Housing & Welfare Officer – Asylum Seeker Support (Vehicle) in Sunderland

Location: South Tyneside & Sunderland

Salary: up to £29,856.80 per annum including company vehicle and fuel card or £3,500 company car allowance

Contract: Full time – Permanent, 40hrs per week, Monday to Friday

Over‑of‑hours duties: OOH duties expected. These include one week out of twelve, including standby. Pay: £30 per weekday and £50 per weekend day. May also attend properties or service users during OOH, paid at 1.5× that rate.

Mears provides temporary accommodation to asylum seekers while their claim is being assessed in three regions: Northeast, Yorkshire and Humber, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Mears works in partnership with central and local Government, registered providers, tenants, landlords and investors to find solutions to homelessness, provide more social and affordable housing and create specialist housing for people with care needs.

Annual salary: up to £28,917.00

About The Role

We are looking for a Housing Support Officer to join our expanding team. This rewarding role focuses on supporting asylum seekers through their right‑to‑work application process with the Home Office. You will provide both practical and emotional support, address safeguarding and welfare needs, monitor wellbeing, and keep accurate records for compliance. Every day is different, and while the role can be challenging, it is also highly rewarding for someone who is resilient, empathetic, and people‑focused.

This role is responsible for delivering a high‑quality housing management and support service to service users, combining property management with person‑centred support. The post holder will manage a portfolio of homes within an assigned region, ensuring properties are maintained to contractual standards while safeguarding the welfare and wellbeing of all service users. The role involves coordinating move‑ins, move‑outs, voids and inspections, monitoring compliance with key performance indicators, and identifying and managing risks. Through regular assessments and engagement, the post holder will identify service users’ support needs, provide advice and assistance, and work collaboratively with internal teams, external agencies, care providers and community organisations to ensure appropriate support is in place.

The role requires cultural awareness, professional boundaries, resilience, accurate record keeping, performance reporting, and a flexible approach, including supporting colleagues and undertaking ad‑hoc projects as required.

Role Criteria

• Support asylum seekers throughout their application process, ensuring welfare and safeguarding needs are met.
• Provide practical and emotional support to individuals and families.
• Identify needs and put in place support packages to promote independence.
• Work with vulnerable and diverse client groups, including those with mental health needs or challenging behaviours.
• Carry out risk assessments and maintain accurate records for audits and compliance.
• Communicate effectively with colleagues, service users, local authorities, and partner organisations.
• Maintain professional boundaries while being approachable, empathetic, and supportive.
• Work independently, showing resilience and initiative.
• Flexible and willing to travel between sites.
• Hold a full UK driving licence.

Benefits We Can Offer You

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Annual Mears Fun Day – our annual Fun Day is organised as a massive thank you from the Executive team for all the hard work.
• Volunteering Leave – Mears supports employees to undertake paid volunteering in the community, in support of our social value commitment.
• Staff perks with Mears Rewards – discounts of up to 10% on weekly groceries, holidays, eye test vouchers, share save scheme, plus much more.
• Family friendly policies.
• Company vehicle and fuel card.
• Access to EAP counselling sessions.

All our roles require candidates to have the entitlement to work within the UK; Mears does not currently offer visa sponsorship. Candidates should be aware that all our roles are subject to relevant Background, Identity & Security checks before commencement of employment. As part of the recruitment process for this role, we will carry out a Background, Identity, Security clearance & BPSS check. For these checks to be completed, we will require from you the relevant identification, including proof of address, references, a valid passport and proof that you have lived in the UK for the last five years.

If you need any help with your application process, we are here to support you. We will be accessible every step of the way. At Mears Group, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. We are a Disability Confident employer, valuing individuality and ensuring equal opportunities for all. We proudly support the Armed Forces Covenant and are honoured to have achieved the Gold Award in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS). In our continued effort to promote social mobility, we invite applicants to voluntarily share their background information during the application stages to help us better understand the diverse experiences of our candidates. This is to ensure we are committed to improving social mobility. We use the Social Mobility Index to assess and enhance opportunities for individuals from diverse backgrounds. These questions are optional and will not impact your ability to apply.