Senior Family Responses Manager, Galway

Job Title: Senior Family Responses Manager Reporting to : Head of Homeless Services The Role The Senior Family Responses Manager has responsibility for the leading, coordination and delivery of all of COPE Galway's services for families who are homeless or at risk of 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. They hold the responsibility for ensuring adherence to Children First and Child Protection policies and procedures within all Family Responses. 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 responses to family homelessness. Current Family Services COPE Galway Family Services works with and supports families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, including providing, and placing families in, emergency accommodation (including private emergency accommodation such as B&Bs' and Hotels, own door self-contained units and a separately run Family Hub); homeless prevention interventions, resettlement and tenancy support and the provision of information and referral to mainstream services and assistance is securing long term housing. Duties and Responsibilities The Manager is responsible to the Head of Homeless Services. Their key duties are:

Leadership and Management

• To lead COPE Galway's responses to family homelessness, heading up and line managing a team of managers and leads and to develop and build capacity within the team.
• To support managers to participate in recruitment, ensuring processes are fair and in line with those recommended by HR, and to participate when required.
• To provide support and supervision to the Family Services management team and to other team members in the absence of their manager.
• To collaboratively lead the rollout of Trauma Informed Practice across Family Responses.
• To ensure a proactive approach on the part of the service to working with families who are either at risk of homelessness or homeless and to continue to promote and imbed this proactive approach when families move into tenancies.

Culture

• To be a role model, coach and mentor for all staff in COPE Galway's Family Homeless Responses, embodying the values of the Organisation.
• 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 Homeless 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 COPE Galway.

Client Services

• To support managers to ensure a safe, welcoming and friendly environment is established and maintained in the operation of the services.
• To ensure that services operate a care and case management system in line with best practice.

Interagency

• To work effectively and in collaboration with Galway City and County Councils and the HSE and voluntary agencies as required.
• To develop and nurture positive and strategically beneficial relationships with relevant external agencies.

Health and Safety

• To instill a culture of Health and Safety as a priority within Family Responses whilst prioritising client needs and to provide guidance and leadership in this area.

General

• To work positively and effectively as a member of a management team, a Homeless Services team and the wider Organisation.
• To adhere to all of COPE Galway's policies and procedures.

• A minimum of five years' experience of working in a management role in a comparable area of work (homeless services, community services, health services, family services etc.)
• 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.

• Strong Management, Leadership and Mentorship Skills.
• Excellent report writing, IT, communication and presentation skills.