Team: HSL - Early Intervention and Prevention 

Job Family: Advising CBG9 & CBG10
Salary: Career Grade starting at CBG9 £30,516 – £33,182 per annum pro rata moving subject to assessment/accreditation CBG10 - £34,067 - £35,611 per annum pro rata
Hours:  37 hours per week

Location: Working from home and any CBC offices, including Priory House, Shefford. You will be expected to attend a CBC office location on a monthly basis, and as needed to carry out your role

Contract Type: Hybrid - Permanent
Closing Date: 24th September 2023
Interview Date: Week Commencing 9th October 2023

About Us

Central Bedfordshire is an ambitious authority, determined to be an exemplary one. Our strategic location and high quality of life mean we are one of the fastest growing areas in the country.

As a council we face the same challenges every business does - investing in the right places and delivering great results. Except for us, it’s all about our 289,000 residents. We’re totally focussed on helping to improve their lives and making Central Bedfordshire a great place to live and work.

We have set values and principles to represent the way we work and how we operate as an organisation. You can view a list of these in detail on our website.

This is a great time to join us on our journey.

More about the role:

Our Housing Solutions Service are looking for an experienced and ambitious Homeless Intervention Officer to join our award nominated and innovative Homelessness Intervention Team as a full-time member of staff to provide an innovative and person-centred service aimed at alleviating and preventing homelessness.

To be successful in this role, you will be a passionate and self-motivated person with empathy and understanding to build relationships with customers facing homelessness. You will require experience of working in a challenging front line homelessness service with the ability to remain calm under pressure while delivering the highest levels of customer service. You will have experience of problem solving and working with a diverse clientele within a housing environment.

Reporting to the Senior Homeless Intervention Officer, you will possess excellent negotiating skills and the ability to communicate effectively with customers and other stakeholders. You must have an experience of carrying out assessments of the housing and support needs of vulnerable clientele to determine the statutory duties they are owed, with the ability to make detailed investigations and issue decisions in accordance with the provisions of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, Housing Act 1996 (as amended), Equality Act 2010, Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation)(England) Order 2012) and all other relevant legislation.

Working in a fast-paced and pressurised environment, you will be an effective team player, have good organisational skills with the ability to meet deadlines. You will require the ability to use different IT systems to manage caseloads, monitor delivery of targets and drive improved service.

Your core duties will include but not be limited to:

• Conduct a full assessment of all eligible applicants who present as homeless or threatened with homelessness and issue notification letters in accordance with the legislation.
• Work collaboratively with applicants to draw up an agreed personalised housing plans and continually review the plan by updating the advice and support provided to the applicants.
• Assist in delivering a comprehensive and proactive homelessness prevention and advice service.
• Liaising with friends and family, landlords, letting agents, General Practitioners, Health Care workers, internal and external partners in the process of preventing or relieving homelessness and determining duties owed to applicants.
• Taking all reasonable steps to relieve homelessness irrespective of priority need.
• Conducting assessment interviews at Council offices and making home visits to homeless applicants.
• Apply and implement homelessness laws and the code of guidance, including the Housing Act 1996, the Homelessness Act 2002, the Homeless Reduction Act 2017 and other relevant guidance and legislation whilst carrying out assessments of applicants’ housing and support needs.
• Explain the full range of housing solutions available to customers to help prevent or relieve homelessness as well as mediate to help resolve potentially homeless cases irrespective of tenure (excluding fear of violence).
• Ensure full and accurate recordings of client’s details, all advice and support provided and maintain accurate written and computer records, reports and other monitoring information as required, in connection with the various duties and case management and in line with relevant policies and procedures.
• To manage client’s expectations advising as to potential housing solutions including private rented and hostel accommodation and as to the lower supply of social housing compared to demand. To undertake a holistic assessment of current housing issues and seek out appropriate solutions where possible at an early stage to prevent homelessness and where possible prevent the use of interim accommodation by preventing homelessness.
• You may need to make referrals to the Mental Health or other relevant professional panels and to attend or participate in case conferences as requested.
• To keep up to date with relevant case law particularly in respect of the tests of vulnerability and priority need and with reference to responsibilities under the Equality Act and Care Acts.
• To identify and refer cases to the homeless outreach workers / services, e.g those with a history of rough sleeping or complex needs where resettlement is needed to enable rehousing by social or other housing providers.
• You will be working closely with the temporary accommodation team to support the client with rehoming to permanent accommodation.
• You will provide information to clients on the operation of the Council’s Housing Register, advice on a household’s position on the register, extending areas of choice and prospects of assistance with housing and update systems as necessary. You will be required to complete assessments on suitable accommodation for applicants for temporary or long-term accommodation to end the homeless duty.

What we can offer you 

As well as joining a friendly, dedicated, and hardworking team you will have access to numerous benefits, including:

• A hybrid working arrangement giving you the option to work from home and access any CBC office location. We recognise and value the importance of supporting our employees to balance their home and work life and to be able to work in the most efficient way.
• A £250 one-off hybrid worker payment to help you adapt your home for safe and suitable working conditions
• A comprehensive IT package to support you to work safely and effectively
• The ability to work abroad for up to a month a year
• Generous family friendly policies and practices
• A welcoming and inclusive environment that empowers differences
• Friendly and supportive staff networks
• Annual leave allowance 25 days + statutory holidays rising to 32 days with length of service.
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). This is a valuable part of our rewards package for employees and includes Life Assurance. You can find out more on the Bedfordshire Pension Fund website.
• An exceptional Employee Assistance Programme which helps support employees with workplace changes as well as other work, family and personal issues
• A huge variety of courses and role-specific training and learning to help you succeed and develop
• Access to discounts on top UK retailers and local retailers

Central Bedfordshire Council has its own vision and values that are integral to everything we do. Our area vision is to make Central Bedfordshire 'A great place to live and work’.

Sustainability matters to us. We aim to lead by example in tackling climate change. Read more about the action we’re taking on our website: Climate change – tackling it and our strategy

Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer.  We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process.

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You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies detailed within this Recruitment Pack

For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Farhana Chaudhury on Farhana.Chaudhury2@centralbedfirdshire.gov.uk or 0300 300 8205, or contact Tiana Brown on Tiana.Brown@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or 0300 300 5540

For queries related to the recruitment of this vacancy, please contact: The Recruitment Team at recruitment@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk  

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Central Bedfordshire Council is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to improving the diversity of our workforce to better reflect the communities we serve.  Therefore we welcome applications from everyone. In addition we are a  Disability Confident employer, we are working to become a Disability Confident leader in our community.

To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.

If you require assistance to apply for our roles, help with writing your CV, interview techniques or careers advice please contact our team of careers advisors at ncs@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk Our service is confidential, impartial and free for all.