About the Service
Worcester City Council’s Housing & Homelessness Service is dedicated to supporting individuals and families experiencing homelessness. We offer a range of support services both in-house and with partner agencies to help our customers achieve stable and secure housing, with a strong prevention ethos to help keep people in their homes or to move to more suitable accommodation before crisis point. We have done extensive work to improve our stock of temporary accommodation, provide additional practical support, and enhance customers’ experience of our service.
About the Job
We are seeking two compassionate and dedicated Housing Solutions Officers to join our team and help us achieve our aim that homelessness in our city should be rare, brief, and non-recurring. The successful candidates will be responsible for providing housing advice to individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, making homeless decisions in line with legislation and government guidance.
In this role, you can make a meaningful impact on the lives of those experiencing homelessness, helping some of the most vulnerable households achieve successful and sustainable outcomes. You will work in a collaborative environment where partnerships and multi-agency working are key to everything we do.
Key Responsibilities:
* Conducting initial assessments and developing personalised support plans.
* Providing high-quality advice on a range of housing options, welfare benefits, and tenancy rights.
* Liaising with external agencies and service providers to co-ordinate support.
* Managing a caseload of customers, ensuring timely and effective interventions to prevent homelessness wherever possible.
* Investigating homelessness applications and applying legislation, codes of guidance, and case law to make lawful homeless decisions.
* Maintaining accurate records and adhering to data protection regulations.
Key Requirements:
* Experience of working in a housing or homelessness field.
* Good knowledge of housing legislation, housing options, and homelessness prevention strategies.
* Good knowledge of welfare benefits.
* Experience of working with vulnerable customers and providing housing-related advice.
However, your attitude and skills are the most important criteria, and training can be provided for the right candidates. If you are enthusiastic, positive, resilient, flexible, proactive, and passionate about delivering excellent customer service, we want to hear from you. The most important skills and experience for the job are below:
* Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
* Ability to work independently as well as being a strong team player, with a flexible and positive approach.
* Empathy and compassion for vulnerable individuals and families and a willingness to go the extra mile for all your customers.
* Excellent organisational and time management skills.
* Strong IT skills to enable you to effectively manage your caseload as efficiently as possible.
* Ability to use your initiative and think creatively to overcome barriers and achieve successful outcomes.
* Self-motivated, adaptable, committed to continuous improvement, and open to change.
* Experience of keeping accurate records.
* Experience of multi-agency working.
We welcome applications from all sections of the community. If you need any assistance with applying, please contact the Recruitment team at recruitment@worcester.gov.uk. We can assist with alternative formats for your application or offer a MS Teams interview.
For further information about the role, please contact Jake Nightingale, Homelessness Team Leader at jake.nightingale@worcester.gov.uk or Rosey Badham, Housing & Homelessness Service Manager at rosey.badham@worcester.gov.uk.
Closing Date: 9th March 2025
Interview Date: 18th March 2025
Attached Documents:
Our Benefits
Role Profile - Housing Solutions Officer
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