Temporary Accommodation Placement Officer

Wmjobs; Wolverhampton; Hybrid; GBP 31,000 - 35,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work style

Job summary

City of Wolverhampton Council is seeking a proactive Temporary Accommodation Placement Officer to support the placement of households into temporary accommodation, ensuring compliance with statutory duties and council procedures. The role requires empathy, sound judgement and the ability to make timely decisions under pressure.

You will work with housing options officers, providers and residents to coordinate placements, maintain records and respond to issues while balancing demand for limited

Qualifications

• Experience of working in housing, homelessness, temporary accommodation, allocations, customer services or another fast-paced resident-facing service.
• Understanding of homelessness services, temporary accommodation, placement processes and the importance of suitability, affordability and safeguarding.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills with residents, colleagues, providers and partner agencies.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, work accurately under pressure and maintain clear records.
• Understanding homelessness duties, equality and diversity, safeguarding, risk management and fair, lawful placement decisions.
• Practical, resilient and solution-focused, with confidence in decision-making and resolving issues.
• Commitment to supporting vulnerable households and fair allocation of temporary accommodation.

Responsibilities

• Arrange temporary accommodation placements for households who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
• Assess placement options against household needs, availability, affordability, safety and suitability.
• Coordinate bookings, move-ins and changes of placement with providers, landlords, hotels and internal teams.
• Maintain accurate placement records, monitor availability and support effective use of temporary accommodation stock.
• Respond promptly to placement issues including complaints, risks, move requests and urgent changes.

Job description

Temporary Accommodation Placement Officer

Salary - £31,015 - £34,811(Grade 5)

Hours - 37hours

Contract type - full time/part time, permanent

Work Style - Flexible: working from home with 4 days in a council location,

Are you passionate about helping households access safe, suitable and well-managed temporary accommodation at a time when they may be experiencing housing crisis? Do you have strong organisational skills, sound judgement and the ability to work quickly and sensitively with residents, colleagues and accommodation providers?

We are seeking a proactive and organised Temporary Accommodation Placement Officer to join our Homelessness and Accommodation Pathways service. This is a key role supporting the effective placement of households into temporary accommodation, ensuring decisions are made in line with statutory duties, suitability requirements and Council procedures.

About the Role

As a Temporary Accommodation Placement Officer, you will work closely with housing options officers, accommodation providers, support services and residents to arrange temporary accommodation placements. You will help ensure that available accommodation is used effectively, placements are appropriate to household need, and records are accurate and up to date.

Arranging temporary accommodation placements for households who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Assessing placement options against household needs, availability, affordability, safety and suitability considerations.

Working with accommodation providers, landlords, hotels and internal teams to coordinate bookings, move-ins and changes of placement.

Maintaining accurate placement records, monitoring availability and supporting effective use of temporary accommodation stock.

Responding promptly to placement issues, including complaints, risks, move requests and urgent changes in household circumstances.

The role will involve regular contact with households who may be experiencing distress, uncertainty or complex personal circumstances. You will need to be calm, empathetic and confident, with the ability to make timely decisions, explain placement arrangements clearly and balance individual need with the effective management of limited accommodation resources.

About You

We are looking for someone who can bring:

Experience of working in housing, homelessness, temporary accommodation, allocations, customer services or another fast-paced resident-facing service.

A good understandingof homelessness services, temporary accommodation, placement processes and the importance of suitability, affordability and safeguarding considerations.

Strong communication and problem-solving skills, with the ability to work constructively with residents, colleagues, accommodation providers and partner agencies.

The ability to manage competing priorities, work accurately under pressure and maintain clear records in line with service procedures.

An understandingof homelessness duties, equality and diversity, safeguarding, risk management and the need to make fair, lawful and transparent placement decisions.

A practical, resilient and solution-focused approach, with confidence in making decisions, resolving issues and working as part of a busy operational service.

A commitmentto supporting vulnerable households, improving resident experience and ensuring temporary accommodation is allocated fairly and effectively.

At City of Wolverhampton Council, we are committed to preventing homelessness, improving housing outcomes and ensuring residents are treated with dignity and respect. You will join a busy, supportive and ambitious service where your work will make a direct difference to households in housing need.

This role is central to ensuring that households are placed into temporary accommodation safely, efficiently and appropriately, while supporting the Council to make best use of available accommodation and reduce unnecessary disruption for residents.

Our working arrangements

All council roles are allocated to either a fixed, field or flexible work style. Some roles are agile which enable and empower employees to maximise their performance and productivity, whilst maintaining a healthy work life balance. Roles with a fixed workstyle work in a fixed permanent council location. Roles with a field workstyle are usually allocated where employees are required to be out working in the community with a minimum requirement for 'touch down' space at any council location. Roles with a flexible workstyle have a flexible base location to meet the needs of the business and employees can work from a mixture of home or any council office, partner/client, or external location, as required to meet service requirements.

Please refer to the Job Description for further information on the workstyle assigned to the role you are applying for.

For more information about working for our organisation including the culture of the Council, the Council plan and vision, staff equality forums, core HR policies, employee benefits and much more please click here.

Diversity

We arecommittedto building a workforce that is reflective of the diverse community we serve. We want to attract the best applications from people of all backgrounds and underrepresented groups because we strongly believe in adding value through diversity, inclusion, and equality. Our employees enable us to deliver services that are accessible, inclusive, and reflective of Wolverhampton residents.

Our status as a Disability Confident Employer showcases our commitment to people with disabilities or health conditions, advocating for their opportunities and potential.

We've received the Stonewall Gold Award, emphasising our dedication to the LGBT+ community by nurturing an inspiring, inclusive, and equal workplace.

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the essential criteria for the post.

We encourage, inspire and value an inclusive culture here at the council where employees can flourish, thrive and be themselves. We have four staff equality forums for employees to join. These help to ensure our employees have a voice, they feel empowered to speak up and where everyone is treated with respect - Learn more here

Recruitment of Ex-Offenders

We arecommittedto the fair treatment of all our employees, potential employees, or users of our service regardless of offending background. The Council uses the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for any vacancies that require a DBS check to obtain information about applicants to assess their suitability for employment in positions of trust. We do not discriminate unfairly against any individualon the basis of a conviction or any other information revealed as a result of a DBS disclosure - Learn more here

Employment Information & Support

If you are considering applying for an apprenticeship or a role where the salary is (Grade 2-5), and would like to visit us to learn about the application, interview process and what it is like to work for the council, please click on this link to find out more -Learn more here

Attached documents

Job description and Person Specification