Housing Advice and Prevention Officer

We currently have an opportunity to join East Suffolk Council's Housing Needs Team as a Housing Advice and Prevention Officer.

The role:

You will:

• responsible to provide a comprehensive housing options service to customers with varying levels of housing need to enable suitable positive outcomes in line with Part VI (Housing Register and Allocations), Part VII (Housing Advice and Homelessness) and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
• have responsibility for a caseload of applicants who present to the council in acute housing need. You will be expected to undertake active homelessness casework to prevent or relieve homelessness using your prerequisite expertise, knowledge, and skills to deploy a range of interventions including in-house private rented sector access schemes and applications to the register
• also be responsible for assessing and verify applications made under Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996 in line with the current Allocations Policy
• be able to promote a customer centred approach and work with vulnerable customers, their advocates, family, and support networks to ensure that homelessness prevention is maximised and effective first point of contact housing advice is given.
  have at least three years previous experience of working within a similar role and relevant qualification in the sector and have the ability to explain complex legislation in a clear and precise way
• obtain working knowledge of homelessness and current housing legislation and ability to provide advice and guidance to other team members
• hold at least 3 GCSE's (C grade and above) and a hold a relevant Housing Qualification (CIH Level
  3) and a proven track record of working at the required level or equivalent.
  East Suffolk Council is an exciting place to work, delivering essential local services and making a real difference to a quarter of a million people across East Suffolk.
  In return, we can offer great opportunities for training and development. We want you to stay with us for the long-term, so we will give you all the support we can to build a great career with our organisation. There is also a superb benefits package including flexible working options and a generous leave entitlement, discount scheme, pension scheme and free car parking.

East Suffolk Council is a great place to work and there are lots of benefits our employees can access. To find out more about why we are so proud of East Suffolk Council,

• Generous leave entitlement (equivalent to 25 days a year, increasing to 31 days after 5 years' service, plus bank holidays)
• Local government pension scheme
• Flexible working arrangements
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• A wide variety of staff support networks including access to health and wellbeing initiatives and programmes.
• Discounts on mobile phones, computers, holiday and travel, fashion and clothing, health and beauty and many other products and services.