Housing Solutions Officer (Hospital Discharge)

Job title:

Housing Solutions Officer (Hospital Discharge)

Company

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Job description

Housing Solutions Officer (Hospital Discharge)EmployerKingston CouncilLocation(s)KingstonContract TypeFixed TermLength of Employment / Contract End Date12 months / 31 July 2025Working HoursFull TimeGradeF/GHours Per Week36Salary Range£31,440 – £39,264Salary BasisPer annumLeave Entitlement27 daysApplication Deadline19/07/2024, 23:55Anticipated Interview Date(s)1 July 2024About the BoroughThis special place in South West London between the capital and the country has been a Royal borough longer than anywhere else – it is where the first kings of England were crowned.Today it is a vibrant and diverse borough, with a long history and strong cultural and community heritage. Kingston’s riverside location, fantastic retail offer, historic market place and church, parks and gardens all make Kingston town centre the vibrant space it is, and each of our district town centres (Surbiton, New Malden, Tolworth and Chessington) have something unique to offer.Situated in Zone 6, Kingston is among the best-connected town centres in London – with direct train links from Kingston and Surbiton stations to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, as well as Wimbledon for an interchange with the London Underground and Tramlink.Kingston’s people are innovative and entrepreneurial, and have a strong sense of community pride. The borough has been home to great industry and creativity for many years, reflected in assets such as the Rose Theatre, the International Youth Arts Festival and Kingston University, which boasts more new graduate business start-ups than any other.We have seen tremendous generosity and compassion within our communities, particularly in response to COVID-19, which is a demonstration of Kingston’s key strength. The council offers a strong level of support to vulnerable groups and those who need additional support, which has also increased significantly as a result of the pandemic. Like most places, the average age of our population is rising as more people are living longer, so we are working closely with residents to help them maintain their independence and further improve the cost effectiveness of our service to meet the ongoing rise in demand.Kingston is home to people from diverse and interesting cultures and backgrounds, which helps to create the rich sense of community shared across the borough. In particular, Kingston has a large Sri Lankan Tamil community and is home to more people from Korea than any other part of the UK.About the RoleWe are seeking a motivated, dynamic, and enthusiastic Housing Options/Solutions Officer with extensive experience working with individuals who are homeless or rough sleeping.The successful candidate will proactively and collaboratively assist households who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and are being discharged from hospital. You will provide comprehensive advice to help prevent homelessness by retaining current housing when possible or securing alternative accommodation when necessary.Your responsibilities will include assessing housing needs, offering advice on housing options, and working closely with other agencies, including the discharge team in the hospital, to ensure individuals receive the necessary support.You must be compassionate and empathetic towards those in challenging housing situations and work effectively with other professionals to achieve the best outcomes for clients.About UsThis is an exciting time to be joining the Community Housing Service in Kingston. We have recently restructured all services with a renewed focus on managing our housing challenges particularly around prevention and temporary accommodation and we are seeking highly motivated and enthusiastic individuals who want to get the very best of outcomes for residents of the Borough. You will be joining a busy and hardworking team during a time of transformational change where every day offers an opportunity to make a positive difference.About YouWe are looking for a positive, adaptable and resilient individual with strong interpersonal and decision-making skills, great customer service skills and knowledge of relevant legislation and an understanding of the issues affecting homeless households. You will have:

• Knowledge of homelessness legislation, including the Homelessness Reduction Act
• Ability to understand and interpret complex case law, and to think creatively about problems and identify solutions
• Knowledge of benefits and support available to people experiencing homelessness
• Experience of working with people who are homeless
• Ability to think creatively
• Good communication & negotiation skills
• Ability to work unsupervised, prioritise workloads and achieve targets and deadlines

Our Offer To YouAs an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. We operate hybrid working, a flexible working model which allows staff to work from a variety of locations and staff are not required to work within the office 5 days a week. It enables staff to achieve a work life balance whilst still meeting the needs of the organisation.Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
• Three volunteering days per year in Kingston
• Flexible and agile working arrangements
• Comprehensive learning and development programme
• Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
• Zip car scheme
• Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
• Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
• Subsidised gym membership

Application ProcessPlease apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.We are committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) so all personal information that can identify job applicants e.g. name, title etc is completely anonymised during the shortlisting process. Our hiring managers review applications based on the knowledge, skills and experience demonstrated in your application, and how well these match the job profile. Our HR Shared Service with Sutton Council was recently recognised nationally for having the ‘Best Inclusion and Diversity Programme’ at the PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards 2023, something that we’re incredibly proud of.Hiring managers are encouraged to ensure that their interview panel is diverse, and representative of a range of protected characteristics, to help remove unconscious bias and ensure candidates are treated fairly during the selection process. Some characteristics may not be obvious, but our panels are diverse wherever possible. We have a number of measures in place to inform and support our approach, including mandatory EDI and unconscious bias training for all staff, safer recruitment training for diverse panel members, engaging with our staff networks and encouraging allyship. We are fully committed to removing barriers and enhancing the diversity of our workforce.Additional InformationWe are proud to be a diverse and welcoming Borough. Our aim is to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve, and staff feel a sense of belonging. We celebrate and respect differences and appreciate the value of having a diverse workforce. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, and disabled candidates, as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for a role.We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the

Expected salary

£31440 – 39264 per year

Location

Kingston upon Thames

Job date

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 04:45:02 GMT

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