Housing Officer - Homeless - Temporary Contract. ASAP start

Your new role

Reporting to the Senior Homeless Officer, the post holder will be responsible for following the regulations in accordance with Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017), to undertake triaging and assessments of those seeking housing assistance, provide advice, options and housing solutions to homeless households and those in temporary accommodation with the aim of preventing or relieving their homelessness.


* Work with clients, provide advice and investigate homelessness applications made under the terms of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002, Localism Act 2011 and Homelessness Reduction Act 2017)
* Complete an assessment of the customers circumstances, in all cases, to determine the duty owed to the customer and inform them in writing of the Council's decision in accordance with the relevant legislation, seeking advice and guidance where needed from colleagues.
* Complete a Personal Housing Plan with each customer where appropriate, compiling a tailored set of actions both the customer and staff will compete in order to prevent or relieve the customer's homelessness and to interview customers as and when required
* Ensure that all homelessness applications are rigorously investigated, careful consideration is always given to the possibility of collusion and fraud, and the Council only accepts an interim or rehousing duty for those applicants to whom it owes a duty.
* Ensure that an accurate, detailed record is kept of all interviews and the follow-up action taken (and that files are maintained to a high standard) in order to assist monitoring, decision-making and effective case management including the government's quarterly HCLIC return.
* Provide advice to homeless customers about the Housing Register including advice to people who are neither eligible, do not qualify or who are disqualified to join the Housing Register

What you'll need to succeed

Essential Criteria
* Currently working in a homeless or housing environment.
* Knowledge of homelessness legislation in particular Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homeless Reduction Act 2017) and other relevant Acts
* Experience in completing s.189A assessments and developing personalised housing plans
* Experience in making and completing enquiries into an applicant's housing circumstances and issuing clear and robust s.184 decisions and duty notifications
* A working knowledge of welfare benefits
* Ability to identify safeguarding concerns and complete referrals to the relevant organisation
* Knowledge of health and safety Issues
* work as part of a team and on own initiative
* Excellent written and oral communication skills including able to communicate with a range of people including members of the public, organisations, landlords and agencies and managing expectations.
* IT user with excellent knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel and be able to learn and use different packages and document management systems.
* Time management and organisational skills
* Able to participate in the Out of Hours homelessness service (approx. 1 week in 10) for which an additional payment is made.

What you need to do now
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.
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