Move On Support Officer (Domestic Abuse)

Place and Economic Growth

Strategic Housing 

Ref: G6/OL-92358

Contract: Permanent

Salary: £32,076 - £35,745 per annum (Grade 6)

Hours: 36.66 per week

Based: Predominately office based with possibility of working from home on occasion. The Office is based at Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham, OL1 1UT)

Closing Date: Monday 6th May 2024

Shortlisting & Interview Dates: TBC.

Job Description & Person Specification.docx

Role Overview:

To provide advice, support and assistance to customers placed in Temporary Accommodation by managing expectations surrounding their move on options, and identifying any support needs to help them sustain future accommodation utilising a full range of housing options including supported, social and private rented sector accommodation

To arrange and sustain appropriate placements and provide an intensive housing management function for the temporary accommodation units ((including void management, ordering of cleaning, ordering and monitoring of repairs, tenancy and furniture management) while maximising the Council’s temporary accommodation income collection process

Work collaboratively with agencies externally and internally while advocating and negotiating on behalf of vulnerable customers, some with multiple and complex needs, to access appropriate services and engage in long-term housing options.

Key Responsibilities:

To complete and action move on plans that support and deliver the aims of the customers PHPs as legally required within the HRA 2017. Your work will involve Housing Pathway Advisors and other agencies to encourage and enable customers to recognise, accept and successfully develop skills for independent living  

To adopt a casework approach in supporting customers to action tasks within their PHPs and Move on Plans and ensue consideration of all suitable interventions and potential solutions to achieve move on into settled and suitable accommodation that can be sustained  

To continuously review and assess customer’s needs accurately in accordance with all relevant legislation including Care Act 2014, the Children Act 1989, Housing Act 1996 Part VII, the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and other relevant legislation and case law.

To provide housing and tenancy management services to homeless people ensuring high standards of service delivery focused to their needs and to ensure they can successfully sustain and manage their tenancies. 

Advocate on behalf of customers, with their informed consent, with external agencies (including with agencies and organisations dealing with financial matters) and at relevant meetings. This includes arranging meetings of relevant colleagues from partner agencies where this is appropriate and participating in multi-agency meetings

To make referrals to engage relevant and specialist intervention on behalf of customers to support them with specific problems e.g. substance misuse, mental health, debt management, benefits and council tax.

To collect all relevant temporary accommodation charges (e.g. rent and service charges) and pursue recovery of all current and former debts from the earliest possible stage in a systematic manner, ensuring immediate and regular contact with customers to clarify their situation, agree repayment schedules and monitor debts until cleared

To prepare and keep up to date any regular performance information on rent and income collection, including arrears recovery. This will include following income collection escalation procedures and keeping accurate records that may be used for legal action

To ensure that comprehensive, timely and accurate records are kept for all customers by maintaining computer records, reports and other monitoring information as required in connection with the duties undertaken.

To promote and support the delivery of all housing pathway options including commissioned and non-commissioned supported, private rented sector and social housing with the application of the Councils Allocations policy

To support the Councils voids and repairs processes by completing void inspections and paperwork and to raise any repairs orders, ensuring all properties are free from Category 1 hazards as defined by the HHSRS outlined in section 9 of the Housing Act 2004.

To accurately open and close utility accounts on void properties to protect the financial position of the Council at all times.

To ensure furnishings within properties are clean, safe and well maintained, removing furniture and equipment that is not appropriate. To ensure properties are fully stocked as per the inventory and cleaned as required.

To ensure all offers of accommodation comply and give consideration to the requirements under The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012

To deliver local surgeries or ‘drop in’ sessions to support customers to access and provide relevant information to support their move on out of Temporary Accommodation

To provide debt and money management advice to customers, support basic budgeting skills and  to carry out personal financial health checks with customers to ensure income maximisation while promoting the availability of responsible credit and accessing a range of financial resources to overcome barriers to move on, ultimately reducing the length of time households spend in temporary accommodation by finding solutions to debts and benefit cap

To ensure customers comply with all relevant Temporary Accommodation service charges to ensure the Council receives all owed monies and budget restrictions are met

Work with and support Strategic Housing colleagues to inform and model best practice in working with people who have multiple and complex needs.

You will be expected to participate in the on-call and standby arrangements put in place by the Council as part of your normal duties, attendance at evening meetings and weekend working as and when required.

Oldham Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure from the DBS (and a Certificate of Good Conduct where you have lived abroad for 12 months or more in the last 10 years).

If you would like support with this application, an interview or interested in looking at any courses that could help with this position please get in touch with Get Oldham Working - Get Oldham Working registration form - Oldham Council

NB. - Any candidate that meets the criteria of our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme and meets the essential criteria of the role, will be guaranteed the first stage of assessment (whether that is an interview or another assessment, as appropriate).

Our Guaranteed Assessment Scheme supports candidates with disabilities, carers, those who are aged 24 or under and have previously been in or currently in care, and those whose last long term substantive employer was the Armed Forces.

Diversity and Inclusion:

At Oldham Council, we are committed to creating a fair and inclusive workplace that is as diverse as the communities we serve. We aim to develop a culture of respect, where differences are recognised regardless of background. We aim to be an employer of choice by engaging in fair and open recruitment processes and Applications are encouraged from all communities across the borough to create a workforce that represents the diversity of our population.

About Us:

Oldham is committed to developing a Co-operative future; one where citizens, partners and staff work together to improve the borough.  Anyone joining the council is coming into an ambitious organisation with big plans. We are working hard to build a brighter future for our borough and we need people from a wide range of backgrounds to continue delivering the best for our communities.

The Council has a clear set of Values and Behaviours, our Values outline how we do business and we share these borough wide with our residents, partners and businesses.  Internally we have translated these values into five cooperative behaviours which outline the priority areas of focus for all staff at all levels. You can view the Values and Behaviours on our Greater. Jobs pages Working for Oldham

For details of how we use your data please see our Privacy Notice

Please note that should a vacancy that has been released for internal or external recruitment be deemed suitable for an at risk employee, it can be pulled back at any point up to the post being formally offered to an external candidate or an internal candidate that is not at risk of redundancy. 

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