Homelessness Prevention Officer

1 x FTC Maternity Cover

1 x Permanent - Full Time – 37 Hours per week

Are you passionate about preventing homelessness and supporting people in finding sustainable housing solutions? Reading Borough Council is looking for a motivated, empathetic, and proactive individual to join our Housing Needs Team as a Homelessness Prevention Officer.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as a diverse and inclusive team will be key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.

About the role:
• Leading on your own caseload and work collaboratively with other partner agencies.
• You will work with members of the public to prevent them from losing their current home or to support them to secure a new one.
• The focus of the role is to prevent households from being homeless whilst working within the legal framework.
• The successful candidate will have the ability to negotiate through a variety of environments
• Will require you to have difficult conversations and deliver on realistic expectations.

Main Duties and responsibilities:
In this vital role, you’ll be working directly with residents at risk of homelessness to identify the root causes of their housing issues and support them to find lasting solutions. You’ll create and manage personalised housing plans, tailoring your approach to meet the unique needs of each customer. Whether it's negotiating with landlords, mediating family breakdowns, or identifying benefit entitlements, you’ll be there every step of the way to support people in maintaining or securing accommodation.

You’ll carry out interviews, home visits, and outreach work in a range of settings including homes, prisons, hostels, and hospitals. Using your knowledge of housing law, welfare benefits, and tenancy rights, you’ll provide timely, accurate advice and support to help people navigate complex and often urgent situations. Where homelessness cannot be prevented, you’ll be responsible for making statutory decisions in line with Part VII of the Housing Act 1996, managing casework to ensure compliance with legislation and best practice.

Collaboration is key in this role. You’ll work closely with internal departments, health services, social care, and local charities to safeguard vulnerable individuals and secure positive outcomes. You’ll also contribute to service development, support new team members, and play a key role in driving continuous improvement within our homelessness prevention service.

About you:
We are looking for an enthusiastic and self-motivated person with excellent communication skills and experience in problem solving and partnership working, with the ability to work with local residents to ensure their community feels safe. You will need to be able to complete case records, collate evidence and write witness statements, all underpinned with excellent organisational & IT skills and the ability to manage your own workload.

You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.

Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success.

Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:
Work Together as one team - champion and inspire a culture which ensures that all employees across the organisation work together to provide excellent outcomes for Reading

Drive Efficiency - create an environment in which resources are used efficiently and employees’ skills are developed and used effectively

Be Ambitious - aspire to deliver excellence and inspire and support others to reach their potential

Make a Difference to Reading - inspire a culture in which the customer is the focus and where change is welcomed as an opportunity

Our offer
We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition is strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.

A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:
• Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
• A wide range of flexible working opportunities
• Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
• Season Ticket Loan - to help with the cost of your rail/ bus journey, to & from work
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax

For more information on this position please contact Anna Layzell – Homelessness Prevention Team Leader – anna.layzell@reading.gov.uk

Closing Date: Tuesday 24th June 2025
Interview Date: To be confirmed

Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.