Swyddi ar lein
Senior Homelessness and Support Officer Worker - x4 posts
£39,862 - £41,771 a year | Permanent
- Reference:
- 25-28974
- Job title:
- Senior Homelessness and Support Officer Worker - x4 posts
- Directorate:
- Housing and Property
- Service:
- Housing
- Closing date:
- 17/11/2025 10:00
- Job type/Hours:
- Permanent | 37 Hour
- Salary:
- £39,862 - £41,771 a year
- Pay Scale:
- PS1
- Location(s):
- Various
Details
Job Advertisement
Gwynedd Council offers an attractive employment package, for more information please click on this (Information Pack)
Gwynedd Council operates internally through the medium of Welsh, and offers all its services bilingually. The applicant will be required to reach the linguistic level noted as one of the essential skills in the Person Specification.
We encourage everyone who applies for a job with Gwynedd Council to submit job applications in Welsh or bilingually.
(Applications submitted in English only or Welsh only will always be treated equally, but we ask applicants to consider carefully what the linguistic requirements of the job in question is and if it would be more appropriate to submit an application in Welsh.)
For further information about this post please contact Colleen Pritchard on colleenpritchard@gwynedd.llyw.cymru
Interview date to be confirmed.
Application forms and further details available from Support Service, Gwynedd Council, Council Offices, Caernarfon, LL55 1SH
Tel: 01286 679076
E-Mail: Swyddi@gwynedd.llyw.cymru
CLOSING DATE: 10.00 AM, 17/11/2025
The Council will request a Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service for the successful candidate.
If you are successful to be short listed for an interview you will be contacted by E-MAIL using the address provided on your application form. You need to ensure that you check your email regularly.
Person Specification
.
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
ESSENTIAL
A positive attitude
Good listening skills
Assertive
The ability to work alone or as a member of a team, as required
The ability to work under pressure
The ability to manage, arrange and prioritise workload
The ability to deal with information confidentially
The ability to work independently
Willing to attend further training and undertake further studies
Unprejudiced
Non-judgemental
Sensible
Empathetic
A strong commitment to customer care
Thorough knowledge about homelessness legislation, housing law and safeguarding.
Experience of working directly with people experiencing homelessness or a housing emergency.
Excellent problem-solving, negotiation and communication skills.
Able to manage complex cases whilst supporting other members of the team with their cases.
Able to work with others and foster strong relationships.
DESIRABLE
Strong supervision, training and mentoring skills with the ability to inspire and support staff development.
Previous experience in a senior role or supervising in the field of housing/homelessness.
Experience of presenting training or structured mentoring.
QUALIFICATIONS AND RELEVANT TRAINING
ESSENTIAL
Good standard of education - at least 5 GCSEs or equivalent to include Welsh, English and Mathematics
DESIRABLE
HNC in Housing Studies or similar Housing qualification
Training in Housing and Homelessness Legislation
Degree in a relevant subject or a recognised management qualification, or significant equivalent experience.
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
Experience of working in the Homelessness field
Experience of assessing the Housing needs of clients
Experience of dealing with the public
DESIRABLE
Experience of conducting homelessness assessments
Experience of homelessness prevention
Experience of working with the local private housing sector and social landlords
Experience of dealing with vulnerable people
SKILLS AND SPECIALIST KNOWLEDGE
ESSENTIAL
Good communication and presentation skills
Good writing skills
Negotiation skills
The ability to assess people's personal needs in a sensitive manner
Knowledge and experience of using Information Technology systems
Knowledge of Housing Options in Gwynedd
The ability to resolve problems
The ability to keep full information and statistics
The ability to deal with the public in a courteous and professional manner
Full driving licence
DESIRABLE
Detailed and up-to-date knowledge of homelessness Legislation
Report writing skills
Reconciliation skills
Able to motivate himself/herself and others
ECDL
Able to resolve problems creatively
LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
Listening and Speaking - Intermediate Level
Able to maintain a fluent conversation on a number of various everyday subjects, and discuss cases involving the field of work. Able to follow a discussion in Welsh, in Clear Welsh, on familiar matters relating to the post. Able to contribute to the conversation and answer questions.
Reading and Understanding - Intermediate Level
Understand everyday correspondence on familiar issues at work. Understand longer reports in Clear Welsh and be able to pick up the main points. (help may be required with the vocabulary).
Writing - Intermediate Level
Able to write letters for a specific purpose, e-mails and short reports in Welsh and English, using vocabulary and simple phrases that are familiar to the field of work. (They will need to be checked before being sent out).
Those attributes expected of the post-holder should be described. These will be used as criteria when assessing each applicant.
Job Description
Purpose of Post
• Ensure that the people of Gwynedd are at the centre of everything we do.
• Provide leadership, advice and specialist support within the Homelessness Team. The Senior Homelessness Officer will manage complex cases, support colleagues with casework, ensure compliance with housing legislations, and contribute to the development and delivery of homelessness alleviation and prevention services.
