Housing Solutions Officer

CRA Group Recruitment And Payroll Ltd; Kingston; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in the United Kingdom is seeking a dedicated professional for a pivotal role in delivering the Housing Solutions Service. This position involves managing caseloads and providing high-quality advice that prevents homelessness, while ensuring compliance with statutory guidelines. The ideal candidate should possess strong knowledge of housing legislation, excellent communication skills, and a proficiency in using digital tools, as well as experience in collaborating with partners to improve community service delivery. This contract offers bi-weekly pay at £26.56 per hour, with a work schedule of 36 hours per week.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of housing legislation and statutory guidance.
• Experience in managing caseloads and providing housing advice.
• Ability to effectively partner with stakeholders.
• Proficiency in digital tools for efficient service delivery.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with teams to define outcomes and monitor performance.
• Manage caseloads to ensure compliance with statutory requirements.
• Participate in duty rota for emergency placements.
• Conduct home visits to verify applicant circumstances.
• Work with legal teams on prosecution cases.

Skills

Understanding of housing legislation

Managing caseloads

Building effective partnerships

Proficiency in digital tools

Communication skills

Identifying homelessness trends

Knowledge of safeguarding procedures

Familiarity with case law

Job description

2 Months Contract with a Local Authority

Bi weekly pay

36 Hours / week £26.56 / hr

Summary:

This role is pivotal in ensuring the effective delivery of the Housing Solutions Service, aligning with legislative and statutory guidelines. The position involves providing high-quality advice to prevent homelessness, managing caseloads, and ensuring compliance with housing policies. The role requires collaboration with internal and external partners to enhance service delivery and support community cohesion, diversity, and social inclusion. Embracing digital tools and new working practices is essential to improve customer service and streamline processes.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with managers and colleagues to define outcomes, set targets, and monitor performance.
• Support operational plans to optimize resource use within teams.
• Build strong partnerships to deliver services efficiently and focus on outcomes.
• Use new technologies to adopt modern working practices and improve customer service.
• Ensure effective delivery of the Housing Solutions Service in line with relevant legislation and guidance.
• Provide advice and assistance to prevent homelessness and manage homelessness investigations.
• Manage a caseload of applicants, ensuring timely action and compliance with statutory timescales.
• Participate in a duty rota system for emergency accommodation placements.
• Make decisions on homelessness applications and refer cases for temporary accommodation.
• Ensure accommodation is provided to qualifying homeless applicants.
• Complete licence agreements with residents, ensuring property compliance and rent account setup.
• Undertake discharge of duty on applications and liaise with relevant teams for evictions.
• Identify and raise safeguarding alerts and refer residents to support services.
• Respond to enquiries related to Housing Act 1996 Part VII applications.
• Conduct home visits to verify applicant circumstances.
• Meet and exceed performance targets and submit performance statistics.
• Assist in identifying and implementing best practices and innovations.
• Work with the legal team on prosecution cases and contribute to local representation services.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of case law, statute, and policy.
• Collaborate with the Housing Supply team and private landlords to prevent homelessness.
• Support the Housing Access Team in reviewing temporary accommodation placements.
• Contribute to the preparation and review of the annual Team Plan and performance targets.

Requirements

• Strong understanding of housing legislation, statutory guidance, and local authority agreements.
• Experience in managing caseloads and providing high-quality advice on housing issues.
• Ability to build effective partnerships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency in using digital tools and adopting modern working practices.
• Excellent communication skills for responding to enquiries and conducting home visits.
• Ability to identify trends in homelessness and contribute to service improvements.
• Knowledge of safeguarding procedures and experience in multi‑agency collaboration.
• Familiarity with case law, statute, and policy related to homelessness and housing issues.