Housing Solutions Officer

TAMWORTH BOROUGH COUNCIL

NEIGHBOURHOODS

Housing Solutions Officer

(Homelessness Prevention)

£26,845 to £29,439 per annum

plus essential car user allowance

(pay award pending)

Hybrid working contract

37 hours per week

Temporary 18-month contract

We require a highly motivated individual to join our team in delivering high-quality services to those at risk of being homeless or those who are homeless.

The successful candidate will apply a proactive, problem-solving approach to the prevention of homelessness.  You will be committed to partnership working and finding new solutions to housing problems.  You will also have excellent communication and customer service skills. 

You will have experience of working in a customer-focused role and should have the ability to interview customers, to assess whether homelessness can be prevented in any way in a sensitive, customer focused way, which meets the needs of vulnerable customers whilst simultaneously managing expectations.

The successful candidate should be competent in carrying a high caseload of prevention cases/homeless applications.  Candidates will need to be confident in carrying out often complex and extensive enquiries and then making s184 decisions under the Housing Act 1996 Part VII as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. You will possess the ability to organise your own workload effectively, work within agreed deadlines and prioritise urgent cases. You will be required to make legislative decisions and the homelessness team is a statutory service.

Your skill set will also require being able to use your own initiative in making enquiries and be innovative when carrying out investigations.  As part of the need to prevent homelessness, an ability to have good negotiation skills is key to the role.   

The successful candidate will be required to work as part of a team to ensure that service cover is maintained during normal office hours and the post holder will be required to provide out-of-hours homelessness cover on a pro-rata, rota basis.

Access to a vehicle and a full driving licence is also essential as you will be required to carry visits which is an essential requirement of this post. The post comes with Essential Car user status.

This is a hybrid working contract, there is a requirement for some of duties to be carried out at home and some on site. Site attendance will constitute more than 40% of available working time.

The authority offers an excellent employment package with flexible working, a non-contributory health scheme, Local Government pension scheme and generous holiday entitlement. 

Appointment will be subject to satisfactory references, right to work in the UK check, medical clearance and DBS check.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Sue Baker (Housing Solutions Manager) on 01827 709462 or Sarah Finnegan (Head of Homelessness and Housing Solutions) sarah-finnegan@tamworth.gov.uk

For further information and to apply please visit Tamworth BC Jobs.

If you have any queries about the recruitment process, please contact recruitment@tamworth.gov.uk.

Closing date: 30^th October 2023

Late applications and/or CVs will not be accepted.  Agencies need not apply. We welcome applications from all sectors of the community. This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS checks required for relevant posts.