Housing Officer

Rugby, Warwickshire
Opus People Solutions Ltd

Job Title: Housing Officer

Rate: 24ph

Location: Rugby

Assignment: Temporary, 3 months with potential extension.

The Housing Advice and Benefits, Housing Services, Assets and Communities & Projects Teams are looking to jointly recruit a temporary Project Officer to coordinate the set up and launch of the Council’s new housing development at Navigation Way in Rugby, initially for three months but with the possibility of further extensions.

The development is made up of sixty flats and forty houses and as such represents a significant increase to the Council’s housing stock levels. We are looking for someone to work across teams to ensure the scheme is set up and launched in a seamless and efficient manner offering our new tenants a positive welcome to their new homes.

This will include but is not limited to:

• Working on the Local Lettings Plan to ensure our allocations build a balanced and sustainable community.
• Working with the Allocations Team to obtain data on potential applicants. Once data has been analysed, working with the Allocations Team as they offer properties, subject to approval from the Housing Services Team.
• Working with the Housing Services Team to visit and review the tenancies of those who may be allocated new tenancies at Navigation Way to determine suitability and facilitate moves.
• There may be administrative elements of the rent and service charge setting included within this position, although the process will be overseen by the Housing Services Managers.
• Working with the Housing Services Team to assemble sign up information and the wider project team to ensure new tenants have access to information about how specific features of their properties operate such as solar panels and air source heat pumps.
• Ensuring that the relevant teams have added the new properties to contracts such as those related to cleaning, fire detection, grounds maintenance etc (some contracts are likely to be subject to a defect liability period).
• Once asset status and charges are available, have administrative oversight of properties being created and loaded onto the Cx Housing Management and Allocations system, performing basic checks on the data loaded in as required.
• Liaison with the Property Repairs Service to ensure properties have been set up correctly on Total Mobile and the Asset Team to ensure properties have been set up correctly on Technology Forge. This should include information on defect liability periods.
• Liaison with the Control Centre and Astraline who provide our Out of Hours Services to provide required information on the new properties and relevant defect information, ensuring the Asset Team have made them aware of how they should handle out of hours calls under defect periods.
• Attendance at site visits before and after handover as required in order to ensure the post holder understands how the project is progressing and that issues are tackled swiftly.
• Playing a central part of the team that carryout sign-ups and assist new tenants moving into the units as they become available to let. This may include an element of tenancy support as required such as assisting with setting up new utility bills accounts etc.
• Working with the Communities and Projects Team and external agencies to organize welcome events and promote tenant involvement activities.
• Working with all teams and the internal Communications Team to develop positive messaging for Councillors and the Public regarding the launch of the new scheme.