Place and Economic Growth
Communities Directorate
Senior Homelessness Prevention Officer
Ref: 000931
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £42,839 - £47,181 per annum (Grade 8)
Hours: 36.66 per week
Based: The Office is based at Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham, OL1 1UT
Closing Date: Sunday 7th September 2025
Shortlisting & Interview Dates: TBC.
Role Overview:
* Supervisory responsibility for the Homelessness Prevention Officers, leading on all aspects of the supervision and Learning and Development of staff.
* To provide legal and case management advice and guidance to the Homelessness Prevention Officers ensuring that a consistent, high quality service is provided that meets the Council’s statutory obligations.
* To undertake joint working with a range of partner agencies aimed at effectively preventing and relieving homelessness.
* Contribute to the Council’s overall budget reduction programme by ensuring the effective prevention of homelessness through early intervention and proactive casework management.
Key Requirements:
* To maintain up to date, excellent knowledge of homelessness legislation, the Code of Guidance and associated legislation and case law in order to:
* Assess applications from people who approach the authority as homeless
* Make decisions relating to the authority’s duties and responsibilities towards them under provisions contained within Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017).
* To monitor and ensure compliance with service performance standards and the needs of customers. Ensure services and accommodation complies with Health and Service Legislation, Equality and Diversity, and other statutory guidelines
* To be responsible for the ongoing development of operational procedures in relation to homelessness prevention, ensuring they are up to date, in line with legislation, the code of guidance and which support best practice.
* Deliver team meetings and training programmes that meet the needs of the team and other sections and agencies involved in the Housing Options Oldham service and support processes.
* To provide specialist advice to partner agencies on homelessness legislation and related issues, including guiding decisions which may be subject to legal challenge or scrutiny.
* To represent the organisation and service at local and regional level in order to develop integrated approaches to combating homelessness.
* To represent the service at multi-agency forums including but not limited to MARAC and MAPPA.
* To deal with and direct complex casework and respond accordingly to enquiries from elected member, partners and customers.
* Lead on the performance management of the team ensuring that they have a clear awareness of the organisational aims and objectives and also having a clear awareness of their personal targets and those of the service.
* To prepare and present reports relating to the service to senior management meetings and to other groups.
If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and therefore expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
About Us:
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 our Oldham Plan for further information.
Our Values and Behaviours:
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
Our Benefits Package:
At Oldham Council we offer a great benefits package for our employees, which includes the following:
* 25 days annual leave which increases after 5 and 10-years’ service
* The option to purchase additional annual leave.
* An attractive LGPS benefit pension scheme with the option to make shared cost additional voluntary contributions.
* Discounted gym membership with Oldham Active .
* Staff discount scheme for shopping, entertainment, eating-out, eating-in, travel, motoring and more.
* Salary sacrifice scheme for home and electronics and Cycle to Work.
* Wellbeing support, including a Mental Health First Aider network and an Employment Assistance Programme that provides 24 hours access to advice and support.
* Staff recognition and celebration events.
* Peer support groups
Inclusive Recruitment:
We work closely with employees to help them work at their best, including making adjustments such as flexible working, describing available working patterns, providing equipment or making changes to the workplace.
If you’re an applicant with disabilities and have previously been in or currently in care, a carer or someone who has served in the Armed Forces and you meet the essential criteria of the role, you are guaranteed to reach the first stage of assessment under our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme .
Data and Privacy:
For details of how we use your data please see our privacy notice .
Important Information:
Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for a current employee at risk of redundancy, it can be pulled back at any point, up to the post being formally offered to a candidate who is not at risk of redundancy.
While we embrace the use of AI as an innovative tool to maximise our services at Oldham Council, we are looking for authenticity in applications we receive. We therefore ask you to think carefully if choosing to use AI when completing your application and ask that you ensure you read all instructions carefully and that your application is written by you and reflects your skills, knowledge and enthusiasm.