What is the role?

You’ll work as part of a team to provide a comprehensive and effective housing advice service, tailored to the individual customer’s specific needs.

You’ll meet the core purpose which is to ‘help customers solve their housing problems’

You’ll listen to customers and work proactively to prevent them becoming homeless (actual or threatened). Where homelessness cannot be prevented, you’ll ensure all statutory duties are fulfilled.

You will:

· Speak to customers in person, and manage email and telephone enquiries to provide detailed and personalised housing advice and assistance to customers enabling them to make informed decisions about the housing options available

· Work proactively with customers to assist them with:

– Negotiating with landlords, agents or family members

– Understanding rights of occupation

– Financial management and household budgeting

· Build relationships with external agencies including the Probation Service, Housing Associations, Citizens Advice, Social Services, Health Providers and Benefit Teams and attend court where necessary

· Participate in meetings where housing is identified as an issue for the customer including; Child Protection Conferences, Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) (supervision and management of sexual and violent offenders) and Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (domestic and sexual abuse) (MARAC)

· Provide advice to customers on the availability of local housing options, including:

– Eligibility for social housing

– Private sector accommodation and the help available from the council

– Identifying when temporary accommodation is needed and liaising with colleagues to offer suitable housing

· Manage your cases by prioritising your workload, keeping adequate notes of your conversations with customers and other agencies, maintaining case records and ensuring letters are legally correct but follow plain English rules

· Contribute to identifying and developing initiatives to prevent and resolve housing problems

· Actively encourage new sources of accommodation locally and respond positively to contacts from landlords and agents offering new properties or tenancies

· Maintain confidentiality and present a professional image at all times.

Who is the Person?

It is important that you are:

· Passionate about doing the right thing for customers

· Non-judgemental, caring, patient and empathetic and able to deal with customers in desperate situations, but still confident to make and deliver difficult decisions

· Able to deal with customers, who exhibit difficult behaviour as a result of mental health problems, drug or alcohol addictions, in a sensitive manner

· Able to balance the expectations of customers with the resources available

· Flexible, responsive and resilient enough to work in a pressurised and emotionally demanding role

· A good team player who is supportive of their colleagues

· Able to think creatively to resolve housing problems

· Willing to visit customers in their accommodation where conditions may be unsanitary. There may be an occasional need to conduct home visits.

The successful candidate will need to apply for a Basic Criminal Convictions Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service at the cost of the Employer.