The post requires a Level 4 or equivalent qualification, or relevant equivalent level of experience.
Hull City Council is seeking a committed and proactive individual to join our Housing Options Team as a Senior Homelessness Prevention and Options Officer.
The primary focus of this role is to deliver a high quality and empathetic homelessness advice and assistance service to customers, deliver a high quality and empathetic homelessness advice and assistance service to customers, with an emphasis on preventing homelessness so that the need for homelessness relief and temporary accommodation services is minimised.
As the Senior Homelessness prevention and Options Officer you will coordinate the Homelessness Prevention & Options Team's day to day activity, providing advice, guidance and support to team members to assist with making correct the decisions.
You will deputise in the Homelessness Advice and Prevention Team Leader's absence.
You will also work directly with clients who are at risk of homelessness due to a variety of factors, including financial difficulties, mental or physical health issues, or other vulnerabilities.
Your role will be to assess their housing needs, develop and implement personalised action plans, and coordinate support to help them sustain their accommodation and prevent them from becoming homeless.
Key responsibilities will include:
Providing support to colleagues and leading in the absence of team leaders.
Conducting thorough assessments of clients housing situations and identifying risk factors for homelessness.
Developing tailored support plans, ensuring the involvement of relevant external agencies and services such as housing providers, healthcare, probation services, and social services.
Providing professional and detailed responses to enquiries from MPs, Elected Members and partner organisation.
Ensures that the accommodation solutions arranged are as sustainable as possible through thorough pre-tenancy work to identify any issues and then putting in place the mitigating actions such as ongoing tenancy support, benefit maximisation advice, authorisation of furniture packages and incidental items.
Maintaining accurate and up-to-date case notes and monitoring the progress of each case to ensure timely interventions.
Maintains an expert, up to date knowledge of relevant legislation and caselaw, policies, procedures, trends and wider Housing Access pressures and priorities in order to make decisions on more complex cases that come through the Homelessness Advice and Prevention Team
We are looking for individuals with excellent interpersonal skills, who can demonstrate empathy, patience, and the ability to work in a solution-focused way with a diverse range of clients. You will need to be adaptable and able to manage a busy caseload, making decisions under pressure while balancing competing priorities.
You will also be required to work closely with external agencies and partners, building strong relationships to deliver the best outcomes for clients. This includes regular communication with other local authority departments, healthcare providers, supported housing agencies, and other stakeholders involved in homelessness prevention.
This role involves a combination of office-based working, home working, and outreach work including visits to clients their homes, ensuring a flexible approach to service delivery.
You will also be expected to work independently, often in challenging situations, using your initiative to ensure the best possible outcomes for the clients you support., Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.
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