Role: Intern – Homelessness Prevention Programme
Grade and Salary: Grade 3 (£23,350 - £24,215) per annum
FTE and working pattern: Full Time (1FTE/35hrs per week), Monday - Friday
Holiday Entitlement: 28 days annual leave plus 9 buildings closed days (and Christmas Eve when it falls on a weekday)
About our Team – I-SPHERE
The Institute for Social Policy, Housing, Equalities Research (I-SPHERE) at Heriot-Watt University uses world-class research to help drive change for people affected by extreme disadvantage. I-SPHERE is among the UK’s top social and housing policy research centres, recognised with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for excellence, innovation and public benefit.
This internship is part of the Homelessness Prevention in the UK research programme. This major UK-wide programme, which is made possible thanks to the support of Oak Foundation, aims to deliver cross-sectoral research and capacity building on homelessness prevention, and facilitate policy and practice mobility across the four UK jurisdictions.
This role is based in Edinburgh, however remote working from anywhere within the UK is possible. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.
The programme seeks to:
1. Deliver comparative research on homelessness prevention across the UK.
2. Promote policy and practice learning between governments, local authorities, and service providers.
3. Support a new cohort of early career researchers trained in high-impact, mixed-methods research.
Within this research programme we will seek to answer the following six questions.
1. How well are the four UK jurisdictions performing on homelessness prevention at each of the five stages of prevention (universal, upstream, crisis, emergency, and repeat)?
2. How much ideas mobility is there between them at the legal, policy and practice levels? What barriers/enablers exist to/for ideas mobility and mutual learning?
3. How successful has each jurisdiction been in engaging wider partners beyond housing and homelessness services in prevention efforts?
4. What impact have new legal developments made/are likely to make to overall prevention performance and to the contribution of wider partners?
5. How well are frontline workers in each jurisdiction being supported to contribute to the prevention agenda?
6. What can each of the four jurisdictions learn from each other about how to maximise homelessness prevention, effectively engage wider partners, and support frontline workers to deliver successful preventative interventions?
As part of this programme we are delighted to be offering a paid 9 month research internship to design and lead in-depth research on an area of homelessness prevention in the UK.
We are particularly interested in candidates with front-line experience supporting people at risk of homelessness or working in allied fields.
Key Duties & Responsibilities
This internship provides a unique opportunity for an early career researcher to join an award-winning social research institute, working on an innovative partnership project which aims to bring about positive change by generating evidence and insights into homelessness prevention strategies across the UK.
The intern will:
4. Develop and implement their own individual research project relevant to the aims of the Homelessness Prevention programme. This will involve designing research tools, conducting primary research, undertaking data analysis, writing up a research report and presenting findings.
5. Engage with stakeholders across sectors including homelessness, housing, health, education, social services, and criminal justice.
6. Contribute to the programme’s capacity-building activities, including research dissemination and stakeholder engagement.
7. Participate in relevant events such as seminars, conferences, and training sessions.
As part of the application process, candidates are asked to provide a short research proposal. The proposal should be to conduct a piece of research relevant to homelessness prevention. Proposals should be for a focused piece of research relevant to a particular target group or groups in the UK at risk of homelessness (see further details below).
Education, Qualifications and Experience (Person Specification)
Essential
8. Excellent undergraduate degree (1st or 2:1) in a relevant discipline.
9. Experience working with disadvantaged or vulnerable groups in the UK.
10. Passion for social justice and homelessness prevention.
11. Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
12. Strong communication skills – written and oral.
13. Willingness to travel across the UK for research fieldwork and meetings.
Desirable
14. Frontline work experience in an area relevant to homelessness prevention in the UK.
15. A relevant Masters or PhD degree.
16. Understanding of UK homelessness policy and legal frameworks.
17. Experience conducting research with range of stakeholders.
18. Knowledge of mixed-methods research approaches.
Application Requirements
To be considered for this internship, candidates should submit;
19. Covering Letter – Outline how you meet the essential and desirable criteria. Provide specific examples of relevant experience and motivation for this internship.
20. CV
21. Research Proposal (maximum 2 pages) – Your proposal should focus on a specific aspect of homelessness prevention for a particular target group(s) in the UK. It should clearly outline:
Rationale: Explain why this research is important and how it contributes to understanding or improving homelessness prevention.
Research Questions: Specify the questions your research aims to answer.
Methodology: Describe how you plan to conduct the research, including your approach, methods, and any key considerations.