Housing Options Team Leader

About the role

This is an exciting time to join our Housing Solutions service! Following the creation of West Northants Council in 2021, we are on a journey of shaping what the new Housing Solutions service looks like. West Northants is a great place to work, with a focus on career development, wellbeing, flexibility and support.

This is an opportunity for you to take the next step on your career journey in a supportive environment.

Want to know more or chat about our flexible and hybrid working? Please email our Housing Options Manager – kay.gilbert@westnorthants.gov.uk

What will you be doing?

You will be supporting the Housing Options Manager to lead, manage and develop the Housing Options team, by managing a team of Housing Options Officers and overseeing the delivery of excellent advice and assistance across the Housing Options team.

You will lead Housing Options Officers to successfully prevent and relieve homelessness, minimise the use of temporary accommodation and ensure that the Council’s statutory functions are carried out effectively in accordance with legislation, guidance and policy.

About you

You don’t need experience across all aspects of the job as that will form part of your development journey, but you will need to demonstrate excellent leadership skills and the ability to develop, support, empower and motivate a team to achieve their goals. You will have developed these skills through experience of leading and motivating teams in a customer focused environment.

You’ll need to have a solutions driven and adaptable approach to working, thrive in a busy environment with a positive approach to challenges!

You will have previous experience and knowledge of working in a frontline housing advice service conducting thorough investigations of complex cases, and you will have detailed knowledge of homelessness and housing legislation, policy and guidance. You will have excellent communication skills, and the ability communicate complex issues simply with compassion and empathy.

You will be able to smoothly develop and manage the Housing Options Team processes whilst being able use your own initiative to 'think outside of the box’. You will have a drive and commitment to meet targets and achieve positive outcomes, and you will be instrumental in delivering and interpreting complex information and data to make informed decisions about service development.

Our benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
• Cycle to Work scheme. 
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Car Lease scheme
• Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
• Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
• Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

About us

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services. 

Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU  

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential.  We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email careers@westnorthants.gov.uk for support.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.