Interview date: To be confirmed after shortlisting
Housing - Empowering Housing Solutions for All in Wiltshire
Our Housing Solutions team ensures that customers can get housing advice and help if they are homeless or threatened with homelessness. The aim is to help people in housing need find suitable and affordable housing.
In this crucial role, based at the councils offices at Bourne Hill, Salisbury, you will provide advice, work proactively to prevent or relieve homelessness, and assess housing needs for the councils Housing Register.
You will carry a caseload of homeless customers whose homelessness we are seeking to prevent or relieve.
You will collaborate with various departments and agencies to fulfil our statutory responsibilities to homeless people and help others in housing need in our challenging housing market.
Be the change you want today, advise and support those in your community in unsuitable housing and empower them to improve their housing prospects through applying for this role and securing your future.
Main duties of the job
This role is to work with the public to address their housing need by sympathetically interviewing andassessing their households housing requirements and tailoring advice and information that bestaddresses their issues.
This may include advice around low-cost home ownership and other forms ofhome ownership, working with landlords to overcome issues/barriers to renting in the private sector,assessing a household as eligible for the councils social housing register or recognising ahomelessness role as part of the duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
The role,above all, will be to prevent homelessness and provide a fully rounded approach to housing solutionsfor customers.
We are looking for someone who not only has knowledge of landlord and tenant, allocations and homelessness law, but also someone who is empathetic, adaptable, customer focused and able to take a trauma-informed approach.
If you have similar experience in another kind of customer service, and are accustomed to helping people in difficulties and making decisions within a statutory legal framework, we want to hear from you.
About us
Wiltshire Council is a friendly, welcoming place to work, with a One Council ethos. Thats why we focus on getting the things that matter to our people right.
Please download and read the role description and person specification carefully before you apply as well as Our Identity.
The council is committed to creating an environment of positive working relationships where everyone feels engaged, supported and able to thrive. Our Identity is a framework which sets out how we are all expected to lead, work and act to deliver our services. We will not tolerate discrimination, bullying or harassment of any kind. Everyone is expected to promote a culture of inclusion, dignity, trust and respect which is underpinned by our vision and Our Identity framework.
For more details, contact Kerry Keaveny, Reviewing and Support Officer at Kerry.Keaveny@Wiltshire.gov.uk
Job responsibilities
Specific duties and responsibilities include:
Housing Advice
Responding to the inquiries of customers, internal and external, who require free,independent advice and information on all housing-related issues, ensuring compliance withthe Councils policies and procedures
Communicating well with customers, strongly focusing on their housing concerns, theimprovement of their housing conditions, the development of greater independence and theprevention of homelessness by offering timely, bespoke, good quality and consistent housingadvice
Advising customers in a timely way on all housing solutions appropriate to their personalcircumstances, including improving the current housing conditions to relieve their housingneed
Providing housing costs and money management advice and appropriately signposting tospecialist services individuals experiencing financial issues, debt and/or welfare rightsproblems
Appropriately identifying and referring customers with tenancy sustainment issues to internaltenancy sustainment services for in-depth upstream advice and support
Under the Councils safeguarding responsibilities, identifying and making appropriate andtimely referrals to the MASH or Advice & Contact to support a customers wellbeing, safetyand independence
Maintaining and efficiently managing a demanding case load with competing demands,effectively prioritising and re-prioritising cases as necessary to ensure that customers receiveattention appropriate to their needs
Ensuring, alongside other team members, that inquiries receive a prompt response, takingpart in a rota to cover telephone and digital workstreams
Working to develop strong partnerships with colleagues and stakeholders in the localcommunity, statutory and third sector agencies, private landlords and letting agents alike
Working with other agencies and statutory and third sector bodies to raise awareness of thehousing challenges and options for residents of Wiltshire and help implement any educationor advice programmes in the community
Attending on behalf of housing and be involved in decision making at MAPPA, MARAC,DACC, Rough Sleeper Operational Panel and CIN/safeguarding meetings to ensure we meetour statutory requirement to co-operate
Using the councils homelessness prevention fund appropriately, effectively and inaccordance with reporting requirements to relieve housing stress in particular cases
Being aware at all times of the imbalance of power between the local authority and privateindividualsHousing Allocations
Sensitively interviewing prospective housing applicants in unsuitable, insecure or unaffordablehousing and advising them about the solutions available make their homes suitable, secureand affordable
As part of holistic assessments of customers housing needs, assessing their eligibility to jointhe councils allocations scheme, supporting them to make the relevant application andprovide the necessary supporting information and documentation for their housing need to beassessed
Making timely and appropriate inquiries to inform housing needs assessments under theCouncils Allocation Policy and Part VI Housing Act 1996, liaising as necessary with landlords,social care professionals, clinicians and other professionals and determining any tenancysustainment issues in particular cases. These assessments are based on the wholehouseholds needs and can be complex, the statutory decisions the postholder makes onbehalf of the Council being challengeable
