Housing Coordinator

Rate: £27.10 per hour Umbrella

Term: 3 months

Hours per week: 35

Location: Hybrid - will be office based 1 day per week

**What you'll work on**

We are looking for 5 Housing Coordinators to provide quality casework and move on opportunities to households in B&B to support the reduction of B&B and temporary accommodation.

1. Provide a quality service of housing options, advice and homeless prevention casework to fulfil the authority’s statutory function to prevent homelessness in accordance with Housing Act 1996 (as amended in 2002, 2011, 2016)

3. Use all available homelessness prevention tools to sustain tenancies or secure suitable, affordable accommodation is available to those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness

4. Provide a comprehensive statutory service of advice and assistance to all non-priority homeless cases including rough sleepers in accordance with s.192 Housing Act 1996.

5. Promote Council’s website as a knowledge base and the online customer portal

**What you'll achieve**

1.Effectively work with an array of prevention tools e.g Homefinders Scheme, Discretionary Hardship Payments and court representation to prevent homelessness, wherever possible, or to facilitate a move into suitable, affordable accommodation.

2.Accurately and robustly process housing and homelessness approaches within agreed timescales, adhering to relevant policies, procedures, legislation case law and guidance.

3.Arrange and undertake home visits where appropriate to confirm homelessness, to inspect housing standards / conditions or to verify a household’s circumstances

4.Liaise with the Market Management Team to secure accommodation where a housing duty is owed. To recommend access for households to the councils rent deposit scheme (Homefinders). Ensure the prompt cancellation of temporary accommodation when there is no longer a duty.

5.Competently interpret and explain clearly complex legal matters to tenants, landlords and other interested parties. To have a detailed understanding of security of tenure including tenancy agreements, defending possession proceedings, harassment, illegal eviction, disrepair issues and tenancy sustainment.

7.Provide a clear and accurate response within corporate timescales to legal challenges, MP and councillors enquiries, complaints, phone and written enquiries including complex correspondence to the Housing Advisory Service.

8.Work in partnership with other partners including Gateway Services, Assessment Services, Revenues and Benefits, supporting people internal and external organisations to identify and make referrals to specialist initiatives to prevent homelessness ie rent deposit/bond schemes SMURDS.

9.Identify and liaise with other agencies in relation to special need cases, ie hospital discharge, care leavers mental health issues requiring referral to special needs panel MHAP MHP identifying pathway plans.

10.Be fully conversant with welfare benefit entitlements including Housing benefit regulations, Discretionary housing payments, Local Housing allowance.

11.Work in partnership with Estate management in relation to Estate regeneration initiatives ensuring adequate procedures for assessing Estate regeneration are in place.

12.Comply with the regulations governing S198 referrals. Cautions under S214.Housing Act 1996/2002 and S202 reviews and appeals

13.Any other duties reasonably requested by management

14.Carry out all accountabilities in compliance with the Council’s Policies and Procedures

**Who we're looking for**

1. As a regular and intrinsic part of this role requires you to speak to members of the public in English, the ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential and consistent with the requirements of this role. This role also requires you to be polite and courteous when conversing with the public.

2. Experience of effectively preventing homelessness

4. Ability to effectively manage a caseload whilst ensuring effective planning, prioritisation, case recording and communication with customers

5. Experience of front-line contact with the public and communicating complex information in a clear and tactful manner while ensuring high levels of customer service

6. Ability to deal with complex, difficult or contentious enquiries or complaints

7. Experience of working as part of a team, and on own initiative with mínimal supervision

8. Experience of negotiating effectively, and working in partnership with other departments, external agencies to achieve corporate goals.

9. Ability to effectively resolve problems

10. Good computer skills and the ability to use and navigate IT databases input, retrieve, store and effectively manage information.

**Equal Opportunities**

Business Smart Solutions are a Recruitment Agency - We hire talented and passionate people from a variety of backgrounds because we want our global worker base to represent the wide diversity of our clients.