The role
The purpose of this position is to deliver a customer centred housing allocations service. You will contribute to the successful delivery of the councils ambitious new build program aiming to deliver roughly 2000 additional new homes over the next 2 years. You will work closely with other key departments to make sure that new build schemes are successfully delivered and work to promote resident access and choice.
As a Housing Allocations Senior Officer you will have good knowledge of all areas of Housing solutions including Customer services, carrying out assessments of need and making decisions on applications. You will understand and apply housing legislation, and be able to manage competing priorities.
Key Responsibilities:
- Ensure the timely allocation of properties to applicants on the housing list, demonstrate value for money and minimise unlawful occupation
- Undertake nomination of applicants to Private Registered Providers and co- operatives in accordance with published policy
- Exercise discretion and accuracy in making direct allocations to minimise delays and meet the needs of vulnerable
- Prevent fraud by undertaking relevant investigations through day to day work and at point of offer. Undertake the monitoring of households applying for properties in accordance with published policy.
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.
Additional details
Required Skills and Experience:
You will need to show that customer satisfaction is at the heart of everything you do. The role will involve working with internal partners to ensure all residents have the opportunity to apply for the new homes. You will allocate social homes against the allocations scheme criteria. Having strong attention to detail, having a collaborative outlook, the ability to troubleshoot and find solutions, will be key in supporting the council to let available homes to residents in the most need and to time scale.
You will have the ability to follow procedures and interpret guidance to deliver on the team objectives. You will also have the ability to respond to enquiries and assess housing needs in line with the Councils’ statutory duties under Housing Act 1996 Part 6.
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
Advert Closing Date: 11th August 2024
Interview Date: TBC
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.
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
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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