Homelessness officer

Bromsgrove and Redditch Councils
Situated in North Worcestershire, Bromsgrove District Council and Redditch Borough Council share services. The Councils are committed to being a customer‑driven organisation, with our customers at the heart of everything we do; focused on improving delivery services that make a difference to the community that we serve.

• Manage a wide range of cases, whilst wholeheartedly and positively to professionally and compliantly deliver the Councils statutory homelessness services in accordance with Part VI & VII Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002);
  Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 & Homelessness Code of Guidance, Domestic Abuse Act 2021, and other relevant legislation.
• Provide enabling and supportive customer services that are firmly focused on the prevention and/or relief of homelessness and recovery from abuse.
• Throughout the applicant’s journey through the service ensure that all housing solutions are discussed, planned, understood and agreed through a regularly reviewed Personal Housing Plan (PHP) and risk assessment, so that expectations of all stakeholders to the case are clearly managed, and that any package of solutions is suitable and sustainable.
• The role is a career graded post; your grade will be determined based on your knowledge, qualifications and experience.

• Work diligently, effectively and efficiently to bring the case to decision, ensuring close collaboration with and assistance to the Housing Solutions Team to ensure that the applicant is practicably and financially supported ready for any allocation, and that temporary accommodation placements, and storage of goods, are planned and managed effectively, efficiently and compliantly, in accordance with legislation and guidance, and needs of service managers.
• Professionally and compliantly deliver the Councils statutory homelessness services in accordance with Part VI & VII Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002);
  Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 & Homelessness Code of Guidance, Domestic Abuse Act 2021, and other relevant legislation.
• Operate a compassionate, empathetic and respectful, yet fair and equitable service that has utmost regard for peoples’ individual vulnerabilities and circumstances.
• Provide advice in support of victims finding solutions to retain their existing accommodation, or secure alternative safe accommodation to prevent homelessness, including negotiating and mediating with landlords, families, agents and partner agencies, and using various initiatives and partnerships.

• Take the lead and have oversight of referrals, escalations and allocations of prevention and relief cases by less experienced Officers, providing clear technical advice and guidance so that cases are managed with a firm focus on prevention, negotiation, mediation and using various initiatives and partnerships in operation to fully achieve objectives.
• Provide customers with housing prevention advice supporting them to sustain their current accommodation or support them to secure alternative accommodation through the provision of personalised housing plans.
• Manage and support less experienced staff with unanticipated demand through emergencies and making decisions in sometimes complex situations.
• Ensure that all work is carried out diligently, effectively and efficiently to bring the case to decision, ensuring close collaboration with the Housing Solutions Team to ensure that the applicant is ready for any allocation, and that temporary accommodation placements, and storage of goods, are planned and managed effectively, efficiently and compliantly, in accordance with legislation and guidance, and needs of service managers.
• Monitor colleagues with your case loads and casework, ensuring that you are diligently working through the stages of homelessness, researching, interpreting and applying various legislative frameworks, case law, policy and practice to come to autonomous statutory decisions that will reduce and withstand statutory review and regulatory/legal challenge.

• Minimum Level 2 qualifications related to homelessness…