Homelessness Prevention Adviser L3Z1

3 months contract with a Local Authority

Job Summary:

• To provide tailored advice to customers approaching the Housing Options and Advice Service on a range of options and opportunities including housing training & employment wellbeing welfare benefits and debt.
  
• To provide specialist advice and casework service to a range of residents including homeless households households who are threatened with homeless households in insecure accommodation young people and families within families.
  
• To work jointly with the Housing Assessment and Allocation Services to maximise homelessness prevention and the take up of a range of effective solutions to meet housing needs.
  
• To work with the Private Sector Initiatives Team to plan the delivery of a broad range of housing options which meet the needs of homeless households and others in housing need.
  

Key Duties/Accountabilities (Sample):

• To provide tailored advice on housing options training & employment wellbeing & welfare benefits/money management to customers threatened with homelessness or who are living in private rent accommodation or other settled nonsocial housing.#
  
• To respond effectively to prevent homelessness through advice negotiation mediation or conciliation or by securing immediate access to alternative accommodation and generally promoting a housing options approach to service delivery to a full range of customers.
  
• To be responsible for managing a caseload maintaining accurate detailed casework records identifying priorities and meeting individual and service performance targets.
  
• To maintain and develop extensive and specialist knowledge of housing options homelessness law and practice and related fields including housing benefit and welfare rights.
  
• To deliver advice from dropin service and attend advice and options surgeries and outreach sessions as required and to visit people at home who are threatened with homelessness as necessary.
  
• To liaise proactively with the Private Sector Initiatives Team to match customers to available housing opportunities and to plan the development and delivery of a range of housing options that meet customer needs and where required to actively procure properties for tenants and clients in housing need to prevent homelessness.
  
• To keep abreast of all housing legislation and local and national policy and practice relating to private sector occupation homelessness prevention and housing options reporting on trends and new initiatives and making recommendations for change to policy and/or practice.
  
• To ensure the effective referral of all customers to partner service providers including to the Homelessness Assessment and Support Teams where homelessness cannot be prevented and the household wishes to pursue an application under Part VII Homelessness Act 1996 (as amended) and to make recommendations regarding the award of additional preference points under the allocations scheme.
  
• To assist households with a Part VI selfassessment application and to help those customers or who need support to bid for permanent Council or Housing Association properties referring them where appropriate to the Transitional Registration Team or the Permanent Allocations Team.
  
• To prepare information materials and consultation or response documents to support case work and policy work including the preparation for presentation of court documents tribunal submissions and other detailed legal case work and to represent customers as appropriate.
  
• To ensure that the information supplied by customers is immediately entered onto service databases to ensure that customer records are accurate up to date and available to staff within the Housing Needs Group and other partner services for the purposes of performance monitoring and joint service delivery.
  
• To draft responses to enquiries from customers MPs and elected members as required. To contribute to the production of information leaflets/rights guides and publicity related to private sector housing homelessness and housing options for use by customers and partner services.
  
• To ensure that personal & service outcomes and targets are met on time.
  
• To develop constructive working relationships with internal and external partners providers and stakeholders including.
  
• Councillors and MPs all managers and staff within the Housing Needs and Temporary and Supported Housing Groups Promoting Independence Group Housing Management Housing Personnel Business Support Unit Housing and Council Tax Benefits Environmental Health Legal Department Children s and Adult Services Planning Department all other staff and managers within the Council.
  
• Camden Homelessness Forum Rent Officer Service Camden PCT Probation Drug and Alcohol Services Camden Law Centre Benefit Agency CABx Camden Federation of Tenants Voluntary Action Victim Support and other voluntary sector agencies.
  
• Customers landlords property agents supported housing providers housing associations day centres solicitors.
  
• To attend all relevant stakeholder forums case conferences and joint working groups as required.
  

Skills/Experience:

• Good knowledge of homelessness prevention and the public and private sector options available to people in housing need.
  
• Good knowledge the issues affecting homeless or households threatened with homelessness and the range of policy initiatives to address these.
  
• Good knowledge of housing options opportunities training & employment wellbeing welfare benefits and debt.
  
• Good working knowledge of immigration and related social welfare legislation and benefit regulations.
  
• Ability to apply negotiation tools and mediation to promote options and opportunities
  
• Ability to engage people who may be vulnerable disadvantaged or disillusioned in mature conversations about needs aspirations and life goals
  
• Ability to maintain detailed case records recognise service priorities and meet deadlines.
  
• Ability and commitment to respond effectively to emergencies to achieve positive solutions.
  
• Ability to work successfully with partner services to refer customers effectively and to develop and maintain effective joint working partnerships with a range of service providers.
  
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team to think creatively and solve problems to meet performance targets and to take responsibility and achieve desired service outcomes.
  
• Excellent interpersonal written and verbal communication skills.
  
• Ability to provide firstrate customer care and achieve customer satisfaction and ensure that good value outcomes are achieved
  
• Ability and willingness to undertake home visits and site inspections if required.
  
• Ability to apply for the Camden Ways of Working in all duties and relationships with colleagues customers and other parties.
  
• Experience of working in a service within a pressurised and highprofile environment providing a quality service.
  
• Experience of working in an advice setting.
  
• Ability to manage a varied caseload including landlord/tenant mortgage arrears welfare rights and homelessness in the public and private sector/
  

Additional Information:

• The closing date: 18/09/24 @18:00.