Working for us

Poplar Housing And Regeneration Community Association (HARCA) was established in 1998 and was the first urban local housing company in the UK.

The organisation is so named in order to reflect its twin aims of achieving both housing and community regeneration within the Poplar area of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Mission Statement

‘To work with local people to define and achieve their own financial and social aims to create an environment where they want to live and to work with them to define and achieve their own financial and social aims’

Our staff

In order to meet these goals we need to recruit people with energy and commitment. People who enjoy new challenges, learning new skills and working as part of a supportive and dedicated team.

Our culture

Poplar HARCA is a modern and expanding organisation where teamwork goes hand in hand with the highest standards of professionalism.

We currently employ over 200 staff who are based out of our Chrisp Street offices, five neighbourhood centres and various satellite offices in the E14 and E3 area of East London. We expect this number to increase by almost 50% within the next 18 months.

We offer employment and development opportunities for both existing and prospective staff.

Whether your job involves working in a front line housing position or developing community regeneration based projects at one of our neighbourhood centres you will play a key role in assisting us to achieve our key organisational goals and objectives.

You will be working in an environment where you will be encouraged to share your ideas and experiences and receive support from your colleagues. You will be recognised and rewarded for your hard work and initiative.

You will have the opportunity to develop and expand upon your current skills base and professional knowledge by accessing a wide range of internal and external training and development opportunities.

Equality and diversity

Poplar HARCA is committed to equal opportunities, both as an employer and as a provider of housing and community regeneration services.

We are opposed to all forms of direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, ethnic origin, nationality, religious beliefs, trade union membership, marital status, sexual orientation, social background, disability or age. We seek to broaden the concept of equal opportunity beyond the issues covered by law.

We recognise that our ability to meet the needs of our customers is greatly enhanced by having a diverse work force that has the relevant experience, skills and knowledge to achieve our service objectives. And wherever possible representative of the community we serve.

We are commited to promote equality of opportunity within our workforce. We seek to adopt policies and procedures that will make sure individuals are selected, developed and treated equitably on the basis of the criteria relevant to job performance.

We are committed to finding the most qualified person to carry out any job advertised. Applicants are assessed on their suitability for the post and our selection criteria are monitored and reviewed regularly to make sure they are justifiable and non-discriminatory.

Employee benefits

Leave entitlement
Poplar HARCA’s paid annual leave entitlement is currently 25 days. Staff accrue an additional two days leave after two years of continuous service and five days leave after five years continuous service. Staff receive three extra non-statutory days between Christmas and New Year.

Flexible benefits
A flexible benefits scheme where you choose your own benefits. You can take advantage of a range of benefits such as:

Poplar HARCA offers a Flexible Retirement Plan (Money Purchase Scheme) administered by The Pension Trust. 

Payment of professional subscriptions

Offered to all employees who are full members of relevant professional bodies upon successful completion of their probationary period.

Other benefits include enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity entitlements, a generous staff sick pay scheme and a variety of flexible working practices. We also operate a season ticket loan scheme for staff after the completion of their probationary period.

Terms of employment

Probationary period
All new employees are required to complete a six-month probationary period before being confirmed in post.

Salaries
Salaries are paid into a nominated bank or building society account of your choice on the last working day of each month.

Working hours
Normal full time working hours:

· 35 hours
· 36 hours for staff working in youth work related positions

Notice period
The notice period varies according to post. The minimum period is four weeks and the maximum period is twelve weeks.

The application process
Please refer to the application pack associated with the post in which you are interested.

Travel costs
We will reimburse candidates for any reasonable costs incurred by travelling to and from interviews in excess of £10.

Any such costs must be agreed by either a member of staff in the HR department or by the recruiting manager prior to the travel taking place.

Please note that you will need to provide us with original receipts in order to receive reimbursement.