The role
About Southwark:
We are the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues and social enterprises and we have a young, diverse and growing population.
At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities. Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark Stands Together, (which is our work with Southwark’s communities and the council’s staff to tackle racism, injustice and inequality) underpins all that we do.
About Southwark:
Southwark is a large, ambitious and progressive council with a ‘can do’ attitude and enviable reputation. As a Council, we are successful, passionate and forward-thinking. We are committed to our ‘Fairer Futures for All’ promise which ensures that our residents and businesses are central to everything we do. If you want to make a difference at a local level, apply to Southwark Council today.
The Role
To provide advice and assistance to customers attending the Council’s Homesearch Centre and ensure that they receive the help they require at the earliest opportunity.
To administer appointments for all services where clients require additional assistance after being provided with the right advice required.
To provide a daily telephone advice service on behalf of Housing Solutions Service for customers with housing related problems including those at risk of homelessness providing them with comprehensive advice to resolve their query or to enable them to access services, including making appointments and signposting them to other services.
To support customers to use the council’s PC Hub in reception and assist them to access a range of on-line services including the housing options self-assessment service, housing registrations, Housing Moves (London mobility scheme), HomeFinders UK, Seaside and Country Homes, House Exchange and other mutual exchange schemes.
To undertake interviews with all homelessness customers on a face to ace basis and to ensure the personalised plans and outcomes of the homelessness prevention and relief interview work is communicated to customers clearly and to support vulnerable customers to access alternative accommodation in the private rented sector, and affordable housing sector.
To assess the customers housing needs in accordance with the Homelessness Act 2017. A high percentage of customers presenting as homeless will be vulnerable and it is essential to assess the customers needs accurately in accordance with the Care Act 2014, the Children’s Act 1989 and all relevant housing legislation,
To conduct pre-assessment/filtering interviews enabling clients to access the advice and assistance suitable to them at the earliest opportunity.
To provide a face to face interviews and telephone advice service to customers seeking housing and homelessness advice, preventing homelessness, making appointments as necessary and signposting them to relevant services.
About You The successful candidate will be a dynamic individual with a proven track record in administrative roles, including knowledge of Homeless Reduction Act 2017.
Maintaining efficient records and following procedures is vital. You must be an excellent communicator with strong customer focus and attention to detail.
Additional details
We will only consider applications from internal candidates, that are current employees or agency workers on an active assignment.
We encourage any internal staff to to gain agreement from their substantive line manager if considering this is as a secondment opportunity.
Benefits and more information:
In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.
Recruitment timetable
Closing date: 15/07/2024
Interview date: 22/07/2024
Guaranteed Interview Scheme:
As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:
• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition
SWCINT
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
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