Responsibility for Resources. e.g. staff, budgets, equipment
• Laptop and mobile phone
2 Main Duties
• Manage a small caseload of complex homelessness applications, including high-risk and vulnerable clients.
• Ensure that decisions are made in accordance with the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, the Code of Guidance for Homelessness and other relevant legislations.
• Promote homelessness prevention by identifying opportunities for early intervention and supporting clients to maintain tenancies.
• Provide a customer centred service - for those who are homeless or under threat of becoming homeless.
• Dealing with clients in an unbiased and non-judgemental way
• Carry out an assessment of the clients' housing circumstances to identify the problems/difficulties
• Conduct home visits and assessments in other locations, such as hospitals when and where required.
• Conduct visits in the prisons or National Probation Services Bail Hostels when and where required.
• Discuss high-risk clients and advise on the suitability of the property.
• Look for possible solutions for clients to solve their housing problems, ensure that their needs and wishes are considered.
• Encourage clients to be pro-active to find solutions and to take responsibility for their housing solutions.
• Try to get rid of barriers to get effective answers for clients and get support from other Council staff or external agencies as required.
• Provide advice and support on realistic housing options and refer and guide them to other agencies as required.
• Conduct joint assessments with the Social Services 16+ team to assess young people aged 16/17 years old who are homeless or at threat of being homeless, in accordance with the Council's Joint Working Protocol.
• Ensure that clients have registered for Social Housing on the common housing register and liaise with the Housing Options Team to ensure that the information is up-to-date.
• Develop a close working relationship with other Council departments or external agencies as required (such as Social Services, Health Service, the Police, GISDA, CEFNI, NACRO, DIP and the Probation Service). Criminal Justice Service and other partners such as Integrated Offender Management, Prison Link Wales, Rehabilitation Teams, PACT, CRC and other supporting agencies including attending relevant meetings and conferences.
• Attend Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements meetings (MAPPA 1 and MAPPA 2) at the Probation Service's request.
• Attend Team Meetings and contribute to the development and the improvement of the service.
• Effective use of IT systems to record information for statistical purposes.
• Provide supervision, direction and support from day to day to Homelessness Officers and other front-line staff.
• Act as the first point of contact for complex enquiries, offering specialist case guidelines and advice.
• Train and mentor staff to build confidence, decision-making skills and professional skills when managing homelessness applications.
• Support staff to interpret and apply housing legislation, ensuring consistent and lawful decisions.
• Organise training opportunities on the job and shadowing for new or less experienced staff.
• Identify team and individual training needs and contribute these to service development and workforce planning.
• Provide constructive feedback and conduct regular 1:1 supervision, contributing to performance reviews.
• Encourage reflective practice and a trauma-informed approach as staff interact with clients.
• Promote a positive, accountable and supportive team culture where staff feel that they are appreciated and empowered to provide high-quality services.
• Attend courses on homelessness legislation and any other relevant courses concerning housing and housing support that contribute to personal development in the post.
• Monitor the quality of officers' casework, ensuring consistency, compliance and high standards of customer service.
• Help to draw up performance data, identify trends, and offer improvements to the service.
• Contribute towards the audits, reviews and development of policies and procedures.
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with internal departments, external agencies, landlords and support providers.
• Represent the service in multi-agency meetings and case conferences.
• Promote a collaborative method of addressing homelessness and supporting vulnerable individuals.
• Ensure that safeguarding procedures for adults and children at risk are followed.
• Note risks relating to clients, staff or accommodation and refer them appropriately.
• Promote a trauma-informed approach and focus on the client within the team.
• Deputise on behalf of the Team Leader/Manager as required.
• Contribute towards developing new projects, initiatives and strategies to reduce homelessness.
• Undertake any other duties that are reasonable and commensurate with the post.
• Responsible for self-development.
• Ensure compliance with Health and Safety rules in the workplace in accordance with the responsibilities noted in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Council’s Health and Safety Policy.
• Operate within the Council’s policies in relation to equal opportunities and equality.
• Responsibility for managing information in accordance with the Council’s information management standards and guidelines. Ensure that personal information is handled in accordance with Data Protection legislation.
• Commitment to reducing the Council’s carbon emissions in accordance with the Carbon Management Plan, and to encourage others to act positively towards reducing the Council’s Carbon Footprint;
• Undertaking any other reasonable duty which corresponds with the salary level and responsibility level of the job.
• Responsible for reporting any concern or suspicion that a child or vulnerable adult is being abused
Special Circumstances e.g. the need to work unsociable hours, special working arrangements etc.
• The post-holder may be required to work unsociable hours, as necessary.
The above is only an outline of the duties of the post to provide an idea of the responsibility levels associated with the post. This job description is not comprehensively detailed and the duties of the post could change from time to time without changing its basic nature and level of responsibility.
