Housing Options Caseworker

Stevenage Borough Council; Stevenage; On-site; GBP 39,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Career pension scheme

Flexible working

Job share opportunities

Leave provisions

25 days annual leave

Training and development

Employee assistance programme

Season ticket loans

Cycle to Work

CSSC discounts

Wellbeing benefits

Trade union access

Job summary

Stevenage Borough Council is seeking a Housing Options Caseworker in Stevenage to join the busy Housing Options Team. You will advise customers on housing options, focus on preventing homelessness, and make legally robust decisions under homelessness legislation.

The role includes completing suitability assessments and regular PHP reviews for households under a duty. A DBS check and Values Based Interview will be conducted, with opportunities to manage your own caseload and contribute to

Qualifications

• The ability to work on your own initiative and adapt to varying workloads.
• Ability to manage your own caseload including setting expectations and facilitating customer steps to resolve housing need.
• Effective communication and negotiation skills for engaging with customers in demanding situations.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive housing advice with a focus on preventing homelessness and making legally robust decisions under homelessness legislation.
• Complete suitability assessments and regularly review Personalised Housing Plans (PHPs) for households under the section 193 duty to ensure suitable accommodation and statutory duties are met.
• Attend multi-agency meetings and contribute to duty coverage while managing customer expectations.

Skills

Self-motivation

Caseload management

Communication skills

Job description

Job Title Housing Options Caseworker

Post Number 013269

Weekly Working Hours 37

Salary Range £38,510 to £42,123 pa – pro rata for hours worked

Contact Type Fixed term to 31 March 2027

Location Stevenage

About The Role

This is an opportunity to join the busy Housing Options Team. The role involves providing comprehensive housing advice to customers, with a strong emphasis on preventing and relieving homelessness, and making legally robust decisions under homelessness legislation for those approaching the Housing Needs Service. In addition, there will be a particular focus on completing suitability assessments and undertaking regular reviews of Personalised Housing Plans (PHPs) for households owed the section 193 duty, ensuring accommodation remains suitable and statutory duties are met.

A DBS check and a Values Based Interview will be carried out for this post.

About You

The successful candidate will have:

• The ability to work on your own initiative and flexibility in dealing with varying workloads.
• Ability to manage your own caseload including managing customers’ expectations, assisting customers to take steps to resolve their own housing need, attend multi-agency meetings and take part in duty cover.
• You will have effective communication and negotiation skills who can engage with customers in a demanding environment in order to find solutions.

Our benefits

• Pension Scheme: We offer a career average pension scheme, providing generous benefits upon retirement, as well as a lump sum and pension for dependants
• Flexible working: Available upon request, subject to operational requirements.
• Part time and Job share opportunities: All our full-time vacancies are open to job share unless otherwise stated.
• Leave: A variety of different types of paid and unpaid leave covering emergency and planned leave, maternity, paternity, adoption and parental leave.
• Holidays: 25 days holiday rising to 31 days (depending on Local Government service)
• Training: An extensive range of learning and development opportunities
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 Confidential advice and support on personal, work, family and relationship issues
• Travel: Season ticket loans and discounts for public transport
• Cycling: Cycle to Work scheme
• Stevenage Credit Union: Secure savings, free life insurance and access to cheap loans.
• Employee Discounts: Via monthly paid membership of the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)
• Wellbeing: Discounted Health and Fitness membership
• Trade Unions: For a small fee, all employees have the opportunity to join a Trade Union

Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff, volunteers and recruitment candidates to share this commitment. SBC shall take all reasonable steps to employ staff who are safe to work with children, young people and vulnerable adults. For posts identified with regular contact with these groups applicants will be required to undertake a Value Based Interview. The council supports the legislative requirements for employing and maintaining safer staff and the guidance specified by Hertfordshire Safeguarding Adults Board | Hertfordshire County Council

We are changing.

Stevenage Borough Council is undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Stevenage Borough Council on 1 April 2028, it is expected that the majority of roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.

LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better.

To find out more, visit Local Government Reorganisation | Shaping Hertfordshire's Future

Stevenage Borough Council is committed to Equal Opportunities for All.