Homeless Resettlement Officer

Join to apply for the Homeless Resettlement Officer role at Maidstone Borough Council. This is a full-time, permanent position within the Housing Portfolio Team.

About the Role

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Homeless Resettlement Officer. We are seeking someone with an understanding of Part 7 of the Housing Act, 1996 (as amended) who has experience of working with vulnerable people and making decisions based on their best interests. You should have a robust knowledge of the causes of homelessness and the issues faced by households who are homeless, including the interventions available to relieve their homelessness and remove the barriers to move on from temporary accommodation to settled accommodation.

You would be working as part of the Housing Portfolio Team and wider housing service at our Community Hub, Trinity, in Maidstone Town Centre. The team provides a compassionate and supportive response to service users who are at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping by providing a face-to-face housing advice service to those who need it.

As a Homeless Resettlement Officer, you will manage your own case load of main housing duty cases, work with clients to identify the barriers to move on, including former rent arrears, benefit cap, benefit maximisation, and determining suitability for move on. You will need the ability to demonstrate skills of empathy in assessing the clients’ housing circumstances and support needs, to update personalised housing plans and to provide a broad range of housing options, with the aim of assisting clients to remove barriers preventing move on from temporary accommodation and identifying the most suitable move on accommodation.

As part of this, you will work closely with the Accommodation Resource Officers, nominating households for private rented accommodation and direct let nominations for social housing. This role will be working 37 hours per week from Trinity House. There is also the scope for hybrid working under the Council’s hybrid working arrangements, dependant on the needs of the service. The current expectation is that employees work from Trinity 2 days a week, with flexibility of working from home the remaining 3 days. You will also be required to participate in the out of hours on-call rota covering evenings, weekends and bank holidays to provide emergency assistance on housing matters.

About You

The successful applicant will be enthusiastic, highly motivated and have excellent communication skills. Additionally, you will have excellent interpersonal, organisation and IT skills. You should also have experience working with vulnerable or chaotic individuals or lived experience of homelessness yourself. You should be a strong team player who embraces change and is able to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service and our clients. You will also require a full UK driving licence and the ability to travel across the borough to conduct home visits at clients' homes, prisons, hostels, hospitals or other locations as may be necessary.

The Council considers this to be a customer focused role and the ability to converse at ease with customers, adapting your communication style to suit differing audiences and provide advice in accurate spoken English, is fundamental to the role.

Selection Process

Following the submission of your application form, it will be reviewed by the recruiting manager. Those that are successful in securing an interview can expect a job specific interview assessment, followed by an interview.

About Us

Maidstone Borough Council is a confident organisation with ambition and aspirations to deliver high quality services to our residents and local businesses. We strive to make the borough an attractive place for all and secure a successful economy. We continue to build on our strengths - assets, knowledge and expertise and our track record for innovation and improvement to create a financially sustainable future so that we can continue with our undiminished plans. We will only achieve the results we are aiming for through the talents and hard work of all our people. You are encouraged to become part of our vision and, in return, you can expect support, training, and fair reward from us. We will give you the opportunity to develop the skills to do your job well and create a positive working environment where your ideas about improving how we do things are valued and we manage the changes needed for new ways of working well.

Our Offer

• Invitations to staff events to celebrate success and support wellbeing that include holistic therapies and outdoor activities
• Employee Assistance Programme which provides confidential & independent information and access to counsellors
• Life Assurance – three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• Generous holiday entitlement with the option to buy additional leave
• Season Ticket Loan - to help with the cost of your rail/bus journey to & from work
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand-new car. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax
• A wide range of flexible working opportunities
• Cycle to work scheme
• Staff benefits discounts on leisure, eating out, holidays and shopping
• Excellent learning and career opportunities for committed individuals
• A professional fee payment, if required for the role

Maidstone Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. The Council considers that the successful applicant will have access to the Government’s secure network and will need to have a Baseline Personnel Security Standard check completed. In addition to the normal pre-employment checks, this requires a criminal record check for unspent convictions and verification of employment history for the preceding 3 years. Where the 3 years of employment history cannot be verified through the most recent employment reference, you will need to provide a copy of your HMRC PAYE record for the 3-year period and will need to explain the reasons for any gaps in employment.

If you would like to discuss this position, please contact Samantha McCoy, Homeless Pathway Manager on 01622 602582. To apply for the position please visit https://www.maidstone.gov.uk/jobs and complete the online application form or by phone on 01622 602555.

Closing Date: 25th January 2026