Housing Assessment & Advice Manager

Portsmouth; Sunderland; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 44,000; Full time

Job summary

Portsmouth City Council is seeking a Housing Assessment & Advice Manager to lead the Assessment & Advice team within the Housing Needs, Advice & Support Service. You will oversee a multi-disciplinary team, manage resources, and ensure statutory duties are fulfilled with high-quality customer service.

The role requires strong leadership, budgeting skills, and deep knowledge of housing options, homelessness legislation, and welfare reforms.

Qualifications

• Experience in a challenging front-line service.
• Ability to support and manage staff dealing with customers with social issues.
• Experience in managing or reviewing homeless decisions under relevant legislation.
• Understanding of private rented housing sector and landlord/tenant law.
• Ability to manage a budget and allocate resources effectively.
• Proven capability to motivate and lead a team and provide guidance.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to interpret legislation and contract arrangements for partners and customers.
• Awareness of welfare benefits system and implications of reforms.
• Commitment to safeguarding adults and children.

Responsibilities

• Oversee day-to-day operation of the Assessment & Advice team (approx. 30 FTE).
• Ensure delivery of housing allocation policy and rehousing duties.
• Provide front-line service to help customers with housing options and issues.
• Lead on staffing resource planning to meet service standards.
• Develop staff through coaching, training and performance guidance.
• Collaborate with partners and other agencies to secure outcomes for customers.

Skills

Staff management

Budget management

Housing/homeless services

Legislation interpretation

Leadership

Verbal and written communication

Multi-tasking

Project coordination

IT literacy (Excel)

Negotiation

Tools

Excel

Office software

Job description

Brilliant opportunity to join Portsmouth City Council as a Housing Assessment & Advice Manager, and really make a difference! This role is permanent, 37 hours per week and at the salary of £40,443 - £44,252 p.a.

Your new rolePortsmouth City Council's Housing Needs, Advice & Support Service works directly with customers to help deal with housing issues and prevent homelessness in the city and to fulfil the councils' statutory homeless functions. We are a busy front-line service dealing directly with customers, many of whom are vulnerable and/or facing homelessness.

The service assesses and advises customers on the housing options available to them, provide support services to vulnerable people and rough sleepers, provide temporary accommodation and link with providers to help people move into more permanent accommodation.

The Assessment & Advice team are the front-line team that deal with customers as they approach the service, looking for advice, support and access to social or affordable housing. The team need to understand all the customer's issues and then work with them, and other agencies, to find a solution to their housing situation.

The purpose of The Housing Assessment & Advice Manager (HAAM) role is to be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Assessment & Advice team within the Housing Needs, Advice & Support Service. This includes the shared line management of a multi-disciplinary team totalling approximately 30 FTE direct reports, although at times you may take responsibility for team members in the wider team.

This role involves managing staffing resources to ensure service delivery to the public, providing a comprehensive front-line service to ensure the City Council’s housing allocation policy and statutory rehousing duties are fulfilled within agreed service standards and ensures that everyone with an accommodation problem receives appropriate help and advice. The HAAM creates an environment that enables change to occur based on learning, and supports, educates, and develops staff to equip them to do better work.

For all details of what the role will involve and the person we are looking for please see the job profile attached at the bottom of this page!

Who is the person?

• Has experience of working in a challenging front line service.
• Has the ability to support and manage staff dealing with customers who may have a range of social issues
• Has experience of working within the relevant legislative framework managing, making and reviewing homeless decisions.
• Has a practical understanding of the private rented housing sector and landlord and tenant law generally
• Has the ability to manage a budget
• Can motivate, manage and lead a team, offering support, direction and advice to help them, to be more effective in their role and equip them with the skills they need to robustly engage with customers and partners.
• Can make proportionate decisions in a structured and transparent way and is able to identify and pull resources to themselves to help achieve necessary outcomes.
• Is confident and a strong verbal and written communicator.
• Able to negotiate and to clearly interpret legislation and contract arrangements, for partners, employees and customers as appropriate.
• Has an awareness of the welfare benefits system and the impact of current reforms on customers and a Housing Needs, Advice & Support service
• Has a commitment to equal opportunities and awareness of the issues facing vulnerable client groups
• Understands and is committed to the safeguarding of adults and children.
• Is always proactive, working on their own initiative, able to manage multiple tasks.
• Is creative, able to respond to customer demand with well thought out solutions to problems and is happy to question current procedures and suggest improvements based on their knowledge of the 'what and why' of the current performance.
• Is competent using a variety of IT systems such as Excel and other office applications.
• Has the ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English
• Has the ability to work in accordance with the 'Ways of working' as described in the job profile.

About Portsmouth City Council

Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act.

We are committed to our values of respect, integrity, collaboration, inclusivity and being people-focussed. These values set out how we can contribute to the success of the council and our own success as individuals.

Learn more about our values and behaviours.

Additional Information

If you would like to discuss this role in more detail with the hiring manager, please contact Sarah Robinson, Homelessness Prevention Manager, by e‑mailing [e-mail]

Interview process

19th & 20th November 2026

Our recruitment process

Full information about our recruitment process can be found on our support for applicants' page: Support for applicants - Careers portal

• We are a disability confident employer and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard. More information can be found at Equality, diversity and inclusion - Careers portal

You will need to demonstrate that you have the Right to Work in the UK. No post will be offered without it.

Read more about working at Portsmouth City Council and our benefits on our career's portal homepage: Careers Portal - Find jobs with Portsmouth City Council

Should you require any support in completing the application form please contact [e-mail] or call the recruitment team on 023 92 616 800.