Housing Assistant

Do you have experience in working with vulnerable people with complex needs in a Hostel or Supported Accommodation environment? 

We have a new Housing job opportunity where you will be working with a team of Housing professionals with the aim of supporting some of the districts’ most vulnerable adults to move on from temporary accommodation. 

You will be managing all temporary and emergency accommodation placements on behalf of West Oxfordshire District Council. The role involves working closely with homeless clients in various emergency accommodation arrangements. The aim is to assist these individuals in accessing affordable housing options and ultimately reducing the time they spend in short-term accommodation.

About the role…

• You will be based primarily within one of our Hostels working intensively with homeless clients to enable them to access the full range of affordable housing options with the aim of reducing time spent in short term accommodation.
• The role involves travel across our district to visit homelessness households in their temporary accommodation (including Hostels and various B&B’s) with the aim of assisting them with maximising all of the housing options available to them to ensure that they are able to move on from Temporary Accommodation as soon as possible.
• Create bespoke ‘Tenancy Ready’ plans for each client and ensure that they have access to the appropriate support and resources to achieve this.
• You will also take part in assisting the Temporary Accommodation Supervisor in ensuring that full risk assessments are carried out on each client before being offered a placement in Council managed accommodation.
• Assist with the daily running of the homeless hostel’s, ensure repairs are promptly reported to the Property Service Team and assist with ensuring H&S risk assessments are up to date and adhered to.

For more information about this role please see the Job Description/Person Specification.

Internally the role will be called ‘Temporary Accommodation Officer’.

This is a new role which will cover West Oxfordshire. Within the District, there are plenty of places to see and visit whether you love hiking or cycling.  With our agile working ethos: you will be spoilt for choice.  

West Oxfordshire District Council is dedicated to maintaining and enhancing West Oxfordshire as one of the best places to live, work and visit in the UK. We provide a range of important services including waste and recycling collections, planning, housing, leisure, community safety and environmental health.

You will need…

• GCSEs (5 A-Cs or equivalent, including Maths and English)
• Experience of working in a Housing, Supported Housing or Homelessness focused service
• Experience of working with vulnerable people and people with complex needs

Special Conditions…

• Full UK Driving License - Ability to travel/ access to a vehicle for work purposes
• BPSS Check

You will be employed by Publica Group Ltd which was created by four partner Councils (West Oxfordshire District Council, Cotswold District Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and Forest of Dean District Council) to deliver more efficient and improved services. 

Publica is a unique place to work – we are a local government organisation with a twist! Publica wants to transform the way local services are delivered. To help do this we have started to fundamentally rethink the way we design our services in the digital era so that Publica is a customer-focused organisation driven by real user needs.

What can we do for you…

• Agile working allowing a mix of home and office working
• Flexible working arrangements (depending on the role)
• 27 days paid annual leave (pro rata if you are working part time) plus bank holidays and an extra two volunteering days off a year for you to support a charity of your choice
• Health cash plan giving you cash back on health, dental and eye care
• Pension scheme with a good employer contribution of 5% of your earnings
• Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, providing positive, preventative and supportive advice and counselling to deal with everyday events and issues
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary sacrifice car lease scheme with huge tax and NI savings to be made on electric cars
• Access to digital financial advice (covering your pension scheme, mortgages and other finances)
• Generous sickness cover above statutory entitlements
• Additional income protection, covering 50% of your salary for potentially a further five years if you are unable to work due to sickness or injury
• Life assurance, currently four times your annual salary
• These are just a handful of the benefits that you can enjoy when you join us!

To apply for this position please click on "apply now" within this page and submit your CV and supporting statement. Please tell us about your skills, knowledge, qualifications, experience and how they meet the criteria listed above and in the job description/person specification. It’s important that we’re a good fit for each other, so let us know what’s important to you and why you want to work for Publica Group Ltd..

Your application will not be considered if you have not provided a supporting statement, in addition to your CV.

Accredited of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies - Please state this within your covering statement or in a separate email. 

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding the welfare of vulnerable adults, young people and children.  Safer recruitment practices are applied to all job vacancies. Safer recruitment practices are applied to all job vacancies. Successful candidates will be required to complete a pre-employment medical questionnaire; provide references;  proof of identity; nationality and immigration status; three years’ employment or education history (if applicable) and, in some cases, verification of criminal record.