Housing Caseworker
- Recruiter
- Watford Borough Council
- Location
- Watford, Hertfordshire
- Salary
- £27,905 to £31,371 Per Annum
- Posted
- 09 Oct 2019
- Closes
- 31 Oct 2019
- Ref
- HCO/1909
- Sectors
- Health, Nursing & Social Care
- Contract Type
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full Time
Housing Caseworker
Watford, Hertfordshire
About Watford Borough Council
Watford is an urban borough in South West Hertfordshire; The borough has excellent transport links with mainline rail connections to London. Watford is the centre of a sub region serving around 500,000 people living within a 20 minute travelling time catchment. As part of the London commuter belt Watford is strongly influenced by London which brings the benefits of a buoyant economy.
At a glance
- £1.4bn local investment happening – mix of public and private funding
- 5 major development and regeneration projects happening
- 3500 registered businesses
- Higher than average working age population
- Skilled workforce
- Affordable local housing market
- Home to many major international head offices
Watford is currently undergoing a transformation programme which aims create a customer-focused, digitally-enabled and commercially-minded organisation of the future.
The Department:-
The Housing Service has recently undergone a review and restructure in preparation for HRA. There are two operational teams, The Housing Solutions Team, which this role sits within and The Housing Property Team. We recently achieved the NPSS Bronze Award and is striving to improve further.
The Role:-
The Housing Caseworker’s role is to assist in managing the demand for the Council’s housing services while offering advice and assistance to members of the public.
You will provide advice and assistance to help the client resolve their housing issues through the production of a personal housing plan. This will include carrying out interviews, investigations and where appropriate home visits in respect of households who present to the council with a housing need.
You will undertake a wide range of measures to prevent homelessness using all available tools at the disposal of the council, including preventing illegal evicts, negotiating with parents, landlords etc. and referrals to third parties who may be able to assist the client.
The Housing Caseworker is responsible to make decisions on cases where clients has approached as homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days. You will then have to inform the client in writing of decisions reached with full reasons in cases of non-acceptance. These decision letters are frequently subject to legal challenge and therefore must be detailed, factual and apply the appropriate legislation and case law in support of the decision.
What we are looking for:-
You will be passionate about housing and customer service, have good communication skills, negotiations and persuasion skills and a can do attitude towards problem solving.
Experience of working as a housing caseworker and writing Section 184 decisions letters
An in-depth knowledge of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 as well as hands on experience applying the Act, including reviewing personalised housing plans.
You need to have a good working knowledge of associated case law, the Code of Guidance and ending the different duties.
Salary Range: £27,905 to £31,371
What we offer;
- 28 days’ holiday - rising to 33 days with 5 years’ service
- A generous employer contribution pension scheme
- Flexible working
- Professional Development
- Season ticket loan
- Cycle-to-work scheme
- Discounted leisure centre membership
- Edenred branded shopping discounts platform
To apply for the role of Housing Caseworker, please apply via the button shown.
This vacancy is being advertised by Webrecruit. The services advertised by Webrecruit are those of an Employment Agency.
Additional Keywords: Housing Caseworker, Housing Officer, Tenancy Caseworker, Housing Support Worker, Housing Review Worker, Homelessness Worker, Community Housing Officer.