Triage & Prevention Officer

London Borough of Bexley; Bexley (OH); Hybrid; USD 42,000 - 56,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Coaching & mentoring programmes

Pension scheme

Annual leave & bank holidays

Job summary

London Borough of Bexley is seeking a Triage & Prevention Officer for its Housing Service. The role involves helping residents facing housing difficulties, including those at risk of homelessness.

You will handle a varied caseload, balance priorities, and make decisions that affect residents and families, while working within council hybrid arrangements. The successful candidate will need strong communication, empathy, and decision-making skills, with the ability to work well in a team and

Qualifications

• Experience in Housing Options or homelessness services is welcome but not required.
• Transferable skills from housing, social care, welfare benefits or customer services are considered valuable.
• Ability to maintain professional boundaries while showing empathy and understanding.

Responsibilities

• Stay calm under pressure while managing a varied caseload.
• Carry out difficult conversations with residents with clarity and honesty.
• Support residents through housing crises to achieve sustainable outcomes.
• Explain decisions clearly and manage expectations professionally.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to find practical housing solutions.

Skills

Communication

Empathy

Difficult conversations

Resilience under pressure

Decision making

Organisational skills

Problem solving

Teamwork

Willingness to learn

Job description

Are you someone who can stay calm under pressure, have difficult conversations and remain focused on finding solutions for residents facing housing problems? We're looking for a Triage & Prevention Officer to join our Housing Service. This is a demanding role. You'll be working with people who may be homeless, at risk of homelessness or facing other significant challenges in their lives. You'll need to manage a varied caseload, balance competing priorities and make decisions that can have a real impact on residents and their families. While the role is demanding, it also provides the opportunity to make a real difference to residents facing housing difficulties. You'll have the opportunity to help people through a crisis, prevent homelessness and support residents to achieve sustainable housing outcomes. Empathy is essential in this role, but so is honesty. We can't always provide people with the outcome they want, and there will be times when legislation, housing availability or the facts of a case limit the options available. We're looking for people who can have open and honest conversations, explain decisions clearly, manage expectations professionally and support residents through difficult circumstances without making promises that cannot be delivered. Please note that the successful candidate will be required to work from the office in line with the council's hybrid working arrangements.

Candidate Profile

We're not just looking for direct homelessness experience. Whilst experience within Housing Options or homelessness services is welcome, we're equally interested in people with transferable skills and experience. You may come from housing, social care, welfare benefits, supported housing, customer services, mental health services, probation, the voluntary sector or any role where you've worked with vulnerable people, managed complex situations and found practical solutions. We recognise that the skills needed to succeed in this role can be gained in a variety of settings and would encourage applications from candidates with relevant transferable experience.

We're looking for people who:

• Can communicate effectively and build positive working relationships.
• Demonstrate empathy whilst maintaining professional boundaries.
• Can manage difficult conversations with confidence and professionalism.
• Are resilient and able to work effectively under pressure.
• Can make sound decisions based on the information available.
• Are organised and able to manage competing priorities.
• Have strong problem solving skills and a focus on achieving positive outcomes.
• Work well as part of a team and support colleagues when needed.
• Have a positive, can do attitude and a willingness to learn and develop.

For the full list of essential and desirable criteria for this role please refer to the Person Specification within the Job Description attached.

Interviews are scheduled to take place during the week commencing 12 October 2026.

Bexley is a vibrant and diverse outer London Borough nestled in the Thames Gateway between London and Kent which means it combines the perfect blend of city vibe and the tranquillity of Kent. It's got award-winning parks, open spaces, and heritage sites. The borough has excellent transport connections, including the Elizabeth Line and proximity to the M25. Bexley offers fantastic amenities such as libraries, leisure centres, and shopping areas. Our borough is also home to numerous primary and secondary schools, as well as further education institutions.

Our Offer to you

We will offer you in return a package that includes:

• competitive salary
• coaching and mentoring programmes
• an excellent pension scheme
• generous annual leave plus bank holidays

Recruitment Information

As a disability confident employer Bexley welcomes applications from people with all disabilities, including hidden disabilities and mental health conditions. We will interview any disabled applicant who meets the minimum criteria. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made to any part of the recruitment process due to your disability, please contact us on [e-mail].

This role may be available as a development opportunity through secondment for the Council’s existing employees. The Council’s Secondment Scheme can be found here.

We reserve the right to close adverts earlier than the closing date.