In this short blog Ali Clintworth explains from her own first-hand experience – what an outstanding and fulfilling opportunity our Business Development Officer role offers.
A job description and job title can only tell you so much about a job, and often doesn’t get into the detail we’d ideally love to have before hitting that ‘apply’ button.
So, having worked in this fulfilling job for a few years I wanted to share a bit about what you can expect as a Business Development Officer within Riverside – a role which focuses on our vital care and support services.
Our care and support services enable people experiencing homelessness to find a safe, secure home where they can live successfully and do what they enjoy doing. We deliver a number of different services that support a range of people including veterans, young families, people experiencing substance misuse, and/or mental health issues, rough sleepers and people with complex needs
Delivering these vital services that tackle and prevent homelessness is at the heart of what Riverside does. We are passionate about developing new services that push boundaries and we strive to be at the forefront of solving the complex homelessness crisis that is so evident across the country.
This is where the Business Development Officer role comes in. As a member of our team you will work with a range of colleagues to develop existing and new homelessness services, shaping the future of our provision. In order to do this you will need to
- Attend market engagement events to understand about the future of homelessness services in a particular area
- Support and develop partnerships with external agencies, for example, as part of a partnership/consortium model
- Meet with commissioners to provide information/guidance to our support teams on what is needed within a local area
- Disseminate best practice and new innovative ways of working that help provide the best outcomes for the people we support
- Develop and manage the tender process for our existing services and any new opportunities. This ranges from being part of a bid writing team, helping develop interesting and innovative service models and workie with a range of internal colleagues to submit a winning bid that supports people move away from homelessness.
You won’t need a background in homelessness to take this job either – don’t worry, the team has an array of experience not just from homelessness – from customer-facing roles to management to governance and project support. Riverside is interested in people’s values and transferable skills as part of their recruitment.
So, if you are looking for a challenging and exciting role where you can learn and grow, if you have great communication and partnership development skills and if you have a passion for ending homelessness, then this role is for you! Speaking from experience, it will provide an enormous sense of achievement and job satisfaction, being in the thick of ideas coming together to shape the future of homelessness provision that has life-changing, positive effects on people and communities.