Overview We are looking for a Homelessness Adviser to join our housing team to deliver our homelessness and advice service. We are seeking an experienced Homeless Adviser who can hit the ground running. This is a 12 month fixed term post. About Us Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally. About The Role You will provide homelessness advice and assistance to customers and ensure that the Council fully meets its statutory responsibilities to prevent and relieve homelessness. This includes receiving and assessing homeless applications, providing targeted advice and information, preparing, and delivering personalised action plans, issuing s.184decision notices, negotiating with landlords and family members to prevent parental evictions and securing temporary accommodation when required. The role will be a mix of home and office-based working. The Council’s main area offices are located in Aylesbury and Wycombe. There will be requirements for site and home visits across the Council Administration Area in Buckinghamshire. Any-Desk: As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements. About You You will be an experienced homelessness officer who will work proactively with clients to resolve their housing problems and strive to prevent homelessness whenever possible. You will need to build relationships quickly and demonstrate an empathetic and non-judgmental approach to customers. The role will require you to deal with customers and partner agencies face to face, by telephone and in writing. Therefore, you will need to have excellent communication skills and a demonstrable experience of delivering advice and support to the public as well as liaising with other bodies. You will be an excellent problem solver to enable you to assess a client's situations and provide a comprehensive frontline service. If you have a customer-focused approach and the experience to make a real difference to the residents of Buckinghamshire we would love to hear from you. Please see the attached job summary and service structure chart for more information. Other information This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare: All unspent cautions and convictions cautions All adult cautions and spent convictions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020). For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) guidance or Ministry of Justice (MOJ) guidance (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’). We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible. Our values and culture We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy. By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect: a fair and inclusive culture the chance to really make a difference to those around you health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation. From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments. We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone. About The Business Unit Our Planning, Growth and Sustainability directorate works with partners to help shape the future of Buckinghamshire. We deliver services on planning, economic growth, regeneration, strategic infrastructure, transport and property. Our key priorities include developing the economic narrative for Bucks, creating more jobs and delivering the right infrastructure to help businesses and residents thrive. We also aim to provide a proactive planning service that is responsive, whilst making the best use of the Council’s land and property portfolio. This will in turn support community services and create housing, jobs, regeneration and income to support public services. It’s a great time to join one of our teams. As part of the Planning, Growth and Sustainability function you will not only get to help shape the economic future of Buckinghamshire; you’ll also be involved in delivering high-profile development projects and work on some of the biggest infrastructure projects in the UK. You will support us to deliver the results that our local residents and businesses deserve. We recognise and reward you Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. We also offer a salary sacrifice personal car lease scheme to those who are eligible and have passed their probation period. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more. https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/