Housing Solutions Officer

Do you want to help vulnerable households in need?
Do you put the customer at the centre of what you do?
Do you have the resilience to thrive in a busy working environment?

If so, we would love you to apply for the post of Housing Solutions Officer. We have a several roles available both permanent and temporary, on both full time and part time hours.
The Role(s)

This is a fantastic opportunity to join the busy, exciting Housing Advice and Options Service. Housing Solutions officers provide housing advice, assess households in housing need, and provide the best available support and housing options tailored to each household’s specific needs. A solid ‘customer first’ approach is essential to the role. Homeless prevention is at the heart of everything we do, and if this is not possible we try to find the most suitable alternative accommodation solution.
We take homeless applications and work within a statutory framework in order to progress cases appropriately and in line with legal requirements. A key aspect of the role involves working with internal and external partners to assess circumstances and investigate cases, and to gain a thorough understanding of the holistic needs of the household. Excellent negotiation skills are also needed, and the ability to stay calm under pressure.
Working within the limits of the accommodation resources available, it is not always possible to meet the accommodation aspirations of our customers; it is crucial to balance of empathy and understanding with managing customer expectations.
You would be working in a team with skilled and experienced officers, seniors and managers who would be on hand to support you. Depending on your skills and experience, and where we need to focus our staff resources, there are a variety of roles including telephone advice / assessments and same-day homeless prevention work, longer term homeless prevention casework, and casework to relieve homelessness.
Who we are looking for
To be successful, you must be able to demonstrate a clear customer focus, with an ability to prioritise and organise your work. We need excellent communicators who work well on their own initiative but are also flexible team players. It is important to be resilient and hardworking, with a keenness to learn.

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

Under the Disability Confident Scheme, disabled applicants, who meet the essential criteria of this job, are guaranteed an interview.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part time or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare and safety of children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff to share this commitment. All successful candidates will be required to complete an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check.

Please note that we are shortlisting applications approximately every fortnight, so will be in touch with you soon.