Housing Inclusion Officer - Welfare Reform Team.

SO2 - The Woolwich Centre

Permanent, Full Time

The Welfare Reform Team work with households affected by changes in the benefits system, including the Total Benefit Cap, the Under-Occupation shortfall, and Universal Credit.  Based within the Council’s Housing Inclusion Service, the team focuses its work on offering early intervention to those people who are at risk of becoming homeless, and has an excellent track record of homelessness prevention, by joint working with other departments and external agencies, as well as liaising with landlords and agents to prevent evictions where possible.  The team provide both outreach and office-based services.

Our team approach is to provide a holistic service to residents, and to empower and support people out of the circumstances which they are in.  There is a strong focus on encouraging people into employment or training, while supporting any concerns there may be around barriers to work.  Practical solutions are offered to residents in terms of income maximisation and budgeting, as well as downsizing and alternative housing options, and the team are encouraged to think creatively to achieve results. 

We are looking to recruit someone with a comprehensive knowledge of housing options, has an in-depth understanding of benefits, and is aware of the issues around the impact of poverty.  You should be able to organise your own workload and show resilience in what can be a challenging role.

For more information on this role please contact the Housing Inclusion Team Leader - Darren McGivern on 07548 116 593 or via email at darren.mcgivern@royalgreenwich.gov.uk. 

For an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact Darren McGivern;    Darren.Mcgivern@royalgreenwich.gov.uk     0208 921 2565 / 0754  

If you require any assistance in viewing or accessing this opportunity, please contact recruitment@royalgreenwich.gov.uk or call 020-8921-8977

Diversity Statement: Royal Borough of Greenwich values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this. We therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community.

High Volume Applications: Royal Borough of Greenwich reserves the right to close any vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date should there be a high volume of applications received.

DBS: This role requires an Enhanced DBS. (This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act,1974).

Advert Close: All vacancies close at midnight unless otherwise stated.

How Applications are Scored: Each application is scored according to how well the supporting statement addresses each point on the Person Specification for the role. Candidates will be short-listed for interview on the extent to which they meet the specific points within the Person Specification. The Person Specification is supplied with the job advert. When completing your application, please use the supporting statement section to tell us how you meet each of the points on the Person Specification. We need to have this information in order to consider your application. If you have a disability and are unable to meet some of the job requirements specifically because of your disability, please address this in your application. If you meet all the other criteria, you will be shortlisted and we will explore jointly with you if there are ways in which the job can be changed to enable you to meet the requirements.

Interview Arrangements: During this time, our priority for all of our recruitment activity is to make sure our applicants, hiring departments and new starters are informed, safe and supported. Careful and thorough consideration will be given to interview arrangements and for any essential in-person recruitment, we will ensure this is held in a suitable, secure setting with additional arrangements to ensure any current safety requirements are fully adhered to.

Salary: Salaries advertised are for a standard working week of 35 hours unless otherwise stated. Please use this 'Salary Calculator to help you calculate a pro rata salary.

Our Staff Values: Our Staff Values are important to us. Candidates will be continuously assessed against our staff values throughout the recruitment process. Where candidates demonstrate views and behaviours that do not meet the standards of our staff values, we reserve the right to reject their application/ registration.