Housing Advisor

Bath and North East Somerset Council; Keynsham; Hybrid; GBP 14,000 - 18,000; Part time

Job summary

Bath and North East Somerset Council is seeking a Housing Advisor to join the Housing Options and Homelessness Team. The role focuses on preventing homelessness, delivering frontline housing advice, assessments, and temporary accommodation when required.

Working hours are 18.5 per week with a permanent contract, mainly based in Bath, with possible work from other district locations and some home working by agreement.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of housing and homelessness legislation and frontline housing options.
• Excellent communication skills in all forms with empathy to understand complex situations.
• Experience handling high-pressure situations and challenging client behaviours with integrity.

Responsibilities

• Provide housing advice and assistance to prevent and relieve homelessness.
• Conduct homelessness assessments and coordinate temporary accommodation where needed.
• Maintain accurate records and use housing databases effectively.

Skills

Housing legislation

Communication skills

Empathy

Record keeping

IT skills

Housing databases

Education

Degree or housing qualification

Tools

Housing databases

Job description

At Bath & North East Somerset Council we have one overriding purpose – to improve people’s lives.

About the Team

It’s an exciting time to be working in housing at Bath & North East Somerset. We are implementing an organisational change programme and have recently launched our Housing Plan 2025-30 which sets out ambitious actions for housing over the next 5 years.

We are now looking for an enthusiastic Housing Advisor to join our high performing Housing Options and Homelessness Team to make a real difference supporting families and individuals at risk of homelessness.

About the Role

The postholder will work within the Housing Options & Homelessness Team to deliver a high-quality service aimed at preventing and relieving homelessness. The team consists of staff who provide housing advice and assistance, homelessness assessment and temporary accommodation where needed.

B&NES is a high-performing Council with relatively few households in temporary accommodation, reflecting the team's excellent work.

This is a part-time role, 18.5 hours per week, permanent contract. The post holder will be expected to work half day Wednesday and all day Thursday and Friday.

The role is primarily based in Bath, but you may need to work from other locations in the district, including Keynsham and Midsomer Norton. There is also the opportunity to work from home by agreement.

About You

You will have:

• Knowledge of housing and homelessness legislation and experience in providing frontline housing options or homelessness services.
• A degree and/or a relevant specialist housing qualification in Housing Advice or equivalent.
• Excellent communication skills in all forms with the ability to influence, use empathy to understand complex situations.
• Be capable of performing efficiently and effectively in a high-pressure, fast-paced environment, handling challenging client behaviours with composure, integrity and effectiveness.

The role also requires excellent record keeping as well as IT skills. Experience of housing databases would be an advantage. You will need to have good communications skills.

Interview date: TBC

*Please note, BANES Council operates a policy of prior consideration for roles for any individual on the Council’s at-risk register (redeployee). This means should a redeployee express an interest in this role, providing they meet the essential criteria for the role they will be considered ahead of external applicants.

About Bath and North East Somerset Council.

Working at Bath and North East Somerset provides an opportunity to contribute to your community and make a positive impact on the lives of residents. Our values shape how we work to deliver public services, and how we communicate with the residents we serve. We care about the best outcomes for local people, through our public services.

Why Bath and North East Somerset Council?

We offer a wide range of benefits, to ensure that you are paid fairly for your work, have the flexibility to enjoy a great work/life balance, and have the support you need. Go to https://jobsandcareers.bathnes.gov.uk/why-work-us/our-benefits

At Bath and North East Somerset Council we have one overriding purpose – to improve peoples lives. Find out more about our values at https://jobsandcareers.bathnes.gov.uk/why-work-us/our-values

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us. Find out more on our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at https://beta.bathnes.gov.uk/equality-and-diversity

We are a Disability Confident Employer – find out more at https://shorturl.at/ajrsW

The Council is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce. Applications for job-share, part-time and flexible working arrangements are welcomed and will be considered in line with business needs.

Please note that this role is subject to an Basic DBS Check.

Safeguarding Statement: The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable groups and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. As part of this commitment anyone working in a post with children or vulnerable groups will be expected to undertake an Enhanced DBS check with/without barred list checks.