Harmony Employment Agency – 2005-2011

Harmony Employment Agency provide part time and full time temporary posts within the social sector.  Detailed below are some of the longer temporary posts I held during my employment.

Administrator with East Lothian Woman’s Aid

Employed to assist the Change Manager in the changeover from Co-operative to Company Limited by Guarantee. Responsible for all administrative duties which included: assigning cases to workers; ensuring workers were dealing with relevant cases; writing, updating and compiling all policies and procedures; production of new policies and procedures booklet; liaising with the Board on policy issues.

Assistant Housing Officer (Edinburgh Cyrenians)

Interviewed and approved applications for the rent deposit team.  Negotiated contracts between clients and landlords, and advised clients on welfare rights, support agencies and other housing options.

During my temporary contract I successfully housed 20+ applicants, achieved targets (KPIs) set by the organization and in some areas exceeded them, managed the relations between clients and landlords, and found and enrolled additional landlords for the scheme.

Smartskills Keyworker (Edinburgh Cyrenians)

Responsible for identifying suitable clients within the organization for an educational program designed to get ex-homeless people into education. The program was module based and required the worker to meet and assist the client in fulfilling the required modules.

During this post I successfully recruited the KPI of 12 clients and enrolled them in the course. I engaged with the clients in their homes, helped them meet the module requirements, was successful in preventing some clients from losing their tenancies due to rent arrears and debt problems, and provided one to one support on a range of issues

Streetwork – 2008-2009

Streetwork are a charity that provides advice, help and support to those experiencing homelessness or are threatened with it. I took on 2 temporary roles.

Women’s Worker

Managed and supported female clients at risk of homelessness and often multiple support needs. Examples include housing several women and helping with the provision of furniture and basic housing essentials, supporting women in their dealings with the care system, and mediating between the client, social workers and lawyers on a regular basis.

Tenancy Support Worker

Managed and supported up to 5 clients a week helping them maintain their tenancy and deal with outstanding issues such as debt.  Duties involved advocacy on behalf of the client when dealing with the court system, social services or utility companies.

While working there I identified a gap in services – legal provision – and developed a framework and funding application for provision of legal services within Streetwork.

The Junction Youth Centre – 2005-2006

Provision of sexual health and drug advice to young people identified as being disenfranchised.  Key roles included managing young people attending the drop in and providing training session to young people on sexual health and drugs.

LGBT Youth Scotland (session worker) – 2003-2007

LGBT Youth provides support help and advice to young people regarding their sexuality. included identifying and providing suitable outreach services to young people. Achievements include:  the design and setting up an internet outreach framework; designing and providing LGBT training to schools on homophobia, sexuality, and sexual health; designing and evaluating all outreach services; proving input to government consultations on sexual health and sexuality.