Housing Options Officer

We are currently recruiting for Housing Options Officer on permanent contracts.

As a Housing Options Officers, you will be required to provide specialist housing solutions casework and advice for persons with housing needs to include, but not exclusively, the following: –

Options to prevent homelessness – partnership and joint working with other specialist agencies e.g. young person’s joint assessments, children and adult services, voluntary housing support organisations and advocacy and mediation.

Homeless applications and the issuing of decisions – to assist the Housing Options Team Leader in promoting joint working and partnerships with housing providers, including Registered Social and Private Sector landlords, to increase the availability and quality of settled accommodation.

To provide a customer focused, pro-active service to help residents secure their housing choices.

Please state on your application if you are applying for the permanent or 1 year fixed term contract position.

In return we offer you:

• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Generous local government pension scheme package
• Access to wider training and development qualifications
• Flexible working scheme
• Travel plan discounts
• Car Benefit Scheme from Tusker
• Access to CAREFIRST advice & counselling service
• Employee discount scheme for national and local retailers
• The Government has introduced new ways of supporting parents with childcare costs. Further details are available here: – https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

Our organisation:

Medway is a unitary authority in the South East of England, made up of the towns of Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham and more rural areas, including the Hoo Peninsula.

Situated in Kent in the South-East of England, the area has plenty of green spaces, excellent facilities and easy access to the national motorway and rail networks, facilitating superb transport links to London.

We provide all local Government services for a quarter of a million people, looking after education, environment, social care, housing, planning, business and much more – everything from frontline services such as rubbish collection and events like the Dickens Festival to work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure services in Medway run smoothly and cost effectively.

Working at Medway Council means that you get to be part of this journey working alongside talented, professional colleagues to drive forward change to transform the lives of our residents and the communities they live in.

If you would like to have an informal discussion with the recruiting manager, please call Tracy Partridge on 01634 333514

Important Information-

Applicants must be able to demonstrate all essential requirements as listed in the job profile.

Equal Opportunities Commitment Statement

Medway Council is committed to creating an inclusive work environment with a diverse workforce. All appropriately qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, disability, marital status, family commitments, sexual orientation, age, HIV status, religious or political beliefs, social class or trade union activity or irrelevant spent conviction.

For further information please refer to the Medway information pack available as a download or to view online

Please be advised that if you are not contacted within 3 weeks of the advert closing date then you have not been shortlisted.  All recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email.

Please visit http://www.mindfulemployer.net/ for information on how Medway Council put good practices in place to ensure employees and job applicants who declare mental health issues receive the right level of support.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy at any time prior to the closing date.

How to apply

Please be advised that we only accept online applications submitted through JobsGoPublic ATS

If you are not contacted within 3 weeks of the advert closing date then you have not been shortlisted.

All recruitment correspondence, including interview letters and contracts of employment will usually be sent out via email, if you require documentation/correspondence in different format such as braille or large print, please contact the Resourcing Team on 01634 332878.