About Us

Job Title: Homelessness Prevention and Customer Services Manager

Salary Range: £48,600 - £68,241

Permanent - Fulltime

Location: Housing Customer Centre, 90 Putney Bridge Road, SW18

Other essential information: Hybrid Working – Wandsworth only

Objective of role 

The Prevention and Solutions Service in Wandsworth has expanded to meet the demand of homelessness which also reflects that Housing & Homelessness are a key council priority. We are a Service that is committed to excellent Customer Care standards. We are focused on early intervention to prevent homelessness, greater partnership working to provide tailored support, offering a wide range of housing options along with setting good practice working. We are also enthusiastic and keen to invest in our staff through the delivery of extensive training and creative ways of learning for continuous development, understanding that they are key to driving service standards.

About the role

The role of Homeless Prevention and Customer Services Manager involves the following;

Managing a busy Customer Service Reception on all matters related to Housing.

Team Management -Lead on 2 operational Teams; one for Customer Service officers to deliver excellent customer standards across a wide spectrum of housing related issues and the other for Prevention and Solution officers for Prevention, advice and Options.

Caseload Management- You will have a team of Customer Service officers who will work with clients who manage a caseload of households who are ineligible and destitute as well as a team of Prevention and Solution Officers who work with homeless cases

Innovation and Creativity- To provide innovative solutions to homelessness through Housing Options Toolkit and holistic working with partnerships

Essential Qualifications, Skills and Experience

We are looking for

A passionate and dynamic senior leader with a strong background in the delivery of customer care contact centres for Housing services and what this involves ensuring the smooth running of this area.

 An in-depth working knowledge of Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 to work within the Wandsworth Prevention and Solutions Service.

A candidate who has working knowledge of asylum and immigration law.

Strong supervision skills and experience of working under pressure and influencing change in a demanding environment are essential.

A proven success in creating and embedding a strong performance monitoring culture with a key focus on learning and growth through reflective practice and coaching others.

Adaptable and hardworking to ensure your Teams are supported and empowered to carry out their roles with a focus on key performance indicators and the use of data and statistics to understand the key trends of the service.

As one of three Senior Managers within a frontline statutory Housing Options Service you will need to

Have a strategic overview to lead and manage front line homelessness teams effectively.

Be transformational and dynamic to embed continuous service improvements whilst ensuring that statutory requirements are met with a key focus on homelessness prevention activity.

manage and monitor quality assurance processes to ensure consistent, quality services for customers and lead on service improvement projects and plans to assist in meeting service objectives.

Be able to deliver on targets and highly organized

Exemplary interpersonal skills and possess a ‘can do attitude’ and want to achieve the best.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline

Closing Date: Sunday 20^th October 2024

Shortlisting Date: W/C 21^st October 2024

Interview Date: Week commencing Monday 4th November 2024

Test/Presentation: Presentation as part of the interview

Useful Information

Richmond & Wandsworth Better Service Partnership are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know.

We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Some posts may be exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to these posts will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

We offer a wide range of benefits designed to attract, develop, and reward our employees such as 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays), flexible working and a generous pension plan.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils