Director of Nursing - Housing First

Background

The Housing First model provides immediate access to stable housing for people experiencing homelessness, particularly those with complex needs. The key principle of this model is that housing is a human right and that this should be the starting point of supporting a person to recover from other issues such as addiction and poor mental or physical health. This means that there is no requirement for the homeless person to be ‘housing ready’ or to have addressed their addiction problems before moving into a permanent home.

Health and addiction issues are addressed after housing has been secured, by providing wrap-around supports that are delivered by the community based multidisciplinary health and intensive case management teams. These supports help people to maintain their tenancy and transition to recovery, independence, and community integration. The Housing First core values adopted in practice include respecting individual choice and control, and the promotion of person-centred (tailored) support that is open-ended and unconditional.

The Ana Liffey Drug Project (lead agency) and Coolmine Therapeutic Community (ALDP/CTC) as a consortium, were recently successful in securing the health tender for Housing First in the Dublin region. A new community-based multidisciplinary health team (MDT) is being established as part of this project and the MDT will provide the wrap-around health supports for the Housing First clients. The MDT will work in close collaboration and coordination with the Intensive Case Management Teams. Interagency engagement and partnership working with a wide range of statutory and NGO stakeholders will also be pivotal.

The ALDP/CTC MDT team consists of senior nursing/therapeutic/clinical leadership, general and specialist nurses (mental health & intellectual disabilities), a multitask attendant, addiction lead, clinical psychologists and occupational therapists - with sessional support provided from a GP and Dentist.

Purpose

The Director of Nursing (DON) plays a pivotal leadership role in ensuring the MDT delivers accessible, person-centred, and trauma-informed supports to individuals living in Housing First tenancies across the Dublin Region. This position helps to guarantee fidelity to the Housing First model and the highest standards of clinical practice. The DON will oversee all aspects of the client's care, including clinical decision-making, care planning, and referrals, while leading the various disciplines within the MDT.

They will hold accountability for final clinical decision making and will work to ensure that strong links with primary care and specialist services are established. Key to the role is collaborative working with the Health Service Executive (HSE), Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, and Housing First Intensive Case Management leads. The DON will also actively lead on establishing the project alongside the Therapeutic Lead from CTC. The DON will also engage with clients on non-medical issues, reflecting Ana Liffey Drug Project’s commitment to building strong relationships. Preparedness for the challenges of low threshold nursing, frontline work and how to positively engage clients with challenging behaviour, with full training and organizational support provided.

Key Responsibilities

Project Management

• Establish the projects operational procedures and guidelines and review periodically or as required based on learning.
• Manage budgets and resource allocation to optimize project delivery alongside the CEO and Head of Finance.
• Maintain strong interagency partnerships and contribute to service planning and evaluation.
• Participate in national and international Housing First Communities of Practice.
• Support organizational change and innovation while ensuring quality and efficiency.
  
  Leadership and Governance
• Provide strategic and professional leadership to the nursing and the wider MDT staff.
• Ensure the MDT services are aligned with Housing First project goals and the principles of Housing First.
• Lead clinical governance and best practice initiatives and uphold regulatory standards.

Clinical Oversight and Service Delivery

• Oversee the planning, coordination, and evaluation of care for individuals with complex needs.
• Ensure delivery of trauma-informed, recovery-oriented, and evidence-based nursing care and other interventions.
• Monitor clinical outcomes and contribute to continuous quality improvement.

Workforce Development

• Lead recruitment, supervision, and competency-based training of nursing staff.
• Support professional development and reflective practice.
• Implement appraisal systems aligned with national nursing frameworks.

Safeguarding and Risk Management

• Promote best practice in safeguarding vulnerable adults.
• Lead on clinical risk assessment and mitigation strategies.
• Ensure compliance with statutory safeguarding protocols.

Interagency Collaboration and Advocacy

• Foster effective partnerships across health, housing, and social care sectors.
• Act as a key liaison and primary focal point with external agencies and stakeholders.
• Advocate for the health needs of Housing First clients in policy and service forums.

Policy and Service Development

• Contribute to the development and implementation of integrated health and housing policies.
• Support innovation and service redesign to improve health outcomes.
• Align nursing practice with Sláintecare, National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare and HSE strategic priorities.

The above key duties and responsibilities are not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved. Consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to them from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Essential Requirements

Statutory Registration, Professional Qualifications, Experience, etc.

1. Eligible applicants will be those who on the closing date for the competition have the following:

i.

Are registered or are eligible for registration in the General Nurse Division of the Register of Nurses and Midwives maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) (Bord Altranais agus Cnáimhseachais na hÉireann).

And

ii.

Have a minimum of seven years post registration nursing experience consisting of at least three years’ experience nursing a diverse range of people in the last six years and a minimum of three years’ experience in a nurse management role of a CNM2 or equivalent in the health and social care area.

And

iii.

Are educated to Level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) maintained by Quality & Qualifications of Ireland (QQI) in nursing or related field.

Andiv.

Have a post registration management qualification in health or other relevant post grad qualification in a field.

1. Candidates must possess the requisite clinical, leadership, managerial and administrative knowledge and ability for the proper discharge of the duties of the office.

i.

Practitioners must maintain live annual registration in the General Nurse Division and other divisions as relevant to the specific service of the Register of Nurses and Midwives as appropriate, maintained by the NMBI (Bord Altranais agus Cnáimhseachais na hÉireann).

Andii.

Confirm annual registration with NMBI to the HSE by way of the annual Patient Safety Assurance Certificate (PSAC).

Desirable Requirements

Social Inclusion, Addiction and Homelessness

• Experience working with people who are marginalised or socially excluded will be a distinct advantage.

To apply for the role

Please send a copy of your CV and a cover letter to jobs@aldp.ie in MS Word or PDF format before 5pm on,Monday, 22nd of June.

Please ensure that you clearly mark your application “Housing First Director of Nursing” in the subject line of the email.

Further Information

If you have any questions specific to the role advertised and the Housing First Health Multidisciplinary Team, please reach out to jobs@aldp.ie.

Interviews are provisionally scheduled for the final week of June.

Ana Liffey Drug Project is supported and funded in Dublin through HSE DNCC Addiction Services, North Inner-City Drug and Alcohol Task Force, Dublin Regional Homeless Executive and Probation Services.