A little bit about us…
We're a leading housing association in Somerset and the West of England, building vibrant, stable and safe communities where people can make their homes. We provide services to over 23,000 people in 11,000 homes, and build around 300 homes a year.
Not only do we build homes, we also build communities. We work closely with residents to create friendly neighbourhoods that people are proud to call their ‘home’.
We employ around 445 talented people to deliver our valuable services. Whether they’re working in the office in Weston-super-Mare, or out and about across our nine local authority areas in Somerset and the West of England, each and every one of them is key to our success.
We need people who are passionate about what they do; people who can make a difference to people's lives, every day. To see this in action, check out Little Castles, a film all about us:
We're always looking for fresh ideas. We believe that it's only by listening to each other and working together as one team, that we can be the best that we can be.
Why our Community Empowerment team is great…
Community Empowerment (CE) consistently creates opportunities and solutions that bring together our resident’s ideas and aspirations with the needs of our business and the wider plans of our stakeholders. Our CE team aims to facilitate empowered and resilient communities through working together on what matters. In 2014/16 CE brought all of its community facing work together into the Achieving What Matters (AWM) Programme. The Programme delivers plans across over 60 communities divided across three sub-programmes, Committed, Responsive and New Communities.
In each programme, our CE officers work alongside residents and work with them to create distinct community plans and projects or to ensure that community priorities are clear within wider plans. CE works to enable highly localised residents groups, and co-design community projects that aspire to provide local services, spaces and activities that residents want to access in their neighbourhoods. We seek to empower our customers to work with us to achieve what matters, through representing their neighbourhoods and communities, building on their community activism and enhancing their leadership and technical skills.
As the impacts of welfare reform become increasingly apparent, CE offers a new type of relationship between Knightstone and its tenants. Through the nurturing of trustful two way relationships CE is able to create the conditions for tenants to approach the organisation for support and guidance. Through its activities, CE creates strong local connections and new networks which enable tenants to build meaningful relationships between each other. This creation of new social capital in turn indicates a new resilience across many communities where CE have invested heavily over the past three years. Community resilience is likely to be a key factor in supporting benefit dependent households in the future as the implementation of welfare reform continues.
There’s a space in our team… are you the right person to fill it?
To succeed in this role you will need to demonstrate:
A track record and commitment to enabling and work with others in a non-discriminatory manner
Sensitivity, empathic understanding and diplomacy in all interpersonal relationships
A methodical, organised approach to work, self-motivation and personal drive to complete tasks to the required quality and within timescales. Attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate records is essential.
Ability to maintain composure under pressure and to ensure that appropriate strategies are adopted to ensure personal resilience and a professional client-led service is delivered
Ability to converse well in English on a face to face basis, in writing and over the telephone
Experience of working with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Visio)
A commitment to reflective practice and continuous professional development
Ability to work from 8am up to 8pm and some weekends in accordance with service and client requirements
Ability to work alone and in clients’ homes where required
A clean driving licence
Your ability to enter, access and drive a transit van (events vehicle) and carry display and event equipment to and from venues on a frequent basis
Job description
Job title:Community Empowerment Assistant (Grade 7)
Location: Field worker
Line management responsibility:None
Job summary
In this role you’ll:
Efficiently deliver customer focused administrative work to a high standard of accuracy
Prepare documents using a range of different software packages
Work proactively and flexibly as a member of the wider team, supporting others and responding to business needs, to deliver a range of tasks
Take ownership and responsibility.
Primary areas of responsibility
As a Community Empowerment Assistant you’ll:
Provide logistical, administrative and communications support to the Community Empowerment team
Coordinate and support the delivery of events and activities
Maintain our events vehicles and community event kits
Establish, maintain and administer all records electronically and manually in-line with company and statutory requirements
Implement administrative systems, procedures and policies
Collate and assemble reporting information
Order goods and services, including receiving, monitoring and processing invoices in-line with procedures
Communicate clearly with integrity
Assist and coordinate events, meetings and diaries etc.
Work on projects.
Customer service
Working at Knightstone you’ll:
Consistently deal courteously and professionally with customers to meet business needs
Use customer feedback to improve the business.
Attitude and behaviour
We’ll expect you to:
Live by the company values: empathy, integrity, professionalism and commitment
Challenge the way we work to continually improve our business
Reflect on your own performance for personal development
General
You’ll also:
Comply with all company policies and procedures
Pay attention to detail and have the ability to prioritise
Carry out additional duties, as required
Please refer to Job Specific Requirements.
Terms and Conditions:
Contractual:
Contract type: Temporary – This is a 12 month contract from start date, with potential to be extended
Contracted hours: [37.5]14/10/2015 hours per week Monday to Friday with half an hour unpaid lunch14/10/2015
You need to be prepared to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service.
Salary: start salary £18,029 pa (Grade 7).
Location: field based work, the main office you will work from is Worle, with hot desk in Bristol
Probationary period: Six months
Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) Check: Please note that appointment would be subject to satisfactory checks through the DBS. Due to the type of position this will be an enhancedcheck.
Annual leave: 25 days per year, increasing to 30 days in the following calendar year after five years’ service, plus statutory holidays. Annual leave year: 1 January to 31 December.
Company sick pay: in probationary period 10 days full pay. After confirmation of appointment:Eight weeks full pay and five weeks half pay. After five years’ service: eight weeks full pay and 10 weeks half pay.
Notice period: During probationary period: One week. After confirmation of appointment: Four weeks
Travel allowance:
Medium Mileage User – between 1,000 and 8,500 business miles pa. Receive an allowance of £1,282 pa pro rata for part time. Mileage reimbursed at 38p per mile.
Please note that the allowance and mileage levels are reviewed annually between October and September, depending on your business mileage undertaken in this period and whether you will be consistently travelling this mileage as a requirement of your role you will fall into one of the following categories commencing the following April.
Low Mileage User – less than 1,000 business mileage pa. Mileage reimbursed at 45p per mile.
Medium Mileage User – between 1,000 and 8,500 business miles pa. Receive an allowance of £1,282 pa pro rata. Mileage reimbursed at 38p per mile.
High Mileage User – over 8,500 business miles pa. Receive an allowance of £4,500 pa pro rata. Mileage reimbursed at 24p per mile.
Pensions: Auto-Enrolment Pension Scheme: You will be automatically enrolled into this after three months’ service, providing that you meet certain criteria based on age and salary levels.
After six months service you are eligible to join the Higher Contribution Rate Defined Contribution Pension Scheme: SHPS DC pension scheme (Employer and Employee contribution rates both 4%).
Private healthcare: Eligible to single cover after five years’ service.
Group Life (Death in Service): Two times annual salary for staff not in pension scheme, from start of employment. Three times annual salary for those in pension scheme.
How our team is made up
We want enthusiastic and dedicated people with the ideas and drive to help shape our organisation today and in the future. If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.
Hurry… Don’t miss out
Closing date for applications:November 5th 2016
Interviews:November 15th 2016
Successful applicant start:ASAP
Still unsure if it’s the job for you?
Give us a call and we can chat through any questions you have.
Lesley Nel– Community Empowerment Team manager – 01934 526034 or 07921 386941