Homelessness Prevention Officer

Contract:

Fixed Term (12 months)

Salary: £35,570 - £39,481 per annum (Grade
6)

Hours:

36.66 per week

Location:

Office based at Spindles Shopping Centre, West Street, Oldham

Closing Date:
Tuesday 17 November 2026

TBC.

This role will deliver high quality, customer focused advice and support to people in Oldham who find themselves rough sleeping or at risk of rough sleeping. This will include providing housing advice to people in the district and completing investigations into applications from customers who are at risk of homelessness as defined by the statutory duties under Housing Act 1996 Part VII, the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and relevant case law.

The successful postholder will provide support to the Council in delivering its statutory homelessness duties by taking homeless applications in an effective manner and ensuring the council is legally compliant, and meeting performance targets and standards.

• To provide a professional and effective housing options interview and homelessness investigation, taking a full application from customers and ensuring duties are carried out at the relevant stages within homelessness legislation.
• To undertake detailed casework with customers who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. This includes an assessment of legal duties owed, housing and support needs, the production of Personal Housing Plans and consideration of all suitable interventions and potential solutions to prevent homelessness.
• To write and issue all required notifications, letters of referral to other authorities where the customer’s local connection lies elsewhere and outcome letters to advise the customer of the outcome of their initial interview. This includes ‘minded to letters’ and the drafting of the statutory s184 notification letters which must be approved by a manager before being sent.

• Good standard of education, including minimum 5 GCSEs at A*-C grade
• Knowledge of the law governing homelessness and an understanding of the current issues in housing
• Experience of communicating complex legal or contentious information regarding the duties owed to households in a format which is understandable to the audience

We want Oldham to have vibrant, safe neighbourhoods where people are proud to live with opportunities for healthier, more fulfilled lives; and a sustainable, thriving economy. As we look to the future, the challenges may be significant, but so are the opportunities. We’ve identified three missions with our residents and partners, focusing on what will deliver the biggest impact:

A Great Place to Live, Healthier, Happier Lives, and Green and Growing.

We’re looking for candidates who will support us to achieve our ambitions and we encourage you to download our Corporate Plan:
Ready for the Future and Oldham Plan for further information.

By driving innovation, investing in our people, and championing our communities, we will ensure that Oldham continues to be a place where everyone can live their best life. To support this, we have three core values which define who we are and how we operate. These are ‘
Proud, Ambitious, and Together
’, and they shape our culture, inform our decisions, and inspire us to deliver on our commitments to the people of Oldham.

We have translated these values into five behaviours which guide our actions and are the standards we hold ourselves to, day in and day out:

• Work with a resident focus
• Support local leaders
• Committed to the borough
• Delivery high performance
• Take ownership and drive change

You can find out more about our values and behaviours on our greater.jobs Oldham page.