Housing Advice & Homeless Prevention Officer

Job purpose:

• Proactively delivering housing options advice, including security of tenure, low cost home ownership, preventing homelessness, investigating householder circumstances and undertaking statutory assessments in order to determine the best options and resources available on a case by case basis.
• Carrying and managing a case load across housing options, move-on and homeless prevention, to work with individuals supporting and directing clients to access abroad range of housing options and where appropriate making relevant onward referrals and signpost to other services.
• Ensuring statutory requirements are met and local team targets are delivered through case work.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• To actively support the management of the service delivering a professional, responsive and individualised service to Hillingdon residents requiring housing advice and to explore and sign-post to housing options.
• To demonstrate understanding of the Council’s Customer Care Standards and ensure that these standards are met in order to deliver the Council vision of ‘putting our residents first’.
• To ensure that potentially homeless clients are given advice and assistance including those in housing need to whom the Council has no legal obligation to provide emergency accommodation to claim housing and other welfare benefits available to them.
• To contribute to preparing and implementing the housing strategy, homelessness strategy, rough sleepers’ strategy, allocations policy as it relates to housing need, and to undertake projects related to the development of the service area.
• To manage case work using expertise, knowledge of legislation and well established networks and partnerships to move clients on from temporary accommodation into longer term suitable and sustainable accommodation which effectively fulfils the Councils statutory duties.
• To engage with the Housing Register and Allocations Team, Adult Social Care and Children’s Services to deliver a seamless service.

Requirements:

• Hold an appropriate qualification in a relevant field: NVQ, Diploma, relevant degree or relevant experience.
• Ability to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service.
• Experience of case work and the application of case work management systems.
• Have an excellent working knowledge of all elements of housing needs: housing advice, homelessness prevention, property allocation and choice based lettings.
• Experience of working in a front facing team interviewing and assessing clients with a need for assistance.
• To be a confident, engaging communicator, able to positively handle contact with clients from a range of backgrounds and with complex needs.
• Enhanced DBS, dated within the last 12 months. On the update service? You could be fast tracked through our recruitment process today.
• Willingness to complete an enhanced DBS if you do not currently hold one.

Working with Archer Resourcing Ltd:

‍We have been helping professionals find exciting new roles for a number of years, so we know exactly where to look when it comes to sourcing the best opportunities. We operate across the UK, and, with amazing relationships with the biggest employers in UK criminal justice giving you the best chance of landing your next role.

We have a reputation for recruiting efficiently, however, we can only respond to candidates who meet the exact requirements of the position. If you have any queries about a role or application, then please call Archer direct on the provided contact details.

Due the high demand of CV's received we are unable to respond to all applications. However, we may hold your CV on file and contact you for future suitable roles.

We also offer a £250 referral bonus should you know of anyone who may be interested.

‍Must be eligible to work in the U.K