Service Operation and Development

Key Terms and Conditions

Contract Period :               1 years (dependent on role - see above)

Salary :                              Starting salary of €36,392 per annum pro rata

Method of Pay :                 Monthly by credit transfer

Annual Leave :                  24 days per annum pro rata

Person Specification and Core Competencies

The ideal candidate will have :

Please note, that a full clean driving license and access to own vehicle is required for some assignments. Where this is the case, it will be clearly stated on the advert.