Housing Supply Officer

**Employer**
Kingston Council

**Location(s)**
Kingston

**Contract Type**
Fixed Term

**Length of Employment / Contract End Date**
11/04/25

**Working Hours**
Full Time

**Grade**
F/G

**Hours Per Week**
36

**Salary Range**
£31,440 - £39,264

**Salary Basis**
Per annum

**Leave Entitlement**
27 days

**Application Deadline**

08/09/2024, 23:55

**Anticipated Interview Date(s)**
W/c 15/9/24

**About the Borough**

This special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else - it is where the first kings of England were crowned.

Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston's riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.

Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London - with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.

Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.

We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.

Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.

**About the Role**

We're looking for a Housing Supply Officer to join our Housing Supply Team. In this role, you will be required to procure and retain private sector accommodation for the prevention of homelessness, provision of temporary accommodation or to meet any other specified need as required. In addition to this, you will be responsible for all aspects of property procurement, renewals, re-lets and handback of properties together with landlord liaison and relationship management functions.

The role focuses on (but is not limited to) the procurement and retention of properties for the Tenant Finder Service, longer term Temporary Accommodation Team (private leasing), nightly paid accommodation and Rough Sleepers Initiative. You will also be supporting the Team Leader, Private Sector Schemes and Lead Officer Accommodation Services by contributing to the overall development of the accommodation service.

A day in the life of a Housing Supply Officer consists of:

- Contacting landlords/agents to try and source available accommodation from the private sector.
- Inspecting properties to assess their suitability for our schemes.
- Supporting projects to improve the supply of homes and reduce the cost of accommodation for homeless people.
- Agreeing payment of incentives & rental amounts to landlords and other accommodation providers.
- Promote and market private sector accommodation procurement initiatives to landlords, letting agents, managed accommodation providers, portfolio landlords, developers and other partners.

We are a hybrid working organisation so the requirement to come into the office is mandatory throughout training, but afterwards, there is an expectation that you would attend the office for a minimum of 2 days per week. and then as and when required by the service.

**About Us**
The Housing Supply Team works collaboratively with other internal and external departments to achieve the best possible outcomes for our residents. You will be part of a supportive and friendly team. We work in a flexible way to meet the challenge of providing homes for those in need. You will join other Housing Supply Officers, Procurement and Compliance Officers, an Accommodation Payments Officer and the team manager.

**About You**

To be successful in this role, you will need the following:

- Excellent communication skills - Communicate clearly, confidently and appropriately with colleagues using the best methods of communication for the tas