Programme Associate, Housing and Homelessness Programme

Location: London, UK (this position is 60% office-based, with Mondays and Fridays optional working from home)
Reporting to: Director of Housing and Homelessness Programme
Type of contract: Permanent
Compensation: GBP 44'000 plus benefits, with some flexibility based on experience, qualifications, and internal equity
Application deadline: 15 September 2024
Starting date: November 2024

About Oak Foundation:
Oak Foundation commits its resources to address issues of global, social, and environmental concern, particularly those that have a major impact on the lives of the disadvantaged. Through our grant-making, we support others to make the world a safer, fairer, and more sustainable place to live. With offices in Europe, India, and North America, we make grants to organisations in approximately 40 countries worldwide.

About the Housing and Homelessness Programme
Oak Foundation’s Housing and Homelessness Programme is a grant-making programme that supports organisations to end homelessness and create housing opportunities. The programme funds projects across the UK and US. In additional to national projects, it also funds within the geographic locations prioritised in its current strategy. These locations are London, Bristol, the West Midlands, Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. 

With an annual budget of over USD 30 million, the programme makes 37 new multi-year grants annually; in addition, the programme maintains strong connections with existing grantee partners, sharing learning and opportunities. The programme has three strategic priorities: renter rights, supply and access to genuinely affordable and decent homes, and reduction and prevention of homelessness. The programme has a deep commitment to supporting social justice, racial equity, and the voices of people with lived experience. We fund organisations that: demonstrate a strong understanding of the experiences of people facing homelessness; and have evidence that their work is rooted in solutions that people closest to the problem have identified.   

We know that homelessness and housing problems disproportionately and unfairly affect sections of our community, and so we seek to support projects that address this. This includes: women; people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities; people with disabilities; and LGBTQI communities.

About the role
The Housing and Homelessness Programme is currently made up of a programme director, five programme officers, and one programme associate, all of whom are based in our London office. We are looking for a highly organised individual, with the ability to juggle a variety of tasks at the same time. They will be able to undertake research on housing and homelessness issues to inform our grant-making choices, conduct analyses of our existing portfolio, and oversee some of our monitoring and evaluation processes, while also providing administrative support to the programme director, such as organising meetings and maintaining our grant-making database.  They will need to be a self-starter with the confidence to work both independently and part of a team. The position also provides administrative support to the Oak London office and serves as back-up to the office manager.

Main responsibilities

•  Managing the grant-making project management system and monitoring the grant-making budget.
• Taking a substantial role in implementing our monitoring, learning, and evaluation strategy, overseeing the regular analysis of our grant-making portfolio, and reviewing outcomes/learning and regularly presenting these to the whole team.
• Conducting research on housing issues as well as potential new partners, as directed by the programme director. This will include keeping abreast of relevant policy issues, and reading and summarising external reports for the benefit of the programme team and our grant-making portfolio.
• Contributing to the design, implementation, and regular review of the programme strategy.
•  Substantially contributing to the programme’s communications, including ensuring a communications plan is developed and implemented annually, drafting and formatting content for newsletters, internal reports, presentations, and social media.
• Coordinating and connecting regularly with grantee partners to gather evidence, publications, and multi-media for communications, monitoring, learning, and evaluation purposes.
• Performing a liaison function between Oak’s IT team, and managing the programme’s IT infrastructure (e.g., SharePoint, Teams, grant-making database, and Outlook).
• Under supervision, managing a small portfolio of grants, as required, and performing regular contact with grantee partners.
• Supporting programme officers by developing grants and writing progress reports for existing grant partners.
• Contributing to Oak-wide working groups.
• Supporting the programme with internal and external meetings and partner expert convenings.
• Providing a range of administrative support for the programme director, including the management of their diary, and the organisation of events, roundtables, and occasional support with travel organisation.
• Performing all other relevant duties that may be assigned from time to time, including administrative support as directed by the programme director. This includes:
  • processing invoices and managing publication subscriptions
  • setting up the office for newcomers in the HHP team: arranging desks, IT devices, stationery etc; and
  • performing reception duties, including meeting and greeting visitors for the HHP programme;
• Providing administrative support to the London office, as required, including for meetings or special events or as back-up to other offices and/or Trustees.

Position requirements

• University degree preferred but not essential
• 3-5 years’ demonstrable experience of working for a not-for-profit organisation or development organisation, ideally in a housing and homelessness policy and research.
• Highly organised and able to juggle a wide range of responsibilities that may demand ongoing reprioritisation.
• Experience of using social media for research and communications.
• Demonstrable experience and confidence in all Microsoft applications, including Excel, PowerPoint and Teams. Additional database experience (preferably Salesforce) is an asset.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English, with the ability to write for a range of different audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Demonstrated openness and capacity to learn quickly.
• Confidence and presence to conduct meetings with high profile external audiences.
• A commitment to Oak’s organisational values.

How to apply
To apply, please send your curriculum vitae and a covering letter. No applications received after 15 September will be accepted.

NOTE: the cover letter should be succinct and address the following points:

•  Your reasons for applying to this position
• Your interest in housing and homelessness
• The administrative, analysis, and communications skills you would bring to the role
• Demonstration of your commitment to Oak’s organisational values

Please state “Programme Associate - Housing and Homelessness Programme” in the subject line of your email. Please note that we will only be contacting shortlisted candidates.

Applicants must have the right to legally live and work in the UK.

By submitting your application, you confirm that you have read and understood our job applicant’s data privacy notice.

Oak Foundation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, as detailed in our child safeguarding policy. We expect all staff to share this commitment. Please note that the successful candidate will undergo reference checks and be required to provide a police record prior to starting employment.