If your wish list for 2025 looks like the one above, then a career in Queensland's housing and homelessness sector could be the perfect fit for you.
Right now, organisations across Queensland are working hard to support people experiencing unmet housing need and homelessness, and they need more skilled and passionate people like you to help them into safe and stable homes.
You might be in the middle of your corporate working life and thinking of changing careers to something more fulfilling and purposeful, or maybe you're fresh out of school and just starting to consider your study options. Whatever stage you're at and whatever your skills and interests are, HomeNow is your first step to discovering everything our dynamic sector has to offer.
The new year is a great time to start exploring the possibilities, find out more below!
Seeking an experienced Housing Manager (Property Manager) with a strong background in managing rental housing, including households with complex needs. This is an opportunity to join the company at a very exciting time in delivering on two strategic goals of ‘Growing the supply of affordable housing’ and ‘Supporting residents and communities to thrive’.
On offer: Flexible working conditions, supportive management and team, salary packaging, additional leave benefits and strong for-purpose values.
Special feature: Encircle Community Services
We're pleased to bring you a unique story this month from job search website EthicalJobs.com.au, as part of their Ethical Employer Profiles series.
This profile features Encircle Community Services, a not-for-profit organisation who support families and individuals across the Moreton Bay region with a range of services including neighbourhood centres, homelessness outreach and housing assistance.
Encircle's Human Resource Business Partner Shannon Danby spoke to Ethical Jobs and gave some key insights on the recruitment process at Encircle.
The team at south east Queensland NFP organisation Encircle Community Services
The inside story: How to get a job at Encircle
EthicalJobs.com.au article
Ever wondered what hiring managers are looking for when they recruit for Australia’s most sought-after ethical organisations? In this series, we interview the people who hire at the organisations where you want to work — and we’ll give you the inside knowledge you need to make your next job application amazing.
This month we speak to Shannon Danby, Human Resource Business Partner at Encircle, a not-for-profit organisation that offers a range of support services and activities directly to families and individuals living in the northern suburbs of Brisbane.
Hi Shannon, thanks for chatting with us! To kick us off, can you tell us a bit about what Encircle does?
"Encircle Community Services Ltd. (Encircle) is a community-owned and operated not-for-profit organisation offering a range of support services and activities directly to families and individuals living in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, particularly in the Moreton Bay region.
"We are committed to developing programs and services that support the wellbeing of community members, to encourage and enable community participation, and respond to identified community issues and needs.
"Encircle operates across six sites – Kallangur, Kedron, Lawnton, Redcliffe, Strathpine, and Zillmere. We have 80 staff and approximately 130 volunteers. Our programs and activities demonstrate a wide variety of integrated options for the people in our region."
What are some of the things that might attract candidates to apply to work at Encircle?
"Encircle is a Community Based – not for profit organisation, so staff qualify for Salary Packaging and the meal and entertainment card which increases yearly income.
"Encircle is focused on staff well being and has a number of processes in place to ensure staff receive support and all staff are encouraged to maintain a healthy work life balance.
"Encircle is passionate about making a difference in the community to better the lives of those living in the region and to help support those who are doing it tough or are disadvantaged, to give them hope and better their situation."
Working in the housing and homelessness sector can be incredibly rewarding, and those rewards are not just limited to the satisfaction you feel in knowing you're helping more people to find safe and secure homes. Did you know that many housing and homelessness support organisations offer employees salary packaging, as a way to increase take-home pay?
What is salary packaging, and how does it work?
Salary packaging is an Australian Taxation Office-approved incentive, where an employee designates a portion of their income to cover specific expenses before income tax is calculated. As you only pay tax on the remaining amount after packaging, your overall tax liability decreases, leading to an increased take-home pay. This process offers a practical way to manage finances and maximise income.
Salary packaging can be used for expenses such as rent, mortgage, credit card repayments, school fees, and everyday items. For approved not-for-profit organisations, there can be additional perks like meal and entertainment cards, extra superannuation contributions, and more.
There are many advantages to salary packaging, so it's worth seeing if your next potential employer offers it to staff. Check out some of our sector organisations on the HomeNow website by clicking the button below.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane
Full-Time, permanent. Brisbane.
Work with individuals and families to empower them to make effective changes and overcome their identified housing and well-being needs. Outreach-based role across crisis accommodation, street outreach, and refuges, and translate initial engagement into strong ongoing partnerships.
Key requirements: Degree or Diploma in Social Work or similar study area, with a minimum two years' work experience in social services field.
Why Positive Wellbeing Is Important For Your Career
How to enjoy going to work every day, have a great career in the sector and secure your long service leave? Maintaining positive wellbeing plays a big role, and it's a big area of focus for Queensland's housing and homelessness sector.
It's well known and proven that employees who are happy, healthy and feel supported by their workplace are more likely to perform better, experience higher levels of satisfaction from their job, and stay with their chosen employer and career longer. Not only is this good for the employee, but workplaces also benefit by having less turnover of staff and enjoy a strong positive culture and reputation as a great employer, and most of all, are able to best serve their clients and achieve their goals as an organisation. Positive and healthy wellbeing is crucial for staff resiliency, performance and engagement, particularly a field like homelessness and social services sector where demand can be high and there is a significant amount of interpersonal skills required.
In 2024, the WellNow Workforce Wellbeing Framework was launched, produced specifically for Queensland's housing and homelessness services workforce and developed by those who work in the sector themselves. WellNow is delivered by the resources of peak bodies Homelessness Queensland and Q Shelter, as part of the same Queensland Government program that funds HomeNow.
Consisting of four framework focus areas, six foundational principles and associated resources, the WellNow Framework intends to provide ideas, tools and resources to organisations responding to people experiencing unmet housing need and homelessness, to improve staff wellbeing, attraction and retention. It's been developed thanks to extensive research and consultation with employees across Queensland, is completely adaptable for each individual and organisation, and is available to anyone in the sector completely free of charge. Since launching in mid-2024, WellNow has received glowing feedback with numerous organisations across the state implementing the strategies and resources at their workplaces.
Want to find out more and see how these resources could support you in your career in our sector? Check out the WellNow website now.
Seeking dynamic, experienced support workers for the Sustaining Tenancy program. Provide individualised client-directed support for people with mental health issues and disabilities; are over 65 or other complex needs living within the community.
Key requirements: Lived or professional experience working with people experiencing mental health issues and/or at risk of losing their housing.
The HomeNow campaign showcases rich and rewarding career pathways in Queensland's housing and homelessness sector, to attract dedicated, passionate and skilled people. The HomeNow website and project is delivered by Homelessness Queensland and Q Shelter under the Workforce Connect Fund. This project is funded through the Workforce Connect Fund, powered by the Queensland Government’s Good people. Good jobs: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022-2032.
HomeNow and the project delivery organisations do not manage and are not responsible for the content of any third-party websites linked on this email. For any specific opportunity enquiries, please contact the listed organisations directly.
HomeNow acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.
