Housing Options Officer in Surrey

Are you passionate about making a positive impact on resident’s lives? Do you have excellent communication and problem-solving skills? We are looking for a Housing Options Officer to help provide an effective and proactive homeless prevention and relief service, ensuring outstanding customer service and service delivery standards are achieved and providing a critical source of support for local people seeking help with their housing needs.

The Role

You will work as part of the wider Housing Services service area. This role is responsible for providing comprehensive housing information, advice, and assistance to the public in order to prevent or delay homelessness and to promote local housing options. You will also assess homeless applications advising applicants of their options and ensure they receive appropriate information and, where necessary, are signposted to other useful sources of help.

Who we’re looking for:

• Experience in Housing options within a local authority or Registered Provider setting.
• Experience of housing advice and casework.
• Experience of working with external agencies to deliver successful outcomes.
• Ability to deal with complex cases through multi-agency working.
• People skills with the ability to communicate well with customers, Councillors, and external agencies.
• Able to interpret policy, procedures, and strategies in relation to Housing Needs.
• Self-sufficient in the use of databases and MS Office products and the use of CRM (Customer Relationship Management Systems).
• Able to write accurate and clear correspondence and reports.
• Able to plan and prioritise when under pressure.
• Ability and commitment to working with individuals and groups to problem solve and achieve positive service outcomes.
• Able to innovate by both conceiving and implementing new services or improvements to existing services.
• Pragmatic, creative, and flexible approach to problem solving and committed to taking initiative and achieving practical solutions.
• An understanding of local government services and functions and the major issues facing local government.
• Experience of working with Elected Members and of dealing with politically sensitive issues.

What we offer

When you join us your expertise, skills and experience will be valued, and your career development will be our priority. We are committed to creating a collaborative and innovative environment which empowers you to thrive. You will be part of a friendly, supportive One Team culture with the chance to make a real difference. We believe in balancing hard work with fun. Our active social team organises two to three events a year, ranging from Staff Awards, quiz nights to rounders in the park, helping the workplace to be productive and enjoyable. We use Viva Engage to keep you connected and engaged and we hold regular face to face meetings, such as Chief Executive briefings to keep you in the loop. We are conveniently located close to Oxted Station and have some on-site parking. In addition to the stated pay, we offer membership and contributions towards the Local Government Pension Scheme, flexible working (giving you the opportunity to work from home for up to three days a week), flexi-time, payment of a relevant professional subscription and access to a discounted health scheme.

Diversity statement

At Tandridge District Council, we pride ourselves on maintaining an inclusive workplace, ensuring equality, fairness, and inclusion is at the heart of everything we do, and good practice is embedded in the Council’s culture and services. We welcome applications from all sectors of our community, including BAME, LGBTQ+ and all groups protected under the Equality Act. Tandridge is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment.

Want to know more?

If this sounds like your kind of challenge and you want to be part of our friendly and supportive team, we would love to hear from you. If you would like to find out more, please read our role profile and specification, or for an informal discussion about the role, please e-mail David Wilcox.