Voids Officer

Waltham Forest Council; City Of London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

London Borough of Waltham Forest is seeking a proactive Voids Officer (Downsizing & Mutual Exchange) to join our Central Voids Team on a 12-month fixed-term basis. The role supports tenants moving to downsized or mutually exchanged homes, helping navigate complex processes.

You will engage with tenants, carry out home visits, identify suitable options, and provide practical support throughout the moving journey, contributing to better housing outcomes across the borough.

Qualifications

• Experience in housing/lettings/allocations/tenancy management/voids or customer service.
• Ability to manage cases and deliver positive outcomes within tight timescales.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with diverse residents.

Responsibilities

• Identify tenants who are under-occupying and may benefit from downsizing.
• Manage caseload of downsizing and Mutual Exchange applications from enquiry to move.
• Conduct home visits and assess housing needs and requirements.
• Provide practical, personalised support through bidding, viewings and sign-ups.
• Support Mutual Exchange opportunities and register on HomeSwapper where needed.
• Process Mutual Exchange applications within statutory timescales.
• Collaborate with Allocations, Tenancy Management and Repairs teams to maximise housing mobility.
• Maintain accurate records and contribute to pilot outcomes and KPIs.
• Offer high-quality advice and customer service to residents and stakeholders.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Negotiation

Time management

Organisation

IT skills

Housing software

Microsoft Office

Education

GCSE English & Maths

Housing-related qualification

Tools

Housing management system

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job Description

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: £40,182 - £42,060

Contract Type: Fixed Term

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 15/11/2026

Proposed Interview Date(s): TBC

Reference:2396

About Us

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London's Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

About the role

We are looking for an enthusiastic and proactive Voids Officer (Downsizing & Mutual Exchange) to join our Central Voids Team on a 12-month fixed-term basis.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a new pilot programme designed to tackle under-occupation, reduce overcrowding and help make better use of the Council's housing stock. Working at the heart of our Voids Service, you will provide intensive, end-to-end support to tenants who are looking to downsize or move through Mutual Exchange, helping them navigate what can often be a complex and emotional process.

You will proactively engage with tenants, carry out home visits, identify suitable housing options and provide practical support throughout the moving journey. By helping residents move into homes that better meet their needs, you will play a key role in freeing up larger family homes, reducing reliance on temporary accommodation and improving housing outcomes for local residents.

This role is ideal for someone with a strong customer-focus, excellent organisational skills and a passion for helping residents achieve positive housing outcomes. You will work closely with colleagues across Voids, Allocations, and Tenancy Management and services to deliver ambitious targets and measurable results.

This is a fixed-term appointment for 12 months and forms part of a pilot programme focused on increasing downsizing and Mutual Exchange activity across the borough.

Key Responsibilities

• Proactively identify and engage with tenants who are under-occupying their homes and may benefit from downsizing.
• Manage a caseload of downsizing and Mutual Exchange applications from initial enquiry through to successful move completion.
• Undertake home visits and housing needs assessments to understand tenants' circumstances and housing requirements.
• Provide practical, personalised support to residents throughout the moving process, including bidding, viewings, sign-ups, removals and utility transfers.
• Support and facilitate Mutual Exchange opportunities for residents in our council stock wanting to downsize, including supporting tenants to register on HomeSwapper and identify suitable matches.
• Ensure Mutual Exchange applications are processed efficiently and within statutory timescales.
• Work closely with Allocations, Tenancy Management and Repairs teams to maximise housing mobility and minimise delays.
• Support the allocation of suitable void properties to downsizing households and help maximise use of available housing stock.
• Maintain accurate records, monitor performance data and contribute to the achievement of pilot outcomes and service KPIs.
• Provide high-quality advice, guidance and customer service to residents, partners and stakeholders.
• Contribute to reducing overcrowding, releasing larger family homes and supporting the Council's wider housing objectives.

Skills, Experience and Qualifications

• Experience of working within a housing, lettings, allocations, tenancy management, voids, housing options or customer service environment.
• Experience of managing customer cases and delivering positive outcomes within challenging timescales.
• Strong customer service skills with the ability to build trust and engage effectively with a diverse range of residents.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and influencing skills, both written and verbal.
• Experience of working with vulnerable residents and understanding the barriers they may face when moving home.
• Good organisational and time management skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and meet performance targets.
• The ability to work independently whilst also contributing positively to team objectives.
• Strong IT skills, including experience of using housing management systems and Microsoft Office applications.
• Experience of maintaining accurate records, analysing information and producing reports.
• An understanding of housing management, allocations, lettings, downsizing or Mutual Exchange processes would be advantageous.
• GCSE English and Mathematics (or equivalent) and/or relevant housing-related qualification.

Terms and conditions

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

• Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
• Satisfactory declaration of interest; As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposesof the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Siah-Mariam Akhtar: [e-mail]

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at [e-mail].

The Council's preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email [e-mail] so we can arrange an alternative application method.