Homeless Prevention and Relief Officer

Local Government Chronicle; Reigate; Presencial; GBP 37.000 - 43.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

LGPS pension

Discounts

Cycle lease

Leisure centre membership

Descripción de la vacante

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council is seeking a proactive Homeless Prevention and Relief Officer to support residents who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The role focuses on frontline housing advice, casework and securing accommodation where possible.

You will manage your own caseload, carry out investigations, issue statutory decision letters, cover town hall duties and participate in the homelessness duty rota, with training and a collaborative team environment.

Formación

• You must have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• A commitment to providing high standards of customer service.
• Experience with housing or frontline service is desirable.

Responsabilidades

• Manage your own caseload and provide housing advice.
• Carry out detailed case work investigations and issue statutory decision letters.
• Cover daily operational duties including town hall cover and housing advice lines.

Conocimientos

Verbal and written communication

Team player

Customer service

Case management

Descripción del empleo

Job Details

• Job title: Homeless Prevention and Relief Officer
• Job reference: REQ001029
• Date posted: 14/10/2026
• Application closing date: 18/11/2026
• Location: Town Hall, Reigate
• Salary: £37,074 - £43,395 per annum, dependant on experience
• Employment type: Permanent Full time
• Contractual hours: 36 hours per week
• Basis: Full time
• Job category/type: Housing

About the Role

In this fast paced and exciting role, you will make a difference for our residents who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and in housing need. Our Homeless Prevention & Relief Officers are on the frontline in proactively working with households facing homelessness to sustain their accommodation where possible or assist with securing alternative accommodation.

You will be responsible for managing your own caseload and providing excellent customer service to our residents. You will carry out detailed case work investigations and issue statutory decision letters in line with current homeless legislation. You will support our most vulnerable residents at a time of crisis, working with and empowering them to resolve their threat of homelessness. You will be responsible for covering daily operational duties, including town hall cover, homeless duty officer rota, assisting with housing advice emails, Housing Advice phone line and any other duties on a rota basis.

You will be working with a friendly, supportive, positive and diverse housing team. We will provide you with a wealth of training opportunities. At Reigate & Banstead we work in partnership with professionals where we aim to prevent homelessness at the earliest opportunity.

The work is fast paced, and no two days are the same. We are proud to be an innovative and forward-thinking team who constantly strive to develop best practice to support residents.

About the Person

You must have excellent verbal and written communication skills, be an outstanding team player and be able to work on your own initiative. A commitment to providing high standards of customer service, with the skill and discipline to deliver this across a varied workload and to work to deadlines are essential.

We are looking for a positive, supportive, flexible and innovative person that can engage well with households experiencing housing need. You will be a colleague with an outstanding commitment and enthusiasm in supporting our most vulnerable residents.

You will have detailed knowledge of Part VII Housing Act 1996 (as amended) and experience of working in a busy front line housing service. You will provide comprehensive housing advice to households with a range of circumstances. You will interview clients, assess their circumstances, decide what statutory duties may be owed, and identify their housing options. You will work collaboratively with other partners including housing associations, domestic abuse support services, private landlords, police, social services, substance treatment agencies and other relevant stakeholders.

The role is largely Town Hall based at our modern offices in Reigate as well as visiting residents in the borough. Some hybrid working, if agreed with the Homeless Relief Team Leader.

Ideally applicants will be familiar with relevant legislation, the benefits system and will have experience of working in a role providing housing advice and/or tenancy support.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer, supporting the guaranteed interview scheme for disabled and ex-armed forces candidates, who meet the essential criteria for the role.

Staff Benefits

• In exchange for your expertise, experience and enthusiasm, we will offer support in continuing your personal and career development, in addition to providing a wide range of employment linked benefits.
• We provide you with competitive annual leave, and contribute 22.10% towards the LGPS pension scheme.
• You will also have access to a range of discounts including local and high street stores, and salary sacrifice schemes including a cycle lease scheme, and 'Better' leisure centre membership.

Additional Information

For an informal discussion about the role, please call Stuart Richens, Homeless Relief Team Leader on 276485.

Closing date

Wednesday 18th November 2026 at 23:59hrs

Interview date

TBC

Values and Behaviours

Our great working environment and the values and behaviours of every individual and team in the Council, help to evolve the culture of our organisation to become more commercial, innovative and embracing of change. Successful applicants to our career opportunities will be able to demonstrate they share the values and behaviours we seek in our organisation.

Local Government Reorganisation

Reigate and Banstead Borough Council is part of the government's plans for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) scheduled to take place in April 2027. This means the current two-tier system, where services are split between Surrey County Council and district and borough councils like Reigate, will be replaced with two unitary councils made up of East and West Surrey, which will handle all local services. Reigate and Banstead Borough Council will form part of the new East Surrey unitary authority.

Although this may lead to some uncertainty for anyone considering a role with us, this process will take some time and during that time we still need to provide services. When local government is reorganised, most staff will transfer to the new council(s) which may offer additional opportunities for career development and variety as part of a larger organisation.

Further information on LGR can be found here: Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and Devolution Reigate and Banstead

See 'Who we are' as a council, to find out more about us.