Homelessness charity looking to recruit CEO ‘to really get going’

The full-time role will see the successful candidate initially work at the KGV on a short-term basis, with key tasks including heading the charity’s set-up, as well as recruiting support workers.

The closing date for enquiries is 6 May.

Guernsey Community Foundation chief executive Jim Roberts, who was heavily involved in the launch of At Home In Guernsey in February and is one of the charity’s directors, said that the ideal candidate would be someone who had experience in launching and delivering frontline services in relation to health and social care.

He said that filling the role with someone local was the intention, but accepted that such a person may not be available due to the fact that Guernsey had not had a charity like At Home In Guernsey operating on-island before.

He added that the charity had been in discussions with other homelessness charities in the UK about the possibility of them providing expertise and guidance to the new CEO.

More broadly, Mr Roberts said that the charity had been inundated with phone calls following its launch, which further underlined the need for it.

‘The phone started ringing almost straight away from people who were already homeless or who were worried about becoming homeless. It’s frustrating because we need to recruit a CEO and some support workers in order to really get going.’

He also said that he had met with officers from Employment & Social Security regarding the charity’s plans, and that they were ‘very supportive’ about what it wanted to achieve.

He added that the charity’s website was now up and running, with features including what services were available to those seeking help, as well as links to the legal rights of tenants and landlords.

‘It’s more of a place-holder at the moment as it only went live last week, but it’s a step in the right direction.’