Hybrid Housing Needs Navigator

Essential Employment; Slough; Hybrid; GBP 29,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Essential Employment in Slough is seeking a Housing Needs Officer for a hybrid role with 2 in-office days per week. The post involves delivering a comprehensive, customer-focused housing needs service for home seekers and coordinating with partner agencies.

You will assess client circumstances, develop Personal Housing Plans, provide housing rights advice, and work to prevent homelessness within statutory duties. This is a full-time temporary contract.

Qualifications

• Deliver a comprehensive, customer focussed and high quality housing needs service.
• Liaise with other sections, departments and agencies in relation to housing or homelessness issues.

Responsibilities

• Deliver a comprehensive, customer focussed and high quality housing needs service, liaising with other sections, departments and agencies internally and externally in relation to housing or homelessness issues on behalf of home seekers
• Working proactively using initiative and knowledge to apply appropriate options to tackle housing need ensuring that the resources, including financial resources, are appropriately used according to the needs of the home seeker, enabling them to achieve sustainable and affordable solutions to their housing needs.
• Identify and respond proactively to every home seeker who may be at risk of homelessness and find the most effective means to prevent and tackle homelessness, fulfilling the duties under housing, homelessness, and any other relevant legislation.
• Complete an assessment of the applicant’s circumstances, in all cases, to determine the duty owed to the client and inform the client in writing of the decision in accordance with the relevant legislation, seeking advice and guidance where needed from colleagues.
• Complete a Personal Housing Plan with each client where appropriate, compiling a tailored set of actions both the client and staff will compete in order to prevent or relieve the client’s homelessness and to interview clients in the office and at other venues in the district as and when required.
• Provide good quality housing advice to all, including, public, tenants, licensees and homeseeker’s regarding their legal rights and available options related to their housing using a holistic approach. This will include analysing complex information and relaying this information appropriately to the customer, including legal advice on housing, immigration and benefit legislation.
• Deliver services within statutory and individual agreed targets to meet performance indicators and respond positively to all enquiries in accordance with service standards
• To take a lead on a particular topic and/or liaison with a partner department or agency as directed by the Housing Needs Manager or Team Leader.
• To work with, and to sign-post customers to, voluntary/other partner agencies (including Mental Health and Adult Care services, children’s Social care, IDAS, and Probation) in order to contribute to a high quality service.
• To maintain clear referral processes with other agencies for additional specialist advice/support needs.

Job description

Essential Employment in Slough is seeking a Housing Needs Officer for a hybrid role with 2 in-office days per week. The post involves delivering a comprehensive, customer-focused housing needs service for home seekers and coordinating with partner agencies.

You will assess client circumstances, develop Personal Housing Plans, provide housing rights advice, and work to prevent homelessness within statutory duties. This is a full-time temporary contract.