Accommodation Procurement and Development Officer (2333) in Richmond

Achieving for Children is a Community Interest Company that has a public sector ethos, combined with the freedom to innovate enabling us to do things differently. As a not-for-profit social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Windsor & Maidenhead, Kingston and Richmond), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. Join a team that's officially Outstanding! Achieving for Children's Children's Services have now been rated Outstanding by Ofsted in both Richmond and Kingston. Our overall services are praised for exceptional care and a workforce that puts children at the centre of everything we do.

This is a new and exciting opportunity to utilise or develop your housing knowledge, experience, and strong networking and negotiation skills to establish and develop access to private rented sector accommodation for care leavers in Kingston and Richmond. The post-holder will support young people transitioning from care to settled, appropriate accommodation. If you have the energy to facilitate innovative change and improve the lives of care experienced young people, we would love to hear from you. This is a fixed term role for 24 months.

About the role

• Building and maintaining links with private sector landlords and letting agents, locally and regionally, and developing and maintaining comprehensive databases for them.
• Working in partnership with Leaving Care Personal Advisers and the Housing & Benefits Officer to expand care leavers' access to, promoting and understanding of, the private rented sector, preventing homelessness and securing safe, stable accommodation.
• Directly supporting care leavers with activities such as securing tenancies, negotiations, and resolving tenancy issues, including utilising tools like the Corporate Rent Guarantor Scheme.
• Acting as an ambassador to promote our young people and service, and providing training for private sector renting to staff, young people, and their networks.
• Working closely with the Local Authority Housing Procurement Teams to ensure work with landlords is coordinated with wider efforts.

About you

This role may appeal to a housing professional or someone with interest or knowledge in this area. We are looking for someone who understands the unique needs of care leavers and has a passion for ensuring excellent outcomes. You will show energy, innovation, and creativity.

• Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline and/or a professional qualification or equivalent level of experience.
• Working knowledge of Private Sector Housing legislation and local authority Housing Policy.
• Knowledge of statutory legislation and safeguarding duties; explicitly the Children Act 1989 and the Leaving Care Act 2000.
• Experience of working within the Private housing sector, voluntary sector housing, or a local authority Housing Department.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and networking skills.
• Ability to be able to effectively develop marketing strategies and tools.
• Experience of building partnerships and co-producing solutions across a diverse set of stakeholders, including senior managers and external clients.
• Experience in delivering skills workshops and producing materials to support young people in identifying and maintaining accommodation.

Benefits

We are focused on creating a positive supportive environment, where you will have access to a really wide range of resources, as well as a competitive salary and all the perks to enable hybrid working. In AfC you will also have access to:

• 29 days annual leave, increasing to 33 days after 2 years and 35 days after 4 years with an additional day off in your birthday month (Or for term-time workers, your leave entitlement consists of the non-working periods in your contract).
• Tailored induction sessions commencing on the date you start working for AfC.
• Local Government salary and pension scheme (LGPS or Teachers Pension).
• Flexible working options - helping to keep a good work life balance.
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme.
• A range of staff benefits and discounts.
• An excellent learning and development offer to support your career pathway.

Important Information

• Start dates: Achieving for Children have set start dates meaning successful candidates join on a set date in each month. Candidates are advised to prepare for this should a job offer be accepted to ensure eligible continuous service is not affected.
• Right to work: The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.
• Equality: We particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams. Achieving for Children are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.
• Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
• We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.