Housing Needs Team Manager – Homelessness Prevention & Solutions

Job Description

The London Borough of Harrow is seeking a proactive and experienced Housing Needs Team Manager to lead its Homelessness Prevention & Solutions service. In this role, you will oversee the delivery of a high‑quality, compassionate advice and assessment service for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, ensuring all cases are managed in line with legislation, statutory guidance and Council policies. You will drive early intervention through effective prevention work, including negotiation, mediation and advocacy, ensuring homelessness is prevented or relieved as quickly as possible. A key responsibility will be monitoring the progress of homelessness applications, meeting performance targets and reducing reliance on emergency and temporary accommodation by exploring all alternative options. Accurate and timely case recording will be essential to support performance monitoring and statutory reporting, including quarterly HCLIC returns. You will work collaboratively across the organisation to deliver service improvements, make best use of resources and achieve excellent outcomes for residents.

The successful candidate will have:

• A working knowledge of Part VI & VII of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002.
• An understanding of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
• An understanding of current issues affecting social housing and private housing provision especially in London.
• A working knowledge of legislation on lettings, homelessness, security of tenure, tenants’ rights including codes of guidance, case law and good practice.
• Knowledge of full range of housing options and effective and evidence-based homelessness prevention approaches.
• An understanding of the reasons for homelessness and the wider system of support services Customer focussed with an understanding of the need to respond holistically to the needs of vulnerable clients.
• Knowledge of the private rented sector; the council’s statutory function to protect citizens from illegal eviction; and of county court possession proceedings.
• Understanding of the needs of people undergoing housing stress.

For more information, please refer to the Role Profile/Selection Criteria

About us

Harrow Council is the 12th largest London borough and one of the most culturally diverse local authorities in the UK, making it a great place to live, work and visit with a range of cultures, religions and opinions that come together to produce high achieving schools and a close and friendly community. Located 10 miles from the city centre and just 13 minutes to Euston from Harrow & Wealdstone station there are great transport links via the Metropolitan Line, Watford DC Line and national rail service. It is easily accessible to the M1, M25 and A406.

Other information

Support for candidates visit:Harrow.gov.uk Our behavioural indicators roles below G11 and above G11 Here at Harrow Council, the vision is one of 'Working together to make a difference for Harrow' Please click here to view Harrow Council's benefits

Important Note

To deliver our commitment to equality of opportunity in service provision, all staff are expected to promote equality in the workplace and in the services the Council delivers. All sections of the population will have equal access to jobs at the London Borough of Harrow. No applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment because of age, disability, gender, reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy, or maternity unless a Genuine Occupational Qualification applies. As such, we value diversity and welcome applications from all backgrounds. For further information, please read our equality statement.

As a disability-confident employer, we are committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and accessible to everyone. This includes reasonably adjusting the recruitment process for those with disabilities or long-term health conditions. For further information, please contact us at resourcing@harrow.gov.uk

London Borough of Harrow is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Harrow operates stringent, safer recruitment procedures.

Due to the high number of applications received for some posts, we may close vacancies before the stated closing date if sufficient applications are received. Therefore, please apply as soon as possible.

Harrow redeployees will be given priority consideration.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, any your data protection rights, can be found by visiting www.cifas.org.uk/fpn