Housing Officer - Link Worker Pathways Through Care (17165)

Southampton City Council; Southampton; On-site; GBP 39,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension with employer contribution (15

Death in service

Holiday entitlement 25–31 days

Flexible working options

Training and development

Job summary

Southampton City Council is seeking a Leaving Care Housing Advisor to support care-experienced young people aged 18-25 in securing stable accommodation within the Pathways Through Care service in Southampton.

The role involves advising on housing rights, conducting home visits, and working with social workers and landlords to create move-on plans and avoid housing instability for care-experienced young people. It is a 12-month fixed-term post with supportive supervision.

Qualifications

• Experience in housing, social care or youth services.
• Knowledge of housing legislation and local housing sector.
• Ability to communicate in multi-professional settings and be solution focused.

Responsibilities

• Advise young people and professionals on housing rights, options and services.
• Conduct home visits and housing risk assessments to support secure accommodation.
• Collaborate with multi-agency teams to address tenancy and housing challenges.
• Communicate with landlords to identify move-on options and increase private rented opportunities.
• Support Pathway Planning for rising 18s and semi-independent youth.

Skills

Housing legislation knowledge

Communication skills

Multi-agency working

Problem solving

Job description

Housing Officer - Link Worker Pathways Through Care

We have an exciting opportunity for a 12 month fixed term Leaving Care Housing Advisor to join Southampton City Council (SCC) in the Pathways Through Care Service.

About the team:

The Leaving Care Teams support young adults aged 18-25 in their transition to adulthood and independence. The Housing Advisor would also be supporting rising 18s in their housing pathways alongside their social worker and Personal Advisor. The teams are supportive and managers offer excellent support and regular reflective supervision. Our Personal Advisors hold specialist knowledge around leaving care for young people living in the city and those who are placed elsewhere in the country. We have positive links with our housing colleagues and there is good joint working to achieve stability in accommodation for our young people.

We are pleased to introduce the Leaving Care Housing Advisor position as an addition to our service. This role is designed to enhance our housing offer to care experienced young people through supporting them with housing-related challenges and to help them maintain secure and stable homes. We seek a candidate with a strong understanding of housing legislation and effective communication skills, capable of working collaboratively with partners and young people to identify and implement optimal solutions for their housing needs. In addition, there will be a role in identifying housing pathways as part of Pathway Planning for rising 18s and move on plans for those in semi-independent provisions.

About the role:

This role includes the following tasks:

• Advising Young People and professionals working alongside them on housing rights, responsibilities, options, and access to services, as well as assisting with housing register applications.
• Conducting home visits and completing housing risk assessments to support care experienced young adults in securing safe and suitable accommodation.
• Collaborating with multi-agency teams to bring specialist knowledge and a proactive approach to managing challenges and tenancy issues.
• Communicating with landlords to identify move on options and address housing matters, manage disputes and increase private rented opportunities for care experienced young people.
• Work alongside dedicated Personal Advisors and the Project Lead in our Staying Close project.

For further information about the expectations of this role please view the job description.

About you:

• Candidates should possess experience in housing, social care, or youth service fields of work.
• Knowledge of housing legislation and familiarity with Southampton's local housing sector and frameworks are required.
• The role involves working with young adults and communicating within a multi-professional setting; therefore, effective interpersonal and confident communication skills are important.
• The ability to be reflective and work systemically is essential for this position and the ability to be solution focussed use problem-solving strategies is also essential for this position.

If you feel you have the necessary background, experience, and skills to undertake this role we would like to hear from you.

What we can offer you:

Salary: The salary band for this role is £38,510 - £42,123 per annum. The starting salary is £38,510 with annual progression through the salary bands.

Here at SCC we have a range of different benefits, a few examples can be found below.

• Excellent local government pension with 15.2% employer contribution
• Death in service benefit of x3 salary, and optional salary sacrifice shared cost AVC (additional voluntary contribution)
• Generous holiday 25-31 days, based on role and service
• Flexible working options (role-dependent)
• Family-friendly policies - Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared/Unpaid Parental Leave, Time off for Dependents
• Training and development, including coaching and mentoring
• Health and wellbeing support - Employee Assistance Programme, Menopause Pledge, Mental Health First Aiders and access to a variety of staff networks
• Veteran-friendly employer with the Armed Forces Covenant
• Retail discounts and savings through the Southampton City Council benefits platform
• Discounted memberships at local sports and fitness centres
• Sustainable travel benefits - low emission car scheme, cycle to work, season ticket loans
• Employee volunteering scheme with 2 paid days leave to volunteer

For further information on our benefits package please visit: Employee benefits (southampton.gov.uk)

Contact details for informal discussion:

For further information and details regarding this post please contact Carolyn Driscoll [e-mail]

Recruitment contact details:

Email: [e-mail]
Tel: [phone]

For more information about SCC please visit Southampton City Council. Follow us on social media for regular updates on our featured jobs and latest news.

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