The role

The Rehousing team is seeking a Housing Applications Senior Officer.

The Housing Applications Senior officer will have a broad understanding of Housing solutions including, carrying out assessments of need and making decisions on applications and working with partner agencies to widen access to housing and promote alternative housing options for vulnerable and ‘at risk’ residents. You will come with an understanding of allocations and homelessness legislation, how to manage competing priorities and be solutions focused.

The purpose of this position is to lead a team to assess and process applications to join Southwark’s Homesearch bidding scheme within our corporate guidelines. Working to ensure residents most in need are able to access housing services and advice with ease.

You will liaise with a number of departments within the council ensuring the service is accessible and transparent for those in housing need, alongside working to help our residents and stakeholders navigate Southwark's housing allocations scheme. You will be skilled at implementing robust performance management systems, and be expected to collaborate with our IT teams to improve our systems and customer access, You will be adept at developing and maintaining procedures, and offering training and guidance where needed.

About You:

You will need to show that customer satisfaction is at the heart of everything you do. You will be skilled in leading and motivating a team to reach targets and milestones. You will be solutions focus, have excellent communication skills and be committed to your own and the teams continuous professional development. You will have the ability to communicate complex information in accessible formats for a variety of audiences.

About Southwark:We are the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues and social enterprises and we have a young, diverse and growing population.At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities.? Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark Stands Together, (which is our work with Southwark’s communities and the council’s staff to tackle racism, injustice and inequality) underpins all that we do.

Additional details

Benefits and more information:

In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.

Recruitment timetable

Application Closing Date: 25/11/2024

Interview Date:12/12/2024

Guaranteed Interview Scheme:

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

•  Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
•  Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
•  If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

Attachments

• Click here to view the Job description and Person specification