Housing & Welfare Benefit Advisor

Job Title: Housing & Welfare Benefit Advisor

Location: Northampton

Salary: £27,000 per year.

Job type: 37.5 hours per week. Flexible working hours/Job Share/Hybrid roles are available. There are also positions for this role available in Kettering. This role requires a driver with use of a car as will be out of office delivering face-to-face advice.

The Company:

We are a professional and charitable organisation, with two key areas of focus:

• Supported accommodation for single homeless people in North Northants
• Impartial and life changing housing, debt and benefits advice

We empower individuals to move out of debt, out of hunger, out of poverty and out of homelessness. At Accommodation Concern we believe everyone deserves the right to live their best possible life.

The Role:

Are you looking for a new challenge with a growing organisation? Could you be our next Housing & Welfare Benefit Advisor? In this role you:

• Must have an up-to-date knowledge of Housing advice, but you need to be able to challenge under Sections 202, 183, 188, of the Housing Act 1996 Part7 (as amended) as well as provide court representation on occasions
• Deliver a professional, impartial, pragmatic and outcome focussed advice service to beneficiaries whilst working to Accommodation Concern Quality Standards, Policies and Procedures and Regulatory Requirements
• Provide advice/casework on all areas of housing law, having regard for relevant legislation, guidance and case law – meeting the requirements of the Advice Service Alliance Standard for advice case work relating to Welfare Benefits, Debt and Housing.

Main responsibilities:

• Provision of independent housing, homelessness, (benefit, debt where linked) advice and case work
• Provision of advice on housing options in order to prevent homelessness
• To provide advice to clients wanting to use Keyways, the Council’s choice-based allocations scheme
• Conducting initial client interviews within diverse operational sites
• General level advocacy and negotiation on behalf of client to other agencies/ authorities.
• Telephone advice as appropriate
• Agree client needs and identify desired outcomes/actions
• Statutory challenge under Sections 202 of the Housing Act 1996 Part7 (as amended) and other challenge /advocacy means regarding sections 183, 188, of the Act
• Housing Act 1996 Part 6 advocacy and statutory challenge
• Supporting where appropriate court representation and liaising with relevant professionals on the client’s behalf
• Income maximisation through money, debt and welfare casework and representation (where linked to a housing case)

Experience:

• Must hold Relevant qualification in Housing: (e.g. HND/NVQ Level) and/or Shelter A and B
• Must have an up-to-date knowledge of Housing advice – Needs to be able to challenge the council under Sections 202 of the Housing Act 1996 Part7 (as amended), sections 183, 188, and Part 6 and provide court representation on occasions
• Significant experience and skills in the delivery of diverse activities and support services for hard to reach and vulnerable adults
• Experience of administration and recording procedures with the ability to audit case notes and gather required data to support full evaluation
• Significant experience of working to improve the lives of disadvantaged members of the community
• Experience of quality assurance systems and action planning
• Experience of risk assessment processes

Knowledge and understanding:

• Knowledge and understanding of the issues which affect the lives of disadvantaged adults.
• Knowledge and experience of challenging homelessness, unemployment and poverty
• Extensive knowledge of the homelessness legislation and case law with a track record of successful challenges
• Ability to engage, build and develop relationships with adults who are; living in poverty; disadvantaged; homeless; and or ex-offenders
• Ability to promote empowerment with adults at all time and encourage clients to accept their responsibilities
• Ability to produce and present diverse reports to various audiences

If you are interested, please click on the APPLY button to submit your CV and a cover letter for this role. Upon clicking apply, you will receive a full copy of the job description.

Candidates with the relevant experience or job titles of: Housing Options Officer, Social Housing Advisor, Homelessness Officer, Housing Needs Officer, Housing Officer, Housing Assistant, Housing Officer, Housing Services, Customer Housing Assistant, Social Housing Assistant, Supported Housing Officer, Social Housing Worker, Housing Administrator, Housing Officer, Benefits Officer, Welfare Officer, Welfare Assistant, Welfare Advisor, Revenues Officer, Revenues Assistant, Revenues Collection, Revenues Enforcement, Finance Assistant, Housing Benefit Officer, Finance Executive, Finance Officer, Accounts Officer, Benefits Advisor, Revenue Advisor, Benefits Officer, Benefits Support Officer, Revenue Officer, Benefits Assessment Officer, Customer Aid, Benefits Adviser, may also be considered for this role.