Senior Accommodation Officer

Kent County Council; Ashford; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

29 days annual leave

Local Government Pension Scheme

Flexible working (home & office)

Kent Rewards

Job summary

Kent County Council is recruiting for a Senior Accommodation Officer in Ashford. The role focuses on supporting host families hosting former care leavers and ensuring high standards of accommodation and support for young people transitioning to semi‑independent living.

Based at Kroner House, the SAO will work with social workers and partners to secure positive outcomes. The post requires a Full UK Driving Licence and a commitment to safeguarding and immigration compliance.

Qualifications

• Experience in supporting vulnerable children/adults to access and sustain suitable accommodation.
• Knowledge of care legislation such as the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023.
• Experience delivering sensitive information and challenging behaviours.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of Kent Supported Homes Hosts to meet user needs.
• Develop knowledge of resources to support providers in meeting user needs.
• Coordinate with Social Workers, Advisers and providers to define host outcomes.

Skills

Trauma-informed approach

Stakeholder liaison

Staff supervision

Job description

Senior Accommodation Officer

Role Responsibility

Senior Accommodation Officer - (KSG)

An excellent opportunity has arisen within Kent Supported Homes supported lodgings service, for a resolute and passionate individual to join the Accommodation Team within KCC 18+ Care Leavers Service as Senior Accommodation Officer (SAO). This post will be based in Kroner House, Ashford and will have the primary focus of supporting Host families who offer a home and support for a number of young people transitioning from residential care to semi-independent living in a family environment, potentially including both citizen and separated individuals.

About the role:

• Manage a caseload of Kent Supported Homes Hosts to meet service users assessed eligible needs.
• Develop and maintain an extensive knowledge of available resources to support providers in meeting the needs of the service users.
• Support integrated working with Social Workers, Personal Advisers and a range of providers to identify the required outcomes of each placement that the host must meet.
• Deliver training to Hosts where needs be to ensure they have sufficient skills required for effective support.
• Provide challenge to hosts where compliance is not met, and ensure standards are upheld.
• Respond to emergency planning issues and ensure continuity arrangements are effective.
• Work closely with hosts to monitor, review and improve service delivery and ensure quality and outcome improvements are made in line with The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023.
• Support the Personal Adviser or Social Worker for each service user to ensure the correct Housing Related support is accessed, including financial (e.g. benefits) and other (e.g. independence resources / floating support etc).
• Chair Stability Meetings.
• Travel countywide and out of county, when required.
• Remain flexible to service and service user needs across all areas of service delivery.
• Present as a positive and supportive representative of KCC in internal and external information sessions.
• Record and track outcomes and progress through the Step Across to Kent Supported Homes scheme, ensuring strong data capture and feedback to management as required.
• Working alongside all other Accommodation Team colleagues to ensure strong transitional pathways between forms of accommodation for supported young people.
• Supervision of Accommodation Officers within the KSH team.

About you:

• Ideally experienced in the field of supporting vulnerable children/adults to access and sustain suitable accommodation, ideally within a supported / family environment.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation in the care and support of children and young people including the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023
• Experienced in delivery of sensitive information and challenging problematic behaviours.
• Keen to provide excellent support to those who directly support vulnerable children and young people.
• Take a firm and supportive trauma-informed approach which focus on amplifying the young person's voice and ensuring that this is heard within the context of their support.
• Robust and comprehensive planning approaches, with regular review and maintaining a focus on positive outcomes for the young person in their move towards independence.
• Innovative thinking and keen ability to adapt to new challenges and use learning to improve systems for support and recording.

This role is subject to holding a Full UK Driving Licence - The Council is committed to making reasonable adjustments so whilst this job requires the job holder to drive your application will still be considered if you are unable to drive due to a disability.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Application to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Our Offer:

• 29 days annual leave (plus bank holidays increasing after 5 years' service
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Flexible working that supports your work life balance, working both from home and the office.
• Access to Kent Rewards, offering local and national discounts and other employee benefits.
• On the job training and regular supervision with your line manager.

Interview Date - Friday 16th October & Monday 19th October

Interview Venue - Kroner House, Ashford

If you would like an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact the Accommodation Team Manager via [e-mail]

Contact Details

For further information please contact [e-mail]

About the Company

Work that works for you and us - let's talk flexibility!

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note - if you are interested, please apply soon as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.