Strategic Lead, SHELTER

Position Overview

Role: Strategic Lead – Dorset (Shelter Network)

Location: Bournemouth

Hours: Full time – 35 hours per week

Contract: Fixed term – 12 months

Salary: Grade 7 – £50,474 per annum

Closing date: Sunday 21st June 2026 at 11:30 pm

Lead Shelter’s Community Services in Dorset, delivering the local response to the housing emergency and empowering the local community to fight for home.

Responsibilities include:

• Delivering services and contracts with high performance, planning and service development strategies.
• Seeking business development opportunities aligning with strategic aims, both across Community Services and in partnership with the Lead Solicitor.
• Promoting and directing systems change activity to understand factors influencing homelessness and bad housing and planning effective change.
• Representing Shelter locally through media, networks and stakeholder engagement.
• Planning and implementing resourcing plans (staff, volunteers, people with lived experience) and managing the Hub Leadership team.
• Ensuring opportunities for people with lived experience of homelessness/bad housing to contribute to Hub development, activities and learning, while promoting a learning culture.

Qualifications and experience:

• Proven working knowledge of homelessness, housing and related local community issues.
• Experience managing and delivering contracts, partnerships and services.
• Involvement in implementing and reviewing change management.
• Excellent budgeting and financial reporting skills.
• Strong analytical skills to use insight and evidence for data presentation, performance management and systems change.
• Impressive interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written.

30 days of annual leave, enhanced family‑friendly policies, pension, interest‑free travel loans, tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle‑to‑work scheme and employee assistance programme.

The Dorset team has over 20 years of experience providing housing advice, support services, legal services and community advocacy.

Home is a human right. We defend the right to a safe home and strive for fundamental change in the housing system. We are inclusive, equitable, transparent and committed to anti‑racism.

Submit a supporting statement with responses to the 'About You' points 1‑5 of no more than 1000 words total. Use the STAR format and demonstrate the required behaviours.

All staff must observe professional standards and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies, protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support.

Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies or their fees.