Housing Officer Barrow

Contract - Permanent

Location - Barrow-In-Furness

Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Salary - £26,250.00 + Company Car + Fuel Card

Main Purpose:

At Serco, we have an exciting opportunity for a Housing Officer, based in Barrow-In-Furness. A Housing Officer is responsible for ensuring compliance with the AASC Contract, company policies, processes, and procedures through their liaison with Staff, Service Users, Landlords, External Agencies and Partners.

Ensuring that all properties within the allocated portfolio are safe, habitable, fit for purpose and fully equipped in accordance with AASC Standards.

Ensuring the provision of all necessary Service User Dispersal, Relocation, ongoing Support Services and Discontinuation is delivered in accordance with the AASC NW Contract within their allocated portfolio and that all Service Users maintain compliance with the conditions of their support provision.

Achievement of all agreed performance targets relating to the provision of all property, Service User and reporting activities involved in the above.

Main Accountabilities: 

Ensuring that all properties within the allocated portfolio are safe, habitable, fit for purpose and fully equipped in accordance with AASC Standards.

• Complete a Monthly Inspection of all Properties within the allocated portfolio in accordance with the standard defined within the AASC Contract and property standards guide.
• Manage on-boarding and withdrawal of properties within allocated portfolio in accordance with the Housing Officer Local Operating Procedures (LOP).
• To report all Property Faults identified, correctly categorising them for appropriate response.
• To complete all minor Property repairs within the scope enabled by training, experience and the tool-kit and spares provided.
• The administration of operational cash to enable the completion of tasks such as topping up of utility meters & emergency cash payments.
• The provision of access to the property for any authorised 3rd party visits. 
• To verify that all repair works completed since the previous inspection are to the agreed standard.
• Maintain the Property Manual retained at the Property.

Core Service User Support Service - Service Users

Ensuring the provision of all necessary Service User support services in accordance with the AASC Contract and that all Service Users maintain compliance with the conditions of their support provision.

To respond appropriately to any Service User requirement including the following:

• Response to Customer Complaints
• Issue of Warning Letters
• Response to requests for relocation
• Key cutting, issue and control of access
• Requests for interpreter services
• Management of incidents reported
• Dealing with urgent medical needs
• Management of suicide risks
• Management of domestic violence situations
• Dealing with violence and anti-social behaviour
• Dealing with Service User death
• Management of child safeguarding needs
• Responsible for reporting breaches of terms of conditions including signs of wealth, absconding, anti-social behaviour etc. using the appropriate Investigations Referral Form.
• The pick-up and transport Service Users from the notified location to their allocated property using the company vehicle provided as and when necessary.
• Ensure the prompt delivery of S4 voucher payments in line with the defined process. The Service User's signature must be collected to confirm receipt and the voucher form submitted to the Finance Department.
• It is necessary to operate an Emergency On-Call system outside of normal working hours amongst Housing Officers. All Housing Officers to participate on a rota basis.

Service User Dispersal, Relocation and Discontinuation Service

Ensuring the Dispersal, Relocation or Discontinuation of Service Users into or from Dispersed Accommodation within the Serco AASC NW Property Portfolio is in accordance with the AASC Contract.

• Manage dispersal, relocation or discontinuation requests using the AORA Task List system daily to ensure that dispersal, relocation or discontinuation process is initiated as early as possible.
• Disperse, relocate or discontinue Service Users in accordance with Housing Officer Local Operating Procedures (LOP).

What you will need for the role:

Qualifications:

Minimum GCSE education

Desirable: Housing related qualification

Previous experience:

Essential:

• Knowledge/experience of dealing with people on a face to face basis.
• Demonstrate a solid working history subject to satisfactory reference checks.
• Subject to passing DBS and other security related checks
• Ability to prioritise varying workloads
• Excellent organisation skills
• Computer literate (Excel, Word etc)
• Ability to handle conflict 
• Understanding & patient individual.

Desirable:

• Experience of dealing with landlords and tenants
• Experience of property related documentation e.g. tenancy agreements
• Knowledge/experience of working within a property related environment.
• Experience of training staff
• Experience of handling difficult/conflicting situations
• Ability to suggest and implement changes

Policies & Procedures:

All employees are expected to comply with all company policies and procedures, including:

• Health & Safety
• Confidentiality & Data Protection
• Equal Opportunity
• Conflict of Interest
• Customer Care
• Child Protection
• Lone Working
• E-Learning (Licence to operate)

Housing Officers should ensure that they comply with the Standards in Schedule 2 of the COMPASS Contract - a copy of these standards will be provided.

Copies of all company policies, procedures and processes are available from Field Operations Manager and are retained by the Compliance Manager for reference.

What we offer 

• Up to 6% contributory pension scheme. 
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays. 
• A range of benefits including a company car & fuel card
• Access to a huge range of discounts and exclusive deals
• A fantastic culture and supportive team where you'll get the chance to make a positive difference in a company passionate about diversity and inclusion. 
• Company discounts 
• Interesting and enjoyable work. 
• Committed to professional and personal development with a wide range of training and coaching opportunities to expand your capabilities. 

#aasccareers

About Serco
At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services.  We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone.

By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks - SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging. 

Apply
Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment. 

At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. We operate a hybrid work structure in many of our business areas. We are proudly Disability Confident Leader employers and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard. Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.  For help with your application please contact 0345 010 4000.
 

At Serco we support fair access to employment for those with unspent criminal convictions through the 'Ban the Box' pledge (some may be exempt due to the nature of the role and the security clearance required). Please contact our recruitment team directly on 0345 010 4000 to discuss.