Housing Solutions Officer

Milton Keynes City Council; United States; Hybrid; USD 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Great holiday benefits

Excellent pension

Family friendly policies

Employee benefits programme

Salary sacrifice car scheme

Blue Light Card

Job summary

Milton Keynes City Council is seeking an experienced Housing Solutions Officer to join the Housing Solutions Service at Milton Keynes University Hospital. You will provide specialist homelessness support, conduct assessments, and develop housing solutions for individuals facing housing crises, working within a multi-agency hospital environment.

You will apply homelessness legislation, manage complex cases, and make legally robust decisions while maintaining a visible on-site presence.

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of homelessness legislation and statutory duties.
• Experience completing Personal Housing Plans and case reviews.
• Ability to apply safeguarding and trauma-informed practice in day-to-day work.

Responsibilities

• Complete homelessness assessments and determine statutory duties.
• Manage a complex caseload of homelessness prevention and relief cases.
• Develop and review Personal Housing Plans with customers.
• Make legally robust decisions under homelessness legislation.
• Work with hospital colleagues and partner agencies to prevent homelessness.
• Undertake face-to-face assessments within the hospital setting.
• Identify risks and make safeguarding referrals where appropriate.
• Mentor less experienced colleagues through case reviews and sharing best practice.
• Represent the Housing Solutions Service at multi-agency meetings.

Skills

Homelessness legislation

Safeguarding

Trauma-informed practice

Personal Housing Plans

Case management

Communication skills

Negotiation skills

Multi-agency collaboration

Decision making

Professional judgement

Job description

We're looking for an experienced Housing Solutions Officer to join our Housing Solutions Service, providing specialist homelessness support from Milton Keynes University Hospital. This is a rewarding role where you'll help prevent homelessness at some of the most critical points in people's lives. Working alongside health and social care professionals, you'll provide expert advice, complete homelessness assessments and develop housing solutions for people facing housing crises. This is a specialist statutory homelessness position. We are looking for someone with direct experience of homelessness casework who can confidently apply legislation, manage complex cases independently and make legally robust decisions. As the dedicated Housing Solutions Officer based within the hospital, you'll represent Milton Keynes City Council in a multi-agency environment, working closely with hospital teams to achieve positive outcomes for residents. The role profile requires experience managing homelessness prevention and relief work, completing Personal Housing Plans and making statutory decisions under relevant housing legislation. Working arrangements This is a hospital-based role located at Milton Keynes University Hospital. You'll be required to maintain a visible on-site presence, undertake face-to-face assessments and attend multi-agency meetings within the hospital. We support flexible working, including some home working where service needs allow. However, due to the nature of this position, home working opportunities may be more limited than in some other Housing Solutions roles., At Milton Keynes City Council, we aim to make a difference every day. We're dedicated, respectful and collaborative. We act as one council, and we work hard to create cleaner, safer and healthier communities while tackling inequalities and supporting people to thrive.

• Complete homelessness assessments and determine statutory duties.
• Manage a complex caseload of homelessness prevention and relief cases.
• Develop and review Personal Housing Plans with customers.
• Make legally sound decisions in line with homelessness legislation.
• Work closely with hospital colleagues and partner agencies to prevent homelessness.
• Undertake face-to-face assessments within the hospital setting.
• Identify risks and make safeguarding referrals where appropriate.
• Support and mentor less experienced colleagues through case reviews and sharing good practice.
• Represent the Housing Solutions Service at multi-agency meetings.
• Help improve service delivery and contribute to best practice across the team. Successful candidates for this role must be able to demonstrate a strong working knowledge of homelessness legislation, statutory duties, housing rights, safeguarding and trauma-informed practice, together with the ability to apply this knowledge confidently in day-to-day casework.
• Strong knowledge of homelessness legislation, housing rights, safeguarding and housing options, with the ability to apply this confidently in practice.
• A proven track record of completing homelessness assessments, delivering prevention and relief duties, and developing effective Personal Housing Plans.
• The ability to manage complex cases, assess risk and make legally robust decisions using sound professional judgement.
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills, with the confidence to represent the service in multi-agency settings and build positive professional relationships.
• A collaborative approach, sharing knowledge with colleagues, supporting professional development and contributing to service improvement.
• A commitment to delivering person-centred, trauma-informed support and providing a visible on-site presence within Milton Keynes University Hospital.

As part of the pre-employment checks, should you be offered the role, we'll carry out an Basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live. We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and lived experiences. Milton Keynes City Council is committed to building an inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity of our community. We actively encourage applications from candidates who bring a range of perspectives, particularly those from underrepresented groups. We are proud to have signed up to the Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard (SC-WRES), a continuous improvement programme designed to help social care organisations achieve anti-racist workplaces. Our commitment means we are actively working to identify and address inequalities, improve representation in leadership, and ensure fair treatment and opportunity for all colleagues in Adult Services. [skillsforcare.org.uk] We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it's time for a new role.

• Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28 days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32 days after five years. In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.
• Excellent pension - everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.
• A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support and a childcare subsidy.
• Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.
• Salary sacrifice car scheme - eligible employees can lease an electric or low-emission vehicle at a reduced cost through salary sacrifice, subject to National Minimum Wage and other eligibility requirements.
• Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.

Why join us? Along with more on our Benefits, discover why Working at the City Council could be the right move for you here Working at the Council | Milton Keynes Our roles are either designated 'site based' or 'home based'. 'Site based' roles can include up to two days a week working from home whilst 'home based' roles are based at home four days a week. Of course, managers designate which category roles are in based on the needs of the service and the circumstances.