Housing Officer (Out of Hospital Service)

Housing Officer
Out of Hospital Service
Oxford
37 Hours
3 Months Contract
£22 p/h
A local authority in Oxfordshire are recruiting for a Housing Officer with knowledge of housing legislation and move-on, to support their residents with moving on to temporary accommodation or independent living, following a stay in hospital.
The Role
This Housing Officer role is base in the community working with residents across 350 supported housing units with over 100 ready to move on to independent living. The role will involve meeting teams and keyworkers and using housing knowledge and expertise and contacts to open doors to moving these residents on.

• Facilitating Move-On Support and Housing Options Maximization: The focus is on aiding individuals transitioning from various Supported Housing types, such as Mental Health and Step Down accommodations, addressing barriers hindering progress is a key strategy to generate flow and capacity within the system and the goal is to explore and maximize housing options for patients and coordinate partnerships across various services to ensure safe and planned discharges.
• Comprehensive Team Training, Advocacy, and Case Review: Training and mentoring for Supported Housing teams are provided to enhance their understanding of housing options, legislation, and procedures; advocacy support is offered to individuals dealing with housing legislation challenges; Emphasis is placed on identifying and overcoming obstacles preventing individuals from moving on, with a commitment to maximizing housing options.
• Early Homelessness Prevention, Discharge Planning, and Partnerships: Identification of homeless or at-risk individuals upon admission is crucial for early discharge planning; Connection with relevant agencies, assistance with paperwork, and ensuring safe and planned discharges are prioritized; Extensive collaboration with partners in health, mental health, adult social care, and the third sector is emphasized to ensure appropriate support at discharge.
• Negotiation, Advocacy, and Proactive Customer Support: The role involves negotiating and influencing across various services and levels of seniority; Acting as an advocate for patients includes following up and challenging instances of bad advice to ensure access to entitled services; Proactively providing advice and assistance to customers in housing need, demonstrating strong empathy and listening skills to resolve housing issues calmly.
• Data Collection, Evaluation, and Statutory Duties: Responsibility for data collection to evaluate team performance and contribute to continuous improvement; Assessing applications and determining statutory duties under homelessness legislation; Maintaining key liaisons with agencies to identify high-risk clients for early intervention and successful homelessness prevention.

The Candidate
To be considered for this Housing Officer role you will require the following knowledge and experience:

• Expert knowledge of housing and homelessness legislation, code of guidance, and case law.
• Experience and ability to write and implement procedures/guidance based on legislative understanding.
• Ability to work within a multi-disciplinary team for delivering excellent customer service in a high-pressure environment.
• Ability to support teams in creating a collaborative culture adaptable to new challenges and focused on positive customer outcomes and team well-being.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills to effectively engage with colleagues, clients, and other agencies.
• Proficiency in using data and IT systems for monitoring outcomes, informing service delivery, and ensuring smooth customer journeys.

Due to the nature of clients you will be supporting in this role, you will require an enhanced DBS.
The Contract
This is a temporary Housing Officer role, working 5 days per week (37 hours) on an initial 3 month contract, with a good chance of being extended.
Referral Bonus
If this Housing Officer role is not suitable for yourself, but you know someone who may be interested, please pass on their details, or forward these details to them.
If they are successful in applying, you will receive a £250 referral bonus upon completion of an initial probationary period.
How to Apply
If you are interested in this Housing Officer role, please send your CV lee . mc millan @ service care . org . uk or call me on 01 772 20 89 66 discuss the vacancy in more detail.
Also, if this Housing Officer role doesn't interest you, but you are looking for new opportunities, please still get in touch as I cover all housing-related vacancies across the region

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