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Ruhama are seeking a part time Housing and Social Welfare Intern

Published: Thursday, February 13, 2014

Ruhama are seeking Housing and Social Welfare Intern for 9 Months, part time internship. 21 hours per week (flexible working hours during office hours negotiable).

Ruhama is frontline NGO that has been supporting women affected by prostitution including victims of sex trafficking for 25 years. We provide a broad range of support service to women through person centered care planning. This internship is an exciting opportunity to contribute to and engage with the work of Ruhama. The intern will develop and provide a range of innovative supports to women wishing to engage in Ruhama’s Housing and Social Welfare Support programme. The Housing and Social Welfare Intern will have the opportunity to work directly with the Ruhama practice team, to develop project planning and data collection skills and engage with the broader staff and volunteers on the issues relating to Ruhama’s work.

Person specification:
The  Housing and Social Welfare Intern will:
• Have an excellent ability to work on own initiative and also as a part of a team.
• A strong interest in the area housing support,  gender inequality, the asylum system & human rights
• Some experience of housing and/or social welfare systems of significant benefit
• Good computer skills and a familiarity and ease with databases and spreadsheets
• An understanding of the exploitative nature of the commercial sex trade and the complex overlapping issues that may be present for Ruhama’s client group

Main Responsibilities. 

• Manage internal referrals to the Housing and Social Welfare programme
• Carry out Housing and Social Welfare assessments with clients
• Assist in the planning and organisation of  Housing and Social Welfare programme
• Liaise with housing support agencies, the department of social welfare, private landlords  and other key stakeholders as appropriate
• Carry out systematic evaluations and providing  a range of aftercare support for women in independent living
• Maintain existing file management/data collection systems for the Housing and Social Welfare team
• Prepare monthly reports for the Service Manager
• In conjunction with the Service Manager, prepare and maintain budgets pertaining to the Housing and Social Welfare programme
• Refer clients internally or to external agencies as appropriate

Additional duties.
• Engage in all Housing and Social Welfare tasks related to the organisation and other frontline/policy work as requested
•  Collaborate closely with colleagues to ensure smooth running of the Housing and Social Welfare programme.
• Attend team and other meetings as required.
• As part of the Practice team create an environment which will support/facilitate women towards independence.
• Collaborate with other organizations to ensure optimum supports for the women.
• To ensure that a high quality of service is offered to Ruhama’s client group, all members (staff and volunteers) are required to be flexible and work outside the remit of their individual role descriptions on occasion.

This role description may be changed in response to developments within the project. This will be done in conjunction with the role holder.

Training: The successful candidate will be expected to participate in Ruhama training during the course of their internship.

Expenses: While there is no payment for this role, expenses including a lunch allowance will be provided in accordance with Ruhama’s volunteer policy. Additional resources will be available to the Housing and Social Welfare Intern such as access to Ruhama’s reference library and the full support of the Volunteer Manager in their role.

Application can be made by submission of a CV with Cover Letter by Friday 28th February to: Administrator, Ruhama, Senior House, All Hallows College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9. Application can also be made by e-mail to admin@ruhama.ie with “Housing and Social Welfare Intern” in the subject line. Enquiries to 01 8360292.

Selection Process
Short listing of candidates for interview will take place the week of the 3rd of March. Candidates must be available for interview on Thursday 6th March 2014.