allocations officer

Dover District Council; Dover; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benenden Healthcare Membership

Employee Assistance Program

LG Pension AVCs

Generous annual leave

Discount scheme

On-site parking

Cycle2Work

Salary Sacrifice Car Scheme

Job summary

Dover District Council is seeking an allocations officer to join the Housing Needs team. You will publish adverts for Council and Housing Association properties on the Kent Homechoice site, review applicant shortlists and propose suitable candidates for properties.

You will assess housing need, take part in medical reviews, and coordinate with providers and health professionals. The role requires GCSEs including Maths and English, a full driving licence, and strong ICT skills (Outlook/Excel).

Qualifications

• Experience in dealing with customers and the public.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong organisational skills and teamwork.

Responsibilities

• Publish adverts for available Council and Housing Association properties on Kent Homechoice.
• Review shortlist of applicants and forward suitable candidates.
• Prioritise applicants' housing need per Allocations Policy.
• Conduct medical reviews with professional input.
• Liaise with Registered Providers and Occupational Health.
• Respond to emails and system messages from applicants.
• Carry out home verification visits when required.
• Attend multi-agency meetings to represent applicants.
• Assist with registering new applicants to the housing register when needed.

Skills

Customer care

Communication

Organisation

Teamwork

Education

GCSEs incl. Maths & English

Full clean driving licence

Tools

Microsoft Outlook

Excel

Job description

We are looking for an allocations officer to join our small and friendly allocations and registrations team within the Housing Needs service. As part of the role you will be responsible for publishing adverts for available Council and Housing Association properties on the Kent Homechoice website using our back office systems. Once the advert closes, you would review the shortlist of applicants verifying and putting forward suitable applicants to be considered for the property. You will also be required to prioritise applicants' level of housing need ensuring that their priority levels are correctly assessed in accordance with the Council's Allocations Policy. This will involve working with colleagues to undertake medical reviews basing your decisions on formal advice from medical professionals and having regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty. You will liaise internally and externally with other agencies such as Registered Providers and Occupational Health. You will also be required to respond to email and system messages and enquiries from applicants ensuring that your responses are professional and accurate. From time to time you will be asked to carry out home verification visits and attend multi agency meetings to represent an applicant's case in respect of housing need. On occasions, you may also be required to support with the work of registering new applicants to the housing register.

We are looking for applicants with experience of customer care and working with members of the public. You will have excellent verbal and written communication skills and experience of using various IT systems including Microsoft outlook and excel. You will have strong organisational skills and be able to prioritise your workload and work well as a team member ensuring that the team work together effectively and provide supportive relationships with colleagues. You will need to be educated to GCSE level or or above in at least 5 subjects including Maths and English. The role does involve visiting applicants in their home and you will therefore require a full clean driving licence and the use of a vehicle for business use. As the role involves medical reviews, we would welcome applications from applicants with some experience in this area.

Dover District Council has an exciting agenda to deliver first class public services, putting our residents at the heart of everything we do. From building new, affordable homes to exciting regeneration schemes. A career with Dover District Council offers you the opportunity to excel. As an employer, Dover District Council is proud to provide a supportive, friendly, diverse and flexible working environment in which our employees can thrive. We have a team of enthusiastic employees, delivering services they are passionate about.

The Role & Responsibilities

We can provide a friendly and supportive environment for you to excel in. We also offer several employee benefits, subject to eligibility criteria, such as:

• Benenden Healthcare Membership and Employee Assistance Program
• Opt-in Local government pension scheme with the opportunity for staff to make advanced, voluntary contributions (AVCs) to top up their pension
• Generous annual leave provision
• Discount scheme including reduced membership rates at the local leisure centre
• On-site parking (site dependent)
• Cycle2Work scheme
• Generous Salary Sacrifice Car Scheme

Due to the nature of this role, the successful applicant will be required to undertake a Basic/Standard/Enhanced DBS check as part of their pre-employment clearances.

The quality of your application will be considered as part of the recruitment process.