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Details:

Housing project manager, Allia Future Homes

Enabling local modular home projects to tackle homelessness in the UK

Location:              Cambridge

Hours:                   Full-Time – Monday to Friday (35 hours a week) – will consider 4 days, 28 hours.

Salary:                   £38,000 – £44,000 per annum (FTE)

Contract:             12 months initial fixed term contract, to be made permanent subject to successful growth and funding of the project.

Reports to:          CEO of Allia Impact Ltd

Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK without sponsorship.

About Us

Allia Future Business Centre offers flexible workspace and a vibrant community for small businesses who are creating change. Allia Impact runs free business support programmes and innovative funded projects. Together, they are dedicated to supporting businesses to thrive, grow and create jobs, so that they can make a positive impact on their community, as well as addressing social and environmental global challenges. We like to say that through doing this, we help to make a Positive Impact for People, Place and Planet.

Our parent company Allia Ltd is a charity that has, for over 21 years, been focused on supporting charitable organisations and responsible businesses, and facilitating innovative social finance. It has supported hundreds of businesses, charities, and enterprises so that they can deliver local employment, training initiatives and a range of community projects across the UK.

Our people are pivotal to our success, and we have grown expediently. Our team is over 40 strong in 3 locations and we continue to add to this number. We are an equal opportunities employer who embraces diversity, inclusion, and flexible working. In fact, we were recently awarded the best not-for-profit employer for employee engagement in the Eastern region. We offer a great working environment, true team working ethos, great benefits and much more.

Housing innovation project background

Allia Impact Ltd has successfully delivered two 6 unit schemes of relocatable modular homes in Cambridge and Wisbech, designed to make use of temporary and/or marginal sites to provide cost-effective housing for people to move out of rough sleeping. Cambridge pilot project / Wisbech RSAP project Based on the level of interest in this approach, and examples of similar schemes around the country, Allia believes that many more locations in the UK are capable of developing their own schemes, given the right guidance and support.

We therefore commissioned sector experts Livshare to design a model which distils the experience and best practice from successful project examples into a staged process that will enable local partners to navigate the journey more quickly, cost effectively and successfully than attempting to start from scratch. The 3 stages of this process are:

1. A free feasibility stage with templates and a guide to identify a suitable site, operating partner and permissions required, supported by a consultation call.
2. A low-cost Tool Box with more detailed information and template documents to assist in preparing a planning application and identify a unit supplier and funding, supported by the postholder of this role.
3. Delivery of homes once planning permission is secured, most likely through the operating partner identified, or with bespoke project support as needed.

Purpose: To set up a national support service that takes the learning from early modular housing schemes tackling homelessness and uses the strategy designed to enable any community in the country to develop their own successful schemes. Aiming to stimulate delivery of at least 200 new homes over 3 years.

Role: Promote, deliver and develop a support service enabling sympathetic landowners in local communities to rapidly achieve a successful modular housing scheme to tackle local homelessness.

1. Promote: identify suitable sites from existing expressions of interest and build a future pipeline from churches, local authorities, housing associations and other groups.
2. Deliver: using the process guide created, and assisting with the standardisation of the template documents in the Tool Box, to provide support for local groups to design a solution for their sites, prepare to apply for planning permission and identify support and partners. Direct involvement in early projects may be necessary.
3. Develop: a strategy for increasing scale of national roll-out through building a team and helping secure funding and pro bono support.

Experience and skills needed

• Understanding of planning and property development process
• Sufficient experience of construction/development to help local projects directly if needed
• Understanding of housing policy and funding landscape
• Project management and partnership working
• Ambition to make a significant impact on homelessness
• Excellent interpersonal skills and written and verbal communication
• Competence with IT systems, Word, Excel, Powerpoint and project management tools.

Benefits

• Company pension scheme; free on-site parking; Bike2Work Scheme
• Life Insurance
• Flexible working
• Casual dress
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Previously awarded the best not for profit employer in the Eastern Region.
• Be a part of a community that drives innovation with a focus on addressing environmental and social challenges.

We are committed to equality and diversity for our ventures, tenants, colleagues, volunteers, trustees and supporters. We value the strength that comes with difference and the positive contribution that diversity brings to the communities in which we serve. We are working to increase diversity and would particularly welcome applications from groups that are currently under-represented, including those from a BAME background.

To apply for this role, please send an up-to-date CV with a supporting covering letter highlighting your skills and experience along with why we should consider you for the role and your salary expectations to recruitment@allia.org.uk. Applications will not be considered without this information.

All applications should be submitted by 30 September 2022. Early application is encouraged, as we will be interviewing strong candidates as they apply.