Housing Solutions Review Officer - Southwark Council : Job Details

What does a Housing Solutions Review Officer do at Southwark Council?

Are you ready to make a difference in one of London's most dynamic boroughs?

At Southwark Council, we are proud to be the largest social landlord in London, supporting over 40% of the borough's residents. We’re committed to tackling inequalities and building a fair, just, and inclusive community. Our Housing Solutions team plays a critical role in preventing and addressing homelessness and ensuring sustainable housing solutions for our residents.

We are seeking an experienced Housing Solutions Review Officer to join our dedicated team and deliver an exceptional, legally robust review and appeals service.

What You'll Do

As a Housing Solutions Review Officer, you will:

• Conduct independent statutory reviews of housing decisions, ensuring compliance with the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and other key legislation.
• Provide expert advice on complex housing cases involving vulnerable individuals, including those with mental health issues or multiple needs.
• Represent the Council in court, working closely with legal services to manage appeals and safeguard our reputation.
• Liaise with internal teams and external stakeholders, such as solicitors, healthcare professionals, and housing providers, to deliver fair and transparent outcomes.
• Identify areas for improvement in initial decision-making and help refine procedures to ensure quality and efficiency.
• Deliver training and mentorship to other teams and external local authorities to promote best practices in homelessness prevention and case management.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for individuals with:

• Expert knowledge of housing legislation, including the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, Equality Act, Care Act, and Children’s Act.
• Experience in legal procedures, court work, and delivering frontline homelessness services.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to assess complex cases and provide sound, evidence-based decisions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to convey technical information clearly to various audiences.
• A customer-focused approach with the ability to engage sensitively and effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
• Proven ability to meet performance targets in a high-pressure environment.

About Southwark

We are the largest local authority social landlord in London, managing 55,000 homes lived in by 40% of Southwark’s residents. We are home to over 18,300 businesses including iconic London venues and social enterprises and we have a young, diverse and growing population.At Southwark we are committed to making our borough just and fair and are taking positive action to tackle inequalities.? Our residents and communities are our greatest asset and the passion we have for Southwark is shared by millions of Londoners who enjoy our outstanding cultural offer, use our hospitals and attend our universities. Our refreshed borough plan and focus on Southwark Stands Together, (which is our work with Southwark’s communities and the council’s staff to tackle racism, injustice and inequality) underpins all that we do.

Benefits and more information:

In your role, we want you to feel supported, challenged and rewarded. You will benefit from our family-friendly policies including flexible working, home working, and a local government pension scheme, plus many other staff benefits. You will join a motivated, driven and supportive team that strives for excellence and values its members. You will also be part of a successful and high-achieving development team that is making a real difference to the lives of residents in the borough. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our Staff Benefits page.

Additional Details

Advert Closing date: 12/01/2025

Interview date: w/c 20/01/2025

Guaranteed Interview Scheme:

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

•  Members of the Armed Forces and veterans•  Are currently in care, or have previously been in care•  If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together programme. We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

Attachments

• Click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification