Review Officer

Monday - Friday
9am - 5pm
Temp - Perm position
£22.24p/h PAYE
Immediate start
Must have previous experience with homeless prevention, temporary accommodation, housing reviews

• To ensure that all housing reviews and appeals (housing register, homelessness decisions, offers of permanent and temporary accommodation), are logged, monitored, and carried out efficiently, and within prescribed time limits

• To be responsible for the recruitment of staff, appraisals, disciplinary issues, sickness monitoring, staff training and development and monitoring staff workloads to build and maintain an effective workforce capable of meeting its objectives

• Supervise an officer in respect of preparing the budget return for the service, and logging and monitoring complaints, members, MP & Solicitor enquiries.

• To liaise with the Allocations Team, Accommodation Services, and the Housing Options & Advice Team to ensure that all relevant information has been gathered to address the requests for reviews of homeless and housing register assessments, and permanent and temporary accommodation offers.

• To have regular meetings with the council's Legal Department in order to ensure that Section 204 appeals and judicial review proceedings are defended and to ensure that deadlines are met for witness statements and skeleton arguments in defence of County Court or High Court appeals.

• To ensure that legal costs are minimised in relation to threatened/actual court action.

• To monitor and prepare reports for the Head of Service and members, on performance in respect of decision reviews and court cases.

• To be responsible for developing procedures, guidelines and model letter templates, in relation to taking and processing applications. To take account of good practice initiatives developed by other local authorities and the Communities & Local Govt. Offices.

• When appropriate, arrange oral hearings for clients in line with regulation 8 under Section 203 Housing Act 1996.

• To examine reports and case notes prepared by the Housing Options & Advice Officers, on cases prepared for review. To identify shortcomings or trends where remedial action is required.

• To ensure that the Housing Options & Advice Team is fully aware of current caselaw and of any related legislation/regulations in order that casework is of high quality and that fully informed decisions are reached by officers.

• To highlight anomalies/irregularities in the Allocations Scheme(as part of the annual review), homelessness and accommodation procedures, that arise from appeals in order to minimise the risk to the council of court action

• To obtain medical reports from GPs/ Consultants and to get recommendations from the 'in-house' medical advisers, the Mental Health Assessment Panel or an independent consultant for the purpose of investigating a review.

• Authorise and, where appropriate, make recommendation on the placement into temporary accommodation of persons to whom the Council owes a duty. To exercise discretion in deciding whether to continue providing accommodation pending a review or county court appeal

• To take a lead on briefing the council's solicitor and barrister, and to attend court where appropriate, in particular in relation defending legal challenges to homeless decisions or in appeals by the authority to the High Court.

• In the absence of other Team Managers to deputise in carrying out the day to day management functions

• To arrange and attend meetings and case conferences both internal and with external agencies/other local authorities concerning the work of the section.

• To deal with complex correspondence and sensitive issues, e.g. Member's/ MP's enquiries, complaints.

Homelessness
Housing Reviews
Temporary accommodation
Allocations
Housing
Property Services
Repairs