Triage and Needs Officer

Job description

Job responsibilities

Receiving service requests

• Receiving and processing contacts via phone, email and in writing.
• Having strength-based conversations with the individual to establish what the housing issues are and ensure their understanding of all personal resources available to meet any housing need/s identified.
• Where required, signpost the individual to relevant community-based and preventative services.
• Where appropriate email or post written information, provide introduction to the relevant service and provide follow-up.
• Where adopted by the council in future, support the use by customers of online self-help tools including self-assessments and advice to resolve their own housing difficulties independently using their own resources.
• Where adopted by the council in future, support the webchat function.

• Where customers are seeking help with a housing problem, issuing appropriate verbal and written advice and making appropriate referrals to other services where necessary.
• Where customers are stating that they are homeless or threatened with homelessness, asking questions to determine whether this is likely to be the case and prior to an assessment of potential homeless duties by a duty Housing Caseworker, considering the councils potential duties under Part 7 Housing Act 1996, ensuring that duty staff have all relevant information to perform their role.
• Where customers are stating that they are homeless or threatened with homelessness, explaining how the statutory homelessness system works.
• Where customers are seeking to be considered for an allocation of housing, deciding whether the person may have a housing need under the councils Allocation Policy and in law.
• Exploring with each customer seeking to be considered for an allocation of housing what other opportunities are available to resolve the presenting housing issue(s) and improve their housing conditions, issuing verbal and written advice to help them recognize what they can do to improve conditions.
• Arranging, where a housing need may exist, appropriate to the persons needs and making any reasonable adjustments necessary, for them to complete a social housing application form.
• Where necessary, ensuring a customer has support to make an online social housing application and other relevant applications e.g. for low-cost home ownership direct with other organisations.

Housing needs assessments

• Carefully considering information received from the customer, performing appropriate and sufficient inquiries of the customer and third parties to determine eligibility for an allocation of housing, bedroom need, housing need and connections.
• Where information, comment and/or action is required from other council services, ensuring appropriate and sufficient information is passed to the relevant team to respond.
• Recording all contacts appropriately on the system to ensure the customer record is fully comprehensive and up-to-date.
• In making decisions, consider and balance all information obtained relevant to a customers likely housing need.
• Analyse and objectively consider complex data to ensure that decision-making is appropriate and lawful.
• Assessing eligibility and issuing legal decisions in relation to an allocation of housing, bedroom need, housing need and connections in accordance with the councils Allocation Policy, Part 6 and Part 7 Housing Act 1996, statutory guidance and relevant caselaw.
• Maintaining knowledge of and advising customers of alternatives to social rented housing e.g. private rented accommodation and the various types of low-cost home ownership, depending on customers circumstances.
• Performing annual renewal exercise on a 12-month rolling basis, where applicants have remained on the Housing Register, verifying that the assessment remains up-to-date.
• Performing housekeeping in the computer system to ensure that bedroom needs remain accurate, pregnancies trigger additional bedrooms where necessary and any other updating necessary.
• Where necessary to support Lettings and Sales Officers, checking adverts, shortlisting homes and advising sellers about shared ownership and low-cost home ownership.
• Resolving issues raised by customers and third parties in the scope of the Allocations Policy, choice-based lettings scheme, housing providers lettings policies, rights of review and appeal, liaising with colleagues at the council and outside it to achieve resolutions.

• Inviting customer feedback, having an awareness of and an ability to discuss the complaints procedure and advise people appropriately if they wish to complain, taking necessary action to resolve issues directly within the roles discretion.
• Being able to identify if an adult or child is at risk, making relevant referrals where necessary.
• Updating content on the website / digital portal to ensure current and relevant.
• Responding to civil emergencies under instruction.
• Analysing and appraising work and personal development through discussion, supervision and annual appraisal with line manager.
• Engaging in continuous personal development to meet the requirements of the role.
• Maintaining customer records wherever required by the manager.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• PLEASE SEE JOB ADVERT

Desirable

• PLEASE SEE JOB ADVERT

Qualifications

Essential

• PLEASE SEE JOB ADVERT

Desirable

• PLEASE SEE JOB ADVERT

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Wiltshire Council

Address

County Hall

Bythesea Rd

Trowbridge

Wiltshire

BA14 8JN

Employer's website

http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)