Housing Officer (Temporary Accommodation)

At Barnsley Council you can start a career that makes a real difference to people’s lives, helping our council and residents to be the best they can be.

We’re an award-winning council and one of the biggest employers in the borough, supporting around 243,000 people. We put people at the heart of everything we do, and that includes our employees. As part of the team, we offer lots of benefits and rewards to support you to thrive and grow, like flexible working, employee discounts, support for your health and wellbeing, and opportunities for training and development to grow your career and develop your skills.

There’s so much happening in our thriving borough, and now’s the perfect time to join our excellent Stronger, Safer & Healthier Communities team as we work to make Barnsley the place of possibilities.

• We’re an award-winning team and one of the biggest employers in the borough supporting around 243,000 people.
• Working at Barnsley Council means being part of a team that makes a real difference to people’s lives, where you can develop the skills you need to make change happen.
• If you join the team you’ll receive great pay alongside an excellent pension scheme. With flexible working we’ll also support your work/life balance, helping you to adjust your hours and take time off when you need it.
• We’ll help you to develop your career and grow your skills with opportunities for training and development.
• There’s so much happening in our thriving borough and your talent and skills will help us make Barnsley the place of possibilities.
• Key to our success is working with our residents, partners, businesses and organisations and building these partnerships to bring about change in Barnsley.

About the Post:

One of the main functions of the Housing Options Team is the the prevention of homelessness, rough sleeping and tenancy sustainment.  Key areas of work for the team include:   

• Promoting an early intervention and prevention service to reduce homelessness and rough sleeping   

• Supporting people to stay in their own home, move in a managed way or resettle after a period of instability  
• Working closely with partners to address the underlying causes of homelessness and address wider support needs 

A key part of achieving this vision is the development of a range of temporary accommodation options.  This post will be directly involved in the management of a number of temporary accommodation properties, as well as providing direct support to those in these properties as well as in other temporary accommodation, including Bed and Breakfast and hotels.  This will include tenancy sign ups, dealing with a range of tenancy related matters, supporting the customers both to settle in, manage the tenancy and move on to more permanent housing. You will also be involved in the more practical elements, such as furniture replenishment, stock inventory, getting properties ready to relet, ensuring utilities are connected and liaising with contractors to ensure void times are minimised.   

We are therefore seeking a highly motivated, practical and organised individual to undertake this role.  You will have strong commination skills and interpersonal skills, have the ability to manage a challenging workload under pressure to tight deadlines, be able to use your own initiative demonstrating skills in work prioritisation and time management.   Strong partnership working will also be essential to achieving sustainable outcomes. 

The role will involve working with a range of customers, some of who are vulnerable, complex and in crisis.  To do this effectively you will have experience of identifying risk and contributing to the support planning processes. To do this effectively will require the use of a range of appropriate questioning techniques and listening skills, while demonstrating empathy and building trust.  A flexible approach to work including elements of home visiting, and lone working will be required