Housing Advice Officer

Maidstone Borough Council; Maidstone; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid working

7am to 7pm flexi time

Generous holiday entitlement

Free parking

Season Ticket Loan

Cycle to work

Staff events & wellbeing

Employee Assistance Programme

Life Assurance – LGPS life cover

Lease car salary sacrifice

Job summary

Maidstone Borough Council is seeking two Housing Advice Officers to join the Housing & Inclusion Team to advise on homelessness and housing options. You will work from Trinity House, Maidstone, applying Housing Act knowledge to support vulnerable clients.

You will manage caseloads, provide empathetic assessments, and develop personalised housing plans with a focus on preventing homelessness and securing suitable accommodation. A full-time contract and agile working are available.

Qualifications

• Sound knowledge of Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended).
• Experience supporting vulnerable people with complex needs including domestic abuse.

Responsibilities

• Act as caseworkers for applicants, providing housing advice and options.
• Manage own caseload and assess housing needs.
• Provide empathetic support and devise personalised housing plans.
• Help clients retain current accommodation or secure alternatives.
• Converse with customers in accurate spoken English.

Skills

Empathy

Communication skills

Housing legislation knowledge

Client interviewing

Tools

IT skills

Job description

An exciting opportunity has arisen for two Housing Advice Officers to join our dedicated and busy Housing & Inclusion Team to act as caseworkers for applicants, providing advice and assistance on the range of options available to resolve their housing problems. We are looking for someone with a sound knowledge of Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended) and the ability to make decisions within the realm of the legislation. You also should have experience of supporting vulnerable people with complex needs including domestic abuse issues. You will have a robust understanding of the causes of homelessness, the challenges faced by those at risk, and the interventions available to help prevent and relieve homelessness.

You would be based at our Community Hub, Trinity, in Maidstone Town Centre for a minimum of three days a week. The Housing & inclusion team provides a compassionate and supportive response to service users who are at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping by providing a face-to-face housing advice service to those who need it.

As a Housing Advice Officer, you will manage your own case load, work with clients to assess their housing needs and provide exceptional advice and support. You will need the ability to demonstrate skills of empathy in assessing the clients housing circumstances and support needs, to devise personalised housing plans and to provide a broad range of housing options, with the aim of assisting clients to retain their current accommodation, or secure alternative suitable accommodation.

These roles are offered on a full-time basis, working 37 hours per week from Trinity House on permanent contracts. There is also the scope for agile working under the Council’s agile working arrangements, dependant on the needs of the service.

You may be required to participate in the out of hours on-call rota covering evenings, weekends and bank holidays to provide emergency assistance on housing matters.

About You:

The successful applicant will be enthusiastic, highly motivated and have excellent communication skills. You should have an excellent understanding of housing legislation and experience of interviewing clients or working in a front facing housing related field. Additionally, you will have excellent interpersonal, organisation and IT skills.

You should be a strong team player who embraces change and is able to work flexibility to meet the needs of the service and our clients.

The Council considers this to be a customer focused role and the ability to converse at ease with customers adapting communication style to suit differing audiences and provide advice in accurate spoken English is fundamental to the role.

Selection Process:

Following the submission of your application form, it will be reviewed by the recruiting manager. Those that are successful in securing an interview can expect a job specific interview assessment, followed by an interview.

Our Offer:

A range of benefits including:

• Flexible hybrid working opportunities
• 7am to 7pm flexi time to suit personal circumstances for most roles
• Generous holiday entitlement which increases after 5 years LG service plus bank holidays with the option to buy additional leave.
• Additional 3 days leave given to enable a close down of the offices between Christmas and New year.
• Free parking
• Range of flexible working opportunities to accommodate people’s home/work life balance including compressed hours, 9-day fortnight, part time.
• Invitations to staff events to celebrate success and support wellbeing that include holistic therapies and outdoor activities
• Employee Assistance Programme which provides confidential & independent information and access to counsellors
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with valuable life cover and financial protection for your family.
• Life Assurance – three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• Season Ticket Loan - to help with the cost of your rail/ bus journey, to & from work
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand-new car. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax.
• Cycle to work scheme
• Staff benefits discounts on leisure, eating out, holidays and shopping
• Excellent learning and career opportunities for committed individuals
• A professional fee payment, if required for the role

Maidstone Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employee and volunteers to share this commitment.

The Council considers that the successful applicant will have access to the Government’s secure network and will need to have a Baseline Personnel Security Standard check completed. In addition to the normal pre-employment checks this requires a criminal record check for unspent convictions and verification of employment history for the preceding 3 years. Where the 3 years of employment history cannot be verified through the most recent employment reference, you will need to provide a copy of your HMRC PAYE record for the 3-year period and will need to explain the reasons for any gaps in employment

If you would like to discuss this position, please contact Samantha Mc'Coy [e-mail] or Michael Collins [e-mail]

Closing Date: Sunday 01st November 2026

Interview Date: Thursday 12th November 2026