Housing Grants Officer

Gloucestershire County Council; Gloucester; Hybrid; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a dynamic local authority dedicated to improving housing conditions in Gloucester. This role offers a unique opportunity to work within a multi-faceted housing team focused on reducing health inequalities and enhancing the lives of residents. You will engage with diverse stakeholders, utilizing your communication and mediation skills to address housing issues and ensure compliance with regulations. With a commitment to flexible working and ongoing professional development, this position is perfect for those passionate about making a positive impact in their community. Embrace a collaborative environment where your contributions truly matter.

Benefits

Flexible Working Opportunities

Generous Annual Leave

Option to Purchase Additional Leave

Paid Volunteering Leave

Local Government Pension Scheme

Career Development Opportunities

Employee Assistance Programme

Enhanced Family Friendly Leave

Cycle to Work Scheme

Employee Discount Scheme

Qualifications

• Excellent organisational and communication skills are essential.
• Understanding of housing legislative framework is required.

Responsibilities

• Investigate housing and public health complaints effectively.
• Inspect and license houses in multiple occupation.

Skills

Organisational Skills

Communication Skills

Mediation Skills

Knowledge of Housing Legislation

Problem-Solving Skills

Education

Experience in Local Authority Housing

Experience in Housing Enforcement

Experience in Surveying

Job description

We are a dynamic local authority providing essential services to the people of Gloucester.

Our main office, based in the Eastgate Centre on Eastgate Street in the heart of the city, is an accessible, modern and light space designed for collaborative working and finding new ways to work. It's all open plan, with a living green wall and other plants without set desks, so you can sit next to someone new every day. We're always looking to improve how we work and we offer flexible and agile working to give our people a great work life balance.

About the role…

Do you want to join a busy organisation and multi-faceted private sector housing team dedicated to improving housing conditions, reducing health inequalities, and finding innovative solutions to the challenges facing the housing sector?

The private sector housing team draws on their housing, surveying, public health and environmental health knowledge, along with creativity, to deliver advanced interventions to improve the lives of Gloucester’s residents, while remaining dedicated to the councils’ priorities and values.

These posts offer an exciting opportunity to come into a team facing a wide array of challenging work streams and interesting projects. You will be responsible for working in a flexible and adaptable way with a ‘can-do’ attitude investigating housing and public health complaints, inspecting and licensing houses in multiple occupation, ensuring compliance with mobile home site licence conditions and supporting our wider housing colleagues in improving social and supported housing and delivering disabled facility grants.

What we need from you…

You will have excellent organisational, communication and mediation skills working with a diverse range of stakeholders focusing on delivering the aims of the role and organisation.

You should be able to demonstrate an understanding and knowledge of the housing legislative and regulatory framework and the current issues the housing sector is facing. Ideally you will have experience in a local authority housing enforcement and surveying environment or grant delivery team but we welcome applications from candidates who can demonstrate the key transferable skills, experiences and behavioural attributes set out in the job profile to deliver the requirements of the role.

The council is committed to supporting on-going development through coaching mentoring as well a formal training and professional development.

What we can do for you…

For all your hard work, you will receive the following:

1. Flexible, Hybrid/Agile working opportunities
2. Generous Annual Leave entitlement 25 days annual leave rising to 30 days after 5 years continuous service (30 days annual leave (for roles G and above only)
3. An option to purchase 10 days of additional leave per year (pro rata for part-time staff)
4. 2 days paid leave every year to participate in local volunteering activities
5. Excellent Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) & Life Cover of 3 times your salary
6. Regular Training, career development and qualification opportunities
7. Supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision
8. Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides free, confidential, counselling and advice for employees, available 24 hours a day, online and by telephone, and an in-house Occupational Health service
9. Enhanced family friendly leave and pay
10. Cycle to Work scheme (Salary Sacrifice -T&C apply)
11. Coming Soon - Car Scheme (Salary Sacrifice -T&C apply)
12. Employee discount scheme
13. Discounted tickets for local events, and reduced rate use of GL1 facilities
14. Access to employee led networks such as Black Worker’s, Prism (LGBT+), Carers, Disability and the Young Employees Network, and opportunities to participate in our Equalities Working Group.

How to apply…

If you feel you have the skills, desire, experience and passion to help deliver our ambitious plans for the city then please submit your application and personal statement today by clicking the “Apply Now” Button.

Short-listed candidates will be contacted by e-mail and invited to interview week commencing 17/02/2025.

Additional Information

Gloucester City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people or vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Equality and Diversity

We recognise the positive value of equality and diversity and pride ourselves on growing a high-performing workforce that is diverse, skilled and talented; that represents the community it serves.

We aim to recruit a diverse pool of talent and will recruit the person who is most suited to the job without regard to their race, colour, religion or belief, age, nationality, ethnicity, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, caring responsibilities or disability.

We are a disability confident employer committed to removing barriers to employment to those with disabilities or long-term health conditions. Reasonable adjustments will be made to the recruitment procedure to ensure that no-one is disadvantaged because of their disability. Please contact the recruitment team if you require support or reasonable adjustments during the application or recruitment process.

Further information on our commitment to Equality and Diversity can be found Here.

If you wish to apply for this position on a secondment basis, please obtain approval from your current line manager that you may be released on a secondment before submitting an application form.

It is a legal requirement, under the Immigration Act 2016, that anyone appointed to a 'customer facing role' must be able to demonstrate an ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in fluent English.