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Our local authority client based in West London are urgently seeking an experienced Homelessness Prevention Officer.
*£26.89 an hour Umbrella*
*office based*
ROLE DESCRIPTION
- To provide an excellent service to all residents and customers who present, apply, or are referred to the service by offering high standards of customer care at all times, acting with integrity and courtesy, and adhering to service and corporate standards;
- To assess, administer and make decisions on the outcome of individual homelessness applications under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended); accepting, refusing or ending duties as appropriate in accordance with statute, case law, the facts of each case, operating best practice as set out in the Homelessness Code of Guidance and other relevant guidance, using case law and policy as appropriate;
- To ensure legal compliance with the relevant legislation by issuing all notifications and decisions correctly and on time;
- To provide appropriate advice and assistance to all applicants who are homeless or in housing need, and to maximise the resources and opportunities available to prevent homelessness wherever possible.
- To work directly with members of the public as required.
ABOUT THE ROLE
- To act as a first point of contact for residents approaching the Council for housing assistance using all contact methods e.g. in person, by telephone, email, fax or by post. The post holder will work flexibly across all access channels and locations as required to meet the needs of applicants and to ensure the efficient and effective running of the service;
- To ensure that all set performance targets are met or exceeded, and where they are not, to work with team leaders and managers to take steps to quickly improve performance;
- Develop and maintain a detailed working knowledge of the Housing Act 1996, Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, the Homelessness Code of Guidance and all associated case law and other legislation and policy, and apply this knowledge in the administration of our prevention and relief and other statutory duties;
- To carry out full housing options interviews with all applicants who are homeless or threatened with homelessness in a person-centred way, including carrying out enquiries into applicants’ circumstances, checking and verifying documents and visiting as appropriate, maximising prevention opportunities, creating and updating Personal Housing Plans, providing advice and appropriate assistance to enable applicants to remain in existing accommodation to source alternative accommodation;
- To determine homeless applications by conducting detailed enquiries, assessing against relevant legislation, guidance and caselaw, using initiative to ensure applications are fully investigated and determined with minimal management input.
- To pro-actively manage and determine a caseload of applications through continuous assessment and review, assessing against relevant legislation, guidance and caselaw, using initiative to ensure that all opportunities to prevent and resolve homelessness and housing need are fully utilised, with minimal management input;
- Work in partnership with a wide range of internal and external partners by making onward referrals, initiating or attending meetings / case conferences etc as appropriate;
- To carry out detailed affordability assessments, give advice on the availability of suitable and affordable accommodation, and to assist qualifying applicants access such accommodation.
- To recommend placements into temporary accommodation where all prevention opportunities have been exhausted, taking care to ensure that recommendations are in line with statutory duties and having regard to the financial constraints on the Council;
Please apply with your updated CV ensuring that any gaps in employment are explained.
At this point, may we take this opportunity to thank you for the interest you have shown in this role. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications that we receive, it is not always possible to respond to everyone. Therefore, unless you hear from us within the next 7 days, your application for this vacancy will have been unsuccessful.