Discretion and interpretation of general guidance is required making and issuing decisions inrelation to housing need, ensuring that customers understand the allocations schemesprocesses, receive support to actively participate in the scheme where necessary andunderstand the review process where they do not qualify to participate or with to challengetheir priority
Performing re-assessments and reviews as necessary when customers circumstanceschange
Actively helping customers with urgent or emergency housing needs to access relevanthousing including but not limited to adapted housing, specialist housing, supported housingand Extra Care Housing, exercising initiative and creativity in pursuing all available solutions
Liaising with health, occupational therapy, social care, housing provider, care provider andother colleagues as necessary to achieve moves to suitable accommodation to facilitate thegreatest possible independence and make the most effective use of adapted and adaptablehomes in the social rented stock
Attending professionals meetings as appropriate and taking a lead in multi-agency work forcustomers with complex needs and/or on the edge of services. This can include difficultconversations with customers and professionals to manage expectations of what is realisticand achievable
Continually ensuring customers understand the limits of the social rented sector to providehousing solutions and the benefits of other options
Promoting positive outcomes for individuals that support their health, well-being and socio-economic development
Homelessness
Sensitively interviewing households who may be homeless or threatened with homelessnessand assessing them in accordance with the statutory duties laid out in the HomelessnessReduction Act 2017. These assessments must be based on the whole households needs andcan be extremely complex, involving a multi-disciplinary approach. It will include detailedinvestigations leading up to making statutory legal decisions on behalf of Wiltshire Council.Advanced knowledge of homelessness law and experience of making legal decisions isrequired to be able to conduct these interviews
Assessing what duties, if any, are owed to households under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996(as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017) and producing your own statutorydecision letters that explain clearly and in good English how those decisions have beenreached.
Carrying out an assessment of customers needs and circumstances under s189A HousingAct 1996 (as amended) and, working alongside customers to draft a jointly ownedPersonalised Housing Plan which will lay out the steps both parties will undertake to secureaccommodation, regularly reviewing the document to ensure it remains relevant to changingcircumstances
Discretion is required when deciding what course of action or investigation is required. Youmust demonstrate professional curiosity and an enquiring mind in undertaking statutoryenquiries and investigations into homeless applications, including detailed casework andproactive and timely enquiries. This will require investigations of customers individualcircumstances and, in certain cases, forensic analysis of financial information and other datato ascertain the facts of each case. It will involve liaising with professionals and also thirdparties, who may be hostile and unhelpful, carefully weighing up the information receivedwhilst accounting for conflicting or contrary accounts. No two cases are the same and alldecisions are fact specific requiring the post holder to consider lines of enquiry that will berequired in each case and show creativity in those enquiries.
Working to prevent homelessness through the provision of tailored housing advice, liaisonwith statutory and third sector agencies and through signposting and referrals to appropriateagencies
To be actively involved in the care and support of homeless households by attendingmeetings and liaising with relevant statutory and voluntary agencies to ensure that all partiesare working together for the benefit of the client. This will involve explaining a householdscircumstances, gathering information, seeking consensus from professionals on the best wayforward and ensuring other services are fulfilling their own statutory duties towards applicants,whilst being aware of legislative housing framework. This can include difficult conversationswith customers and professionals to manage expectations of what is both realistic andachievable
Giving advice to tenants about their rights and responsibilities, how to enforce rights indialogue with landlords and to fulfil their responsibilities and sustain their accommodation
Proactively engaging tenants and landlords in constructive discussion where complaints aremade to the Council made under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977
Promoting positive outcomes for individuals that support their health, well-being and socio-economic development
Administration
Establishing and maintaining timely, accurate and appropriate administrative andcomputerised records, ensuring that they are kept up to date and comply with GDPRrequirements
Compiling and maintaining accurate and appropriate records of all casework on Abritas andother IT systems and provide information and statistical data as required.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* HNC in housing or business or working towards a professional L4 Chartered Institute of Housing qualification
* Full or part membership of either the Chartered Institute of Housing, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, or Chartered Institute of Environmental Health is desirable
* At least three years experience of working in a housing or similar environment
* In depth understanding of housing/environmental/health policy and legislation and strategic role of local authorities
* Knowledge of housing law, in particular Housing Act 1996 Part VI and VII and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
* Detailed knowledge of social housing, private housing sector, landlord and tenant legislation
* Fluent in both written and spoken English.
* CIH qualification or equivalent relevant housing qualification
* Detailed knowledge of housing law, in particular Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017) and Landlord & Tenant housing law
* Knowledge of Welfare Benefits, wider Wiltshire Services and their interactions
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