Accommodation Officer

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create a workplace culture that is inclusive, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

The Housing and Homelessness Service is a very busy environment and faces several challenges to meet the housing needs of citizens of Coventry. The team have grown significantly during the last 12 months and this reflects the fact that Housing & Homelessness are now a key council priority.

The team are responsible for the delivery of the following service functions:

• Provision of the statutory homeless service

• Provision of temporary accommodation

• Management of the housing register

• Co-ordination of support to citizens rough sleeping

• Commissioning of homeless services, and

• Responsibility for housing strategy

The Council has a strategic vision that is clearly set out in both the Housing & Homelessness and the Rough Sleeping Strategies which were both approved in 2019.

By becoming part of an expanding team who are focused on preventing households from becoming homeless as well as providing tailored support and interventions when someone does become homeless this is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference to some of the most vulnerable people in our city.

As a permanent Accommodation Officer you’ll join the team at an exciting time for the housing and homeless service, in the post you’ll be responsible for the placement of homeless households into temporary accommodation, managing the provision of temporary accommodation. You will be required to support Housing Benefits claims going into payment and if no Housing Benefit is in place, charging the customer a License Fee. You will monitor payments to ensure they are in place and if not, look to resolve the issues.

The role also includes the ongoing case management of homeless households in temporary accommodation in relation to tenancy management, rent collection, and timely move-on into more permanent accommodation in order to discharge the Council’s rehousing duty.

The second post is a 2-year fixed-term Accommodation Officer for the Rapid Rehousing Scheme.

Rapid rehousing aims to match single households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, with private landlords who have properties to let in the city. This provides homeless people with a safe, suitable home.

In the post, you’ll be responsible for increasing the capacity of the private rented sector. By building links with landlords in the private rented sector you will secure accommodation and help prevent homelessness.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

For the role, you’ll need

• A positive attitude toward helping people to overcome Homelessness
• Strong negotiating skills and advocacy skills.
• Resilience and determination to achieve the right outcomes for Homeless people/families
• Willingness to learn about the relevant legislation for Housing and Homelessness
• The ability to travel around the City, a full driving licence, and access to a vehicle required
• You will be able to use your initiative, be forward thinking and solutions-led due to this being a reactive role

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

Interview date(s): 18/05/2023 First stage interview and if successful, 23/05/2023 Second stage panel interview.

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 4800 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies

It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Coventry City Council. As a prospective employee, it is important that everyone who works for us is committed to our One Coventry values and shares our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation.

Our Values are: