Team Leader - Prevention

at  Swale Borough Council

POST TITLE: Team Leader - Prevention
SECTION: Housing and Communities
SALARY: Grade 7 £35,592 - £39,885 per annum
LOCATION: Sittingbourne, Kent
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent, Full-Time 34-hours per week
Our Housing and Homelessness Team is expanding, and we’re excited to announce multiple new roles due to significant investment and growth in the team. We are looking for dedicated individuals who thrive in a collaborative and supportive environment. As part of our highly dynamic team, you will have the opportunity to deliver impactful results, while working alongside friendly colleagues committed to positive change. If you like to be busy and are ready to take on a rewarding challenge and contribute to meaningful solutions in housing and homelessness, we want to hear from you.

ABOUT YOU

You will have a practical working knowledge of housing and homelessness legislation, with at least 2 years’ experience of working in a housing-related area. Additionally, you will have excellent communication and problem-solving skills, with the ability to produce accurate and concise information.
We are looking for someone who is flexible and resilient, a supportive team leader who is able to remain calm and work effectively under pressure. The right candidate will be confident working with complex cases and enthusiastically embrace our proactive housing options approach, which aims at preventing homelessness and finding real solutions for people with housing difficulties.
You will be expected to work using your initiative and organise your own workload, in addition to supervising the Prevention Officer casework. We are seeking a motivated and innovative person, who can work proactively with customers, team members, and partners to find creative housing solutions.
A full driving licence is also required for this role for undertaking home visits.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Housing Options Team as a Team Leader in our successful Homelessness Prevention team. Homelessness is high on the national agenda, and we are offering a full-time permanent role to join our busy, dedicated and friendly team.
You will line manage, support, and guide the Housing Prevention team who are crucial in the Council’s efforts to reduce homelessness and the cost of temporary accommodation. The team must take a proactive and innovative approach to prevent homelessness and advise residents on the options available to resolve their housing problems.
You will be expected to provide casework supervision and support to the Prevention Officers, as well as manage your own casework of complex cases.
You will provide advice and assistance to prevent homelessness where possible and enable households to either remain in their current accommodation or access alternative accommodation if available.
You will carry out home visits to confirm details regarding potential homelessness. During these visits, you will need to use strong negotiation and mediation skills and challenge family and friends around eviction.