Homelessness Prevention and Solutions Officer

Salary Range: £38,976 to £47,229 per annum

Three Permanent Fulltime – 36 hours

Location: Housing Customer Services Centre, 90 Putney Bridge Road, SW18 1HR

Objective of role

We are looking for a capable and ambitious individual keen to help families and individuals facing homelessness to support them in their homelessness journey and adhere to legislative guidance as well as policy and procedures.

About the role

Within the Prevention and Solutions Service, you will provide tailored advice and information to customers and provide interim accommodation where required. You will work within a hybrid model keeping a focus on the needs of our customers and supporting your work life balance. In addition to this, you will also provide a holistic approach and make the relevant referrals for clients who have complex needs that are not always immediately apparent. Your contribution and support will help those clients to stay in their current home or find a new home by delivery of key prevention techniques and options whilst managing expectations. You will enjoy partnership working, collaboration and have a keen motivation to meet objectives and importance of working towards targets.

Who are we looking for?

We are especially interested in your transferable skills in particular your ability to assess information, understand and accurately apply the assessment criteria, problem solve and communicate effectively with applicants, colleagues and agencies. Whilst previous experience of working in a homelessness or other busy front‑line public‑sector role would be advantageous, it is not essential.

What we would like you to be is:

• Emotionally mature and confident to work with people facing homelessness for various reasons.
• Good listener and able to apply what you hear to the legal framework in which we work.
• Organised in your work and able to keep on top of changing priorities.
• Engaged and able to work collaboratively with families and individuals who require housing assistance.
• Able to discuss, negotiate and persuade families and their landlords to prevent and relieve homelessness.
• Capable of writing reasoned decision letters, carrying out interviews and producing case notes and assessments of a high standard.
• A motivated and engaged team player.

Key responsibilities

In this role, you will need to do the following:

• Prevent and alleviate homelessness by providing housing advice and options to those who present as homeless.
• Conduct and review homelessness needs assessments and complete personalised housing plans to help empower individuals to sustain and secure accommodation.
• Work collaboratively with various stakeholders and manage expectations.
• Demonstrate an excellent customer‑centred approach and participate in duty rotas.
• Issue statutory homelessness decision letters aligned with Homelessness legislation in a timely manner.
• Take on a caseload and manage it effectively.
• Utilise IT systems to accurately update and record information.

Essential qualifications, skills and experience

• Experience of working within a customer service, housing or lettings service.
• Experience of carrying out interviews, investigations, negotiations.
• Experience of effective record keeping, including electronically held information.
• Experience of working with people who are homeless or in other stressful situations.
• Experience of working successfully to performance targets and deadlines.
• Excellent interpersonal skills including active listening and negotiating.
• Excellent communication skills including the ability to write detailed case notes and technical letters.

Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits designed to attract, develop, and reward our employees such as 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays), flexible working and a generous pension plan.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership 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 to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

Disability Confident

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know.

Safeguarding

We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to these posts will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).