Housing Officer

Durham County Council; Spennymoor; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

Durham County Council is seeking a Housing Officer to play a key role in preventing and relieving homelessness. The role is temporary, covering maternity leave until October 2027, and involves working with customers, landlords, and partners to assess needs and develop Personal Housing Plans to achieve positive housing outcomes.

You will have strong communication skills and experience supporting vulnerable customers, with the ability to manage a varied workload.

Qualifications

• Qualified to NVQ Level 2 or equivalent.
• Experience in housing, homelessness or support related service.
• Knowledge of housing and homelessness legislation.

Responsibilities

• Support customers who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
• Carry out assessments and manage a caseload.
• Deliver homelessness prevention and relief interventions.
• Work with partner agencies and housing providers to sustain accommodation.
• Ensure statutory duties are met under homelessness legislation.
• Arrange temporary accommodation where required.
• Participate in multi-agency meetings and rough sleeper outreach work.

Skills

Strong communication skills

Experience in housing homelessness or,

Education

NVQ Level 2 or equivalent

Job description

Do you want to make a real difference by helping people access suitable housing and avoid homelessness? Join our Homeless Prevention team as a Housing Officer, where you will play a key role in preventing and relieving homelessness.

This vacancy is temporary until October 2027 to cover a period of maternity leave, or until the return of the substantive postholder from maternity leave, whichever is sooner

WHAT IS INVOLVED?

Working with customers, landlords and partner agencies, you will provide advice, assess housing and support needs, and develop Personal Housing Plans to achieve positive housing outcomes.

Key responsibilities include:

• Supporting customers who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
• Carrying out assessments and managing a caseload.
• Delivering homelessness prevention and relief interventions.
• Working with partner agencies and housing providers to sustain accommodation.
• Ensuring statutory duties are met under homelessness legislation.
• Arranging temporary accommodation where required.
• Participating in multi-agency meetings and rough sleeper outreach work.

The successful candidate will have strong communication skills, experience of supporting vulnerable customers, and the ability to manage a varied workload effectively.

We encourage you to contact Michael Davies, Senior Housing Officer via email [e-mail] to arrange an informal discussion about the role.

WHAT WILL I NEED?

You should be qualified to NVQ Level 2 or equivalent and have experience of working within a housing, homelessness or support related service.

You should have knowledge of housing and homelessness legislation and have experience of providing support to vulnerable people.

Please refer to the attached person specification for the full criteria.

INTERVIEWS

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 20th October or Wednesday 21st October 2026.

We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that can show they meet all the essential criteria and have indicated they have a disability, are a looked after young person, care leaver or a veteran.

OUR OFFER TO YOU

We offer a competitive rewards package that includes attractive salaries, a generous annual leave entitlement of 27 days (rising to 32 after five years' continuous local government service), membership of the excellent contributory career average Local Government Pension Scheme, and a range of flexible working arrangements including hybrid working (home and office) where applicable. Explore the full range of rewards and benefits on our website

Rewards and benefits are subject to individual terms and conditions.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION

We are a proud equal opportunities employer and believe a diverse workforce brings fresh ideas and drives service improvement. We welcome applications from everyone and make employment decisions based on skills and ability. As a Disability Confident Leader, we actively encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent people and offer support throughout the recruitment process.