Housing Supply Officer

Job title:

Housing Supply Officer

Company

Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames

Job description

About 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’re looking for a Housing Supply Officer to join our Housing Supply Team. In this role, you will be required to procure and retain private sector accommodation for the prevention of homelessness, provision of temporary accommodation or to meet any other specified need as required. In addition to this, you will be responsible for all aspects of property procurement, renewals, re-lets and handback of properties together with landlord liaison and relationship management functions.The role focuses on (but is not limited to) the procurement and retention of properties for the Tenant Finder Service, longer term Temporary Accommodation Team (private leasing), nightly paid accommodation and Rough Sleepers Initiative. You will also be supporting the Team Leader, Private Sector Schemes and Lead Officer Accommodation Services by contributing to the overall development of the accommodation service.A day in the life of a Housing Supply Officer consists of:

• Contacting landlords/agents to try and source available accommodation from the private sector.
• Inspecting properties to assess their suitability for our schemes.
• Supporting projects to improve the supply of homes and reduce the cost of accommodation for homeless people.
• Agreeing payment of incentives & rental amounts to landlords and other accommodation providers.
• Promote and market private sector accommodation procurement initiatives to landlords, letting agents, managed accommodation providers, portfolio landlords, developers and other partners.

We are a hybrid working organisation so the requirement to come into the office is mandatory throughout training, but afterwards there is an expectation that you would attend the office at least 2 days every week.About Us
The Housing Supply Team works collaboratively with other internal and external departments to achieve the best possible outcomes for our residents. You will be part of a supportive and friendly team. We work in a flexible way to meet the challenge of providing homes for those in need. You will join other Housing Supply Officers, Procurement and Compliance Officers, an Accommodation Payments Officer and the team manager.About YouTo be successful in this role, you will need the following:

• Excellent communication skills – Communicate clearly, confidently and appropriately with colleagues using the best methods of communication for the task.
• Experience of partnership working and influencing and negotiating to achieve successful outcomes.
• Experience of working in a busy frontline housing service or similar and/or significant technical experience.
• Experience of dealing with landlords and tenants.
• Experience of conducting high quality casework and understanding of the importance of keeping casework notes.
• Knowledge of private sector housing law and security of tenure, particularly Assured Shorthold Tenancies.
• Knowledge of repairing and health and safety obligations relating to temporary accommodation and standards in the private sector.
• An understanding of the needs of homeless households in temporary accommodation.
• Knowledge of part VI of the Housing Act 1996 and Choice Based Lettings Schemes (desirable).
• Knowledge of Homelessness Legislation (desirable).

For more information about the role and person specification, please refer to the job description.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 for right to work guidance.Job Profile

Expected salary

Location

Kingston upon Thames

Job date

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 03:47:16 GMT

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