Homelessness Officer WCC623997 in London

Salary range: £34,359 - £38,637 per annum. Salary negotiable depending upon experience.

Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, SW1E 6QP

Hours per week: 36

Contract type: Permanent

Closing date: 24 June 2026

About Us

Housing Needs in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. For Abbie, a Homelessness Officer, the work is often about stopping a crisis from happening at all. This might mean negotiating with landlords, working through financial difficulties with residents or finding practical solutions that allow people to remain in their homes. In one situation, Abbie worked with a resident who was at risk of losing their home after the rent became unaffordable and possession action had started. By working closely with the landlord, she took the time to understand what had driven the landlord to increase the rent and the residents' financial situation. Through careful negotiation, she was able to secure an affordable agreement that worked for both parties. The possession action was withdrawn and the resident was able to stay in their home.

At Westminster, we understand that homelessness is multifaceted and caused by various factors. Addressing homelessness often goes beyond providing emergency accommodation – it requires an in-depth understanding of the root causes. This is why, alongside her negotiation work with the landlord, Abbie worked with officers across the department and the wider Council to help maximise the resident's income. For Abbie, cases like this are not only about securing housing in the interim; they are about ensuring that residents are also able to sustain their tenancies in the long‑term.

This kind of work requires persistence, judgement and empathy. Across Westminster, this is what our Housing Needs officers do every day: working with residents to turn difficult situations into new beginnings.

The Role

As a Homelessness Officer in our Housing Solutions and Homelessness service, you can make your own powerful contribution to people across Westminster. In this resident‑facing role, you'll have the opportunity to make a real impact, helping to prevent and relieve homelessness by supporting people into safe, sustainable housing.

Your day‑to‑day will be varied and dynamic, including everything from completing homelessness assessments to creating and reviewing Personal Housing Plans. Working between the community and the office, you'll agree and review plans with applicants to ensure meaningful progress and effective communication.

Coordinating with a wide variety of residents, partner agencies and stakeholders, you'll use your excellent communication skills to monitor case progress and support residents towards sustainable housing outcomes.

Key responsibilities:

• Complete homelessness assessments
• Create and review Personal Housing Plans
• Agree and review plans with applicants to ensure meaningful progress
• Ensure effective communication between community and office
• Coordinate with residents, partner agencies and stakeholders to monitor case progress
• Support residents towards sustainable housing outcomes

About You

An established professional with experience of working in a customer‑focused environment, you'll have strong knowledge of safeguarding responsibilities and the following legislation:

• Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
• Homelessness Code of Guidance
• Domestic Abuse Act 2021
• Localism Act 2011
• Housing Act 1996 (Part VII)
• Equalities Act 2010
• Housing Allocation Scheme

On a personal level, you'll be a true team player with great organisational, prioritisation and communication skills. An active listener capable of working collaboratively and empathetically with residents of varying needs, you'll be passionate about improving outcomes for people experiencing homelessness.

What We Offer

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and nearly 750,000 people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council's strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision‑making and help to determine the city's future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

We pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best – that is the Westminster Way.

As a forward‑thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways. Therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application, we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.

Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role.

We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants.