Head of Homelessness Prevention & Assessment

Seven Resourcing are looking for a Head of Homelessness Prevention & Assessment in Hammersmith and Fulham. This position is initially for a period of 3 months and is paying £352.60 per day .The working hours are Monday – Friday from 9am – 5:15pm.

The role:

To ensure, through appropriate strategic governance and operational leadership that the service meets the current and future business needs of the Council statutory and non-statutory service provision for the services. Experience of homelessness and it’s prevention & assessment in a local authority is essential.

Key Responsibilities:

Responsible for working closely with the Assistant Director, Housing Management to deliver continuous service improvement, transformation and innovation and identification of developmental opportunities.

Good people management and leadership skills who is self-motivated to provide line management and strategic direction to managers directly managed and have responsibility for the services, carrying out annual appraisals, 1:1s, training and development needs and SMART objective setting in line with Corporate and Departmental procedures.

To manage the overall workload, staffing, financial and other resources of the service to ensure the most effective use of resources consistent with Council policy and priorities and relevant legislation.

To administer, by authority of the Council through the Scheme of Delegation, all functions, duties and powers under housing legislation and relevant caselaw, as they relate to homelessness and housing needs including assessment and reviews.  

To analyse and report on performance in accordance with statutory and non-statutory services KPI’s and LPI’s linked to Service and Departmental Business Plan. Set and manage the achievement of service targets as set out in the current Service Plans for the areas responsible for and Service Level Agreements and operational performance targets.

To lead on strategic management of the Council’s Housing Register, developing service models to deliver a fair and transparent process, contributing to housing policy and procedures.   

To lead on needs assessment and complex cases panels, including the risk assessment of ex-offenders for public protection and re-housing under welfare guidelines.

Achieve satisfactory quality in all aspects of the service’s work by ensuring that all staff adhere to procedures, policies and practices and that adequate numbers of staff are deployed to maintain a safe, effective and efficient service at all times.

To ensure that residents’ and customers’ confidentiality is maintained at all times and that policies, procedures and guidelines are adhered to ensuring that services are administratively sound and comply with GDPR requirements

Manage health and safety of staff and service users through robust and thorough application of risk assessment and other management risk control strategies. 

To be responsible for ensuring that robust monitoring procedures are in place to ensure that departmental, corporate and legislative standards and timescales for responding to complaints and members enquiries are adhered to at all times. Monitor the progress of work within the service, including preparation and evaluation of management information

To be responsible for monitoring expenditure with regard to the service’s cost centres and other budgets in line with the Council’s financial procedures and standing orders.

To be responsible for developing and maintaining an understanding of the business dynamics and issues facing housing, adult social care and children’s services in order to recommend proactive and appropriate front of house solutions.

To work strategically with the management board and other senior managers to develop appropriate plans that anticipate and respond to organisational changes and ensure that current and future business needs are reflected in policies and procedures.

Responsible for working closely with the Assistant Director, Housing Management to monitor opportunities for continuous improvement, transformation and innovation and identification of developmental gaps.

To create and maintain effective partnerships with departments and external stakeholder agencies and organisations.

To be responsible for engaging with the wider corporate arena to maximise use of the service’s resources and amenities.

To lead in the development of anti-fraud strategies in the service, to counter fraud, and prosecute summary offences as appropriate.

To coordinate the implementation of a systematic induction and training programme for Managers directly supervised, contributing to the development of divisional objectives through research and project work for legal, procedural, and training purposes.

To represent the council externally on relevant issues, and testify in legal hearings, instruct legal services in relevant matters, attend conferences, and be responsible for the production of affidavit evidence and lead in relevant litigation.

Deliver high quality, responsive, multi-functional customer services, ensuring that customer service standards are met, and customer satisfaction is continuously improved.

To be on call outside normal office hours to act in the case of homelessness emergencies and to deal with public contact crises and security breaches in the service generally.

To deputise for the Assistant Director Housing Management as necessary and to carry out other duties consistent with the job purpose as may arise from time to time.

Deliver a service which promotes equality and diversity by giving equal and fair access and enables the identification and resolution of perceived or real inequalities for staff and residents.

Applicant Requirements:

Experience:  2+ years working in a senior manager/ Regional manager position

Compliance:  Proof of right to work in the UK and 2 x references. 

Travel:  Clean UK driving license with the ability to commute to and from work independently.

Hours:  37 hours p/w.

Working with Seven Social Care:

We have been helping social care professionals find exciting new roles for almost a decade, so we know exactly where to look when it comes to sourcing the best opportunities. We operate across the UK, and, with over 300 five-star reviews, multiple awards, and amazing relationships with the biggest employers in UK social care, we give you the best chance of landing your next role.

We have a reputation for recruiting at lightning speed, however, we can only respond to candidates who meet the exact requirements of the position. If you have any queries about a role or application, please visit our website where our amazing candidate support team will be more than happy to help.