Private Sector Housing Surveyor in Kettering

North Northamptonshire Council is a young unitary Council with big ambitions for the future of the area and the wellbeing of its residents. We are determined to provide assistance to vulnerable, elderly and disabled residents. We assist residents to remain living independently in their homes or help them with moving to a more suitable property as well as enable hospital discharges and delay the need for care. Do you want to help us make a difference?

About the role

We are looking for an enthusiastic, hardworking new member to join our team and work with us to deliver our challenging aspirations for the area. Our main focus is to support vulnerable, elderly and disabled residents by providing mandatory and new discretionary grants in line with the Private Sector Housing Assistance Policy. Our aim is to assist as many residents as possible in the private sector and make sure our work has a positive impact on those in need of housing adaptations currently suffering financial hardship.

You will be responsible for your own case load, including the design and production of work packages needed for planning, building regulations and tendering. You will be involved with each case from start to completion, including surveys and feasibility visits. You will be supervised by and report directly to the Disabled Facilities Grants Manager.

What will you be doing?

• Visit clients in their own homes to discuss their needs and advise on adaptations available to them in conjunction with the Occupational Therapy Service.
• Survey, prepare technical schedules of work/specifications and drawings, as appropriate, taking into account the recommendations of the Occupational Therapist and the client’s own needs and wishes.
• Liaise with external consultations, including architects, engineers, solicitors, banks, building societies, the Occupational Therapy Service, social workers and voluntary organisations where necessary to make timely progress with cases.
• Obtain quotations from approved contractors and/or contractors requested by clients, complete evaluations and make recommendations accordingly.
• Prepare files for tendering exercises and evaluate tenders where applicable.
• Co‑ordinate and submit applications for planning permission, building regulations approval and party wall where appropriate.
• Keep the client informed on progress with their adaptation.
• Monitor works to ensure that they are carried out to the approved standard, and negotiate in the best interest of the grant and assist the client if deemed necessary, while the contractor is on site.
• Carry out final inspections once works have been completed to ensure that the works are to the required standard and to the client’s satisfaction.
• Ensure that any defects are remedied within the defects liability period.
• Monitor expenditure against agreed contracts and budgets, making recommendations for payment when necessary.
• Maintain accurate electronic and sometimes paper records at all stages of all grant applications.
• Provide data and information to the Senior Private Sector Housing Surveyor and/or Disabled Facilities Grant Manager as requested, for regular reporting and performance monitoring purposes.
• Maintain up-to‑date database and records across the appropriate software package.

About you

Presentation of portfolio is required at the job interview. This should include AutoCAD‑drawn former work examples with emphasis on planning, building regulations and tender packages. The work can be presented electronically on a device such as laptop or iPad.

A good overall standard of education, e.g. A Levels, HND.

A professional qualification in Building Studies/Construction.

Experience and/or awareness in case project management, supervising contracts for building works, involving preparation of technical specifications, interim payments, variations and final certifications.

Understanding of building construction, health and safety, and building control procedures.

Awareness of procurement processes including arranging and supervising contracts.

Ability to successfully operate in a multi‑disciplinary and develop good working relationships with colleagues.

Experience and/or awareness of using AutoCAD.

Experience in Microsoft Office and other software applications.

Good numeracy skills with an ability to monitor and control project expenditure.

Ability to organise and prioritise own workload.

Able to demonstrate excellent communication skills, both written and oral.

Ability to work to tight deadlines and be flexible in work approaches.

Ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with a wide range of customers, stakeholders, and partners.

Ability to demonstrate awareness/understanding of equal opportunities and other people’s behaviour, physical, social and welfare needs.

Demonstrate an understanding of the safe working practices that apply to this role.

About us

Our values define who we are and how we operate, by forming the foundation for how we interact with our customers, colleagues and provide our services. They are also at the forefront of our decision making and delivery and are: Customer-focused, Respectful, Efficient, Supportive, Trustworthy.

We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer and are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role. We have achieved Gold status award for the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS).

Benefits

• A pension scheme, where we pay a significant contribution on top of your contribution. It provides life cover and ill-health protection.
• Lots of opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and potential in a large unitary council.
• Generous leave entitlement (28 days, rising to 33 days) and bank holidays, plus the option to buy up to an extra 10 days.
• Hybrid and flexible working arrangements, where practicable for service needs to help you with a healthy work‑life balance.
• Employee Assistance Programme, an Employee Benefits Scheme, wellbeing support, travel rates at HMRC rates, as well as supporting a range of active Employee Network Groups.