Temporary Housing Solutions Officer

Reference no: Islington RQ792449

Pay Rate: £18.06 per hour PAYE

DBS required for this role (disclosure level not specified)

A Housing Solutions Officer is needed to ensure an effective Housing Solutions Service is provided to the client’s customers in housing need, including assessment and advice on Housing and related support.

Key responsibilities:

• Deal with and difficult housing enquiries to ensure all customers have a positive experience and receive the right answer first time with consistent high quality.
• Provide clients with a written record of the advice and guidance provided, along with actions agreed, so serving to pilot the personalise housing plans.
• Provide appropriate basic advice and assistance on all matters of housing entitlement, eligibility and priority need for social housing.
• Ensure customers receive correspondence written in plain English which takes account of any special requirements.
• Ensure wherever possible by intervention, referral, advice, advocacy, and joint working that homelessness is prevented by ensuring the broadest range of housing options is available to customers.
• Follow the departments procedures and protocols for the effective liaison and discharging statutory joint obligations.
• Enable mediation between landlords and tenants, parents’ relatives, and family relationship breakdowns in order to prevent homelessness.
• Interview and carry out an initial assessment of all customers visiting the housing aid centre.
• Give guidance regarding welfare benefits and income maximisation.
• Keep clear up to date accurate and written and computerised records.
• Interview and visit applicants carry out inquiries within target timescales at alternative locations where necessary.
• Provide information on, promote, and refer customers to all available housing options, including special schemes, voluntary sector housing, private sector housing, shared ownership and other initiatives.
• Liaise closely and effectively with both internal and external colleagues.
• Refer clients where appropriate to other professionals and agencies. For advice on housing matters, welfare rights, social services, immigration, and other issues using referral procedures.
• Advice and assess customers suitability for home shelter scheme and make appropriate referrals to relevant agencies.

“Role Requirements” – to give yourself the maximum chance of success please try and ensure your CV addresses the following essential criteria:

Experience:

• Extensive experience with housing options and advice – specifically with homelessness and welfare reforms.
• Have dealt with landlords - under the Protection of Eviction Act.
• Experience of dealing with the public providing practical advice in a housing and welfare, to include administrative experience.
• Experience of working in a multi-cultural, inner-city environment.
• Experience of preventing Homelessness by mediating with hosts (family & friends) and liaising with landlords to stop evictions.
• Experience of the relevant housing legislation and case law, including the Housing Act 1996, Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, and the Protection from Eviction Act 1977.

Knowledge:

• Knowledge of relevant homeless legislation relating to homelessness and housing needs, with reference to the Housing Act 1996 (amended 2002).
• Good Knowledge of the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA).
• Displays an awareness, understanding and commitment to the protection and safeguarding of children and young people and or vulnerable adults.

Skills/Technical skills:

• Good with issuing/completing PHP, End of Duty letters and issuing non-cooperation letters.
• Computer literate (Very good with excel and familiar with database).
• Ability to respond sensitively to people experiencing a wide range of Housing problems.
• Proven ability to liaise with Councillors, senior management, members of the public and other Organisation.
• Demonstrable ability to meet relevant performance and service standards.
• Ability to provide clear, accountable, and responsive service to customer/client needs.
• Proven ability to input and extract data on a computer.
• Ability to communicate verbally, on the telephone, in writing and face to face with a wide range of audiences including Members, senior officers and the public and their representatives.

NB: Please feel free to apply to us direct via [email protected] by quoting the job reference and job title exactly. SEE DETAILS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS AD.

If you have previously applied to one of our vacancies and have already sent the required supporting documentation to us, please make this clear when you re-apply as this will help speed up your application.

To help speed up the process of uploading your CV to the client we would suggest that you send us your CV in Word format (or equivalent) if possible, rather than as a PDF.

If you are successful in securing this role, please note that for the entire duration of this contract, regardless of extension you will be working this role at the PAYE rate that has been advertised. For absolute clarity, we only work on a PAYE basis, rather than entertaining umbrella pay terms, we do not offer Ltd/umbrella or outside IR35 rates. If you wish to understand PAYE vs Umbrella more, please let us know and we can send you some additional information for clarity.