Homeless Advice and Prevention Officer

There has never been a more exciting time to join Wirral Council. We’ve got ambitious targets to meet and to achieve everything we have promised to our residents, we need people who are ready to deliver the very best for our communities and show how they can #BeTheDifference. Our vision is to secure the best possible future for our residents, defined by the community prosperity we create and supported by our excellent people and services. If you strive to #BeTheDifference and want to be at the heart of our change and improvement journey, then this could be the perfect job for you.

About the Role: An opportunity has arisen to join a respected Housing Team within Wirral Council. We are looking for an experienced and self-motivated Housing Options Officer / Homeless Assessment & Prevention Officer to provide homeless prevention advice & assistance to households who are threatened with homelessness and to assess and process homelessness applications made under current legislation.

About the candidate: We would like to hear from you if you have knowledge of homeless legislation (Part VII of the Housing Act 1996/2002 and the Homeless Reduction Act 2018) and experience of developing personalised housing plans. You will have had experience of working within a homeless/housing environment and managing a demanding caseload, carrying out assessments and investigations in line with legislation. This will include the use of prevention tools to sustain existing housing or secure suitable and affordable alternative accommodation. You must be able to investigate issues, in a sensitive manner, accurately record statements and findings and effectively negotiate resolutions with accommodation providers and landlords, to prevent homelessness. Preferably you will have experience of using the LOCATA HPA2 system.

We currently operate a hybrid working model with an expectation that the successful candidate will attend at the Council offices in Birkenhead 1-2 days per week.

We welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates. For this vacancy, candidates must have an existing right to work in the UK before commencing employment. Skilled Worker visa sponsorship is not available for this post. Eligibility to work in the UK will be verified in the final stages of the selection process.

If your skills, knowledge, or experience looks a little different from what we have identified and you think you can bring value to the role, we'd love to learn more about you - as subject to the skills, knowledge, or experience levels within the candidate pool we may explore a traineeship for this role.

If you are a Wirral resident, are unemployed or out of work, and require help with your application, please contact Involve Northwest’s employment and skills team on info@involvenorthwest.org.uk or contact 0151 644 4500 or 0151 652 4349.

If you’re already a Wirral Council employee, as part of our Talent Strategy, we’re committed to strengthening opportunities for our people to learn, grow, progress, and thrive. For many of you, this may be preparing and applying for your next role with us, and we're passionate about ensuring you feel supported throughout your internal recruitment experience.

Working at Wirral: You’ll also want to know what it’s like to work here so, as a start: Our values are more than just pieces of paper on our walls! We’ve all played a role in developing these, so they reflect the immense pride we have in what we do, what matters to us, what inspires us and inform how we think, approach things, and behave. We believe in ensuring staff are well looked after, staff wellbeing is a priority for us. We’re serious about recognising and rewarding people for the great things they do. You’ll benefit from our track record of developing, growing, and investing in our people. We have a range of staff benefits including staff discounts, an excellent pension scheme which includes a generous employer contribution rate, immediate life cover and ill-health protection. We have a strong flexible working approach, hybrid working, family-friendly employment initiatives and an annual leave package starting with 28 days leave plus public holidays. We have an inclusive, engaged culture, everyone has a voice, everyone is valued for their contribution and understands the role they play in delivering our strategic priorities. Each voice is heard, each contribution valued. We embrace diversity in our workforce and recognise it is critical to our success. We support an inclusive culture that champions differences and nurtures a sense of belonging. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds, who share our values and our commitment to inclusion to apply for roles with us. We want you to be your best at work, we create the conditions to help you thrive and we mirror this in our recruitment process.

Please note that in accordance with the Council’s policy, employees who are in a formal redeployment situation will be considered in the first instance for all vacancies. It is Council policy not to re-appoint any employee who has left under the terms of the Council's Early Voluntary Retirement (EVR) scheme or who have left with a voluntary severance (VS) package, unless in exceptional circumstances. Applications will be accepted until midnight on the closing date. We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the specified date should we receive sufficient applications. Applications can only be accepted through the Jobs page following registration. Forms received via the post will not be processed. All applicants invited to interview must evidence their right to work in the UK. Details of required documents can be found by clicking the link at the bottom of the Jobs page. The job description and other supporting documents will not be accessible once the vacancy closing date has passed so if a copy is required you should download it now. We do not accept applications or CVs from recruitment agencies, unless otherwise stated. Therefore, any candidates submitted via a recruitment agency will not be considered for this role.

How to apply: Please apply online by clicking the link below.