Homelessness Prevention & Solutions Officers

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government council in London seeks two Homelessness Prevention & Solutions Officers to provide housing advice and support individuals facing homelessness. The role involves creating housing plans, managing cases, and collaborating with various agencies. The ideal candidates will have strong interpersonal skills and experience in customer-facing environments. The position offers flexible working and generous benefits, with emphasis on supporting individuals in need.

Benefits

40 days annual leave

Flexible working

Generous pension plan

Qualifications

• Understanding of why people become homeless and how to prevent it.
• Ability to interpret complex legislation and guidance.
• Experience working in fast-paced, customer-facing environments.
• Strong interpersonal and organisational skills.
• Confidence in supporting people with complex needs.
• Resilience and adaptability in challenging situations.

Responsibilities

• Deliver tailored housing advice and create personalised housing plans.
• Provide interim accommodation and issue statutory decisions.
• Work closely with landlords and agencies to resolve cases.
• Manage caseload, conduct assessments, and maintain records.
• Enjoy a hybrid working model for work-life balance.
• Conduct needs assessments and complete housing plans.

Skills

Understanding of homelessness causes

Interpreting complex legislation

Customer service experience

Interpersonal skills

Supporting people with complex needs

Resilience

Job description

Join our dedicated team in Wandsworth and help prevent homelessness before it happens. We're looking for two passionate and proactive Homelessness Prevention & Solutions Officers to support individuals and families at critical moments in their housing journey., We are a London borough providing a very busy statutory homelessness advice service who are looking to recruit a Prevention and Solution Officers to work with us. In this role you will work with all types of people who approach us as homeless or are about to be. They may have become street homeless, or perhaps an individual has been asked to leave home. Maybe someone is being evicted from their tenancy and cannot remain there any longer or you may find that a family must leave their home due to violence. In this role you will work proactively with individuals and families to help support them in their homelessness journey and adhere to legislative guidance as well as policy and procedures set out for you to conduct your role effectively. Within the Prevention and Solutions Service, you will provide tailored advice and information to customers and provide interim accommodation where required. You will work within a hybrid model keeping a focus on the needs of our customers and supporting your work life balance. In addition to this, you will also provide an holistic approach and make the relevant referrals for clients who have complex needs that are not always immediately apparent. Your contribution and support will help those clients to stay in their current home or find a new home by delivery of key prevention techniques and options whilst managing expectations. You will enjoy partnership working, collaboration and have a keen motivation to meet objectives and importance of working towards targets. Whether someone is facing eviction, fleeing domestic violence, or sleeping rough, you'll be there to provide expert advice, practical solutions, and compassionate support.

Responsibilities

• Empowering people: Deliver tailored housing advice and create personalised housing plans that help people stay in their homes or find new ones.
• Taking action: Provide interim accommodation when needed and issue statutory homelessness decisions in line with legislation.
• Collaborating: Work closely with landlords, support services, and other agencies to resolve complex cases and prevent homelessness.
• Managing cases: Own your caseload, conduct thorough assessments, and maintain accurate records using our IT systems.
• Working flexibly: Enjoy a hybrid working model that supports your work‑life balance.
• Prevent and alleviate homelessness by providing housing advice and options to those who present as homeless.
• Conduct and review homelessness needs assessments and complete personalised housing plans to help empower individuals to sustain and secure accommodation.
• Work collaboratively with various stakeholders and manage expectations.
• Demonstrate an excellent customer centred approach and participate in Duty rotas.
• Be able to issue statutory homelessness decision letters aligned with Homelessness legislation in a timely manner.
• Ability to take on a caseload and manage this effectively.
• Utilise IT systems to accurately update and record information.

Qualifications and Skills

• Understanding of why people become homeless and how to prevent it.
• Ability to interpret complex legislation and guidance.
• Experience working in fast‑paced, customer‑facing environments.
• Strong interpersonal and organisational skills.
• Confidence in supporting people with complex needs.
• Resilience and adaptability in challenging situations.

Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to these posts will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We offer a wide range of benefits designed to attract, develop, and reward our employees such as 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays), flexible working and a generous pension plan. Richmond and Wandsworth Councils