Resettlement & Migration Team - Housing Officer

About us

In Tower Hamlets we are committed to building relationships and strengthening families by working with people in a compassionate and understanding way. ​We are ambitious for Tower Hamlets children and families and endeavour for every child and young person to be healthy, safe, and successful.

Tower Hamlets is a progressive, ambitious, and diverse place to work. We place children and families at the heart of everything that we do and are relentless in our pursuit of positive outcomes for all.

Our Better Together Practice Framework is based on the ideas and concepts which underpin Restorative Practice and draws from other strength-based approaches, such as Systemic and Trauma Informed Practice.

Our C-Change approach: Connect, Curious, Community, Co-Produce, Collaborate, Check, sets out “6 Cs” for our work with children, young people their parents and carers, and each other.

About the role

Over the last two years we have seen over 3000 asylum seekers and refugees move into the borough. The team created to support these sanctuary seekers is called the Resettlement & Migration team (RMT), we are looking to recruit a Housing Officer to join the team.

The team offer wrap around support to all sanctuary seekers in Tower Hamlets including Ukrainian and Afghan refugees and asylum seekers and receive government grants to do so. The Resettlement & Migration Team lead by example, challenging discrimination, racism and inequality through an inclusive, informed and empowering approach for all residents. This role will serve those who are at risk of homelessness, looking to reduce rough sleeping and ending destitution. The role will aid the integration of sanctuary seekers, build social cohesion in our communities and share best practice with other local authorities.

The Housing Officer will be required:

1. To work with and support refugees and those with potential refugee status living in Home Office accommodation, sponsorship placements or making their own arrangements.

2. To work with NASS providers such as Clearsprings and their subcontractors.

3. Welcome Afghan refugees to LAHF properties procured by the LA

4. To arrange, host and manage events and workshops with sanctuary seekers. Facilitate and deliver the workshop so that they can understand their housing options, utilising internal and external stakeholders to assist in delivering relevant information.

5. Produce information sheets and guidance document that can be shared with the community.

6. To support sanctuary seekers to source independent sustainable accommodation in or out of the borough and make referrals to homeless options that the LA have a duty to support.

7. Supporting the Resettlement & Migration team to achieve their integration objectives.

The role will be office and community based at the Town Hall in Whitechapel, Children and Family Centres or at NASS accommodation. The role is for a fixed term contract for 12 months.

About you

· You will have the ability to deliver homelessness prevention and housing option solutions with these being tailored to diverse communities and differing customer needs

· The ability to work across boundaries in partnership with all housing sectors and partner agencies.

· The ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing to an excellent standard, giving advice and information sensitively and persuasively.

· The ability to negotiate both with homeless people and on their behalf to broker housing solutions.

· Excellent IT skills, with the ability to use a range of databases and MS Word and EXCEL to produce a wide range of letters and documents and MS Outlook to process the full range of email and diary functions.

· To have an understanding of welfare benefits and have a level of numeracy sufficient to give basic money and housing advice using available tools

Requirements

For further information regarding the role, please contact Nicola Mutale, Asylum Seeker & Refugee Coordinator: nicola.mutale@towerhamlets.gov.uk

How to apply

This post is open to candidates to apply directly – No referrals from agencies will be accepted.

Please fully complete the online application form via our recruitment portal Alvius. We will not consider applications which do not do this.

Interviews will take place on 11th, 12th and 13th August 2025. Please hold these dates.

Additional Details

Tower Hamlets vision for our borough is that: people are aspirational, independent and have equal access to opportunities; we are a borough that our residents are proud of and love to live in; and we are a dynamic, outcomes-based council using digital innovation and partnership working to respond to the changing needs of our borough. We want people who aspire to our TOWER values: Together; Open; Willing; Excellent; Respect.

Tower Hamlets has a zero-tolerance approach to, and works to eradicate, all forms of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital status, status as a civil partner, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and maternity and looks to employ a diverse workforce representative of those groups. We recognise that people can also be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class.

We are a Disability Confident Employer, which means applicants who declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the post are guaranteed an interview. Care experience has also been adopted by the Council as an additional protected characteristic.

We welcome applicants interested in flexible working arrangements and also applicants who live in the borough.