Accommodation and housing advisor jobs

• About The Role

• Do you have experience supporting vulnerable people with complex needs in a Housing, Hostel or Supported Accommodation environment, and are you ready to take the next step into a supervisory role?

  We have an exciting opportunity for a Temporary Accommodation Support Supervisor (18-month maternity cover) to join our Housing team, working to support some of the district’s most vulnerable adults to move on from temporary accommodation into longer-term housing solutions.

  You will play a key role in the day-to-day running of Council-owned homeless accommodation in West Oxfordshire, ensuring high-quality, safe and well-managed services. Working closely with internal teams and external partners, you will help residents develop the skills and support they need to move on successfully, while also supervising and supporting a small team of Temporary Accommodation Support Officers.

  This is a rewarding but demanding role, ideal for someone who combines empathy with professionalism, resilience and strong organisational skills.

  What you’ll be doing

  • Supervising and providing day-to-day direction to Temporary Accommodation Support Officers, with direct line management responsibility for two staff members
  • Ensuring the efficient running of Council-owned homeless accommodation, maintaining high service standards and maximising occupancy
  • Managing hostel budgets, minimising voids and ensuring residents are supported to claim the correct benefits and meet service charge requirements
  • Carrying out and overseeing risk assessments, health & safety checks, and property inspections, ensuring repairs and issues are reported promptly
  • Developing bespoke support plans for residents to help them manage their stay and move on into independent accommodation
  • Supporting residents to access benefits, support agencies, employment, education or volunteering opportunities
  • Managing and responding to anti-social behaviour, while maintaining positive relationships with neighbours and local businesses
  • Representing the service at multi-agency meetings and contributing to alternative homelessness pathways
  • Deputising for the Temporary Accommodation Lead when required
  • Participating in an on-call duty rota (additional remuneration provided)

  What we’re looking for

  Someone who values structure, confidentiality and professionalism alongside compassion and support. You will be working with sensitive personal information and must demonstrate a strong understanding of safeguarding, GDPR and professional boundaries.

  You’ll need to be resilient and adaptable, able to remain calm and confident when working in challenging environments or emotionally complex situations. Teamwork is essential, as is the ability to work independently under pressure and meet tight deadlines.

  You will also need a sound understanding of housing legislation, including the Housing Acts, the Homelessness Reduction Act and associated guidance.

  You will need

  • A qualification equivalent to a degree or at least five years’ relevant experience in Housing, Housing Management, Supported Accommodation or a hostel-based environment
  • GCSE Maths and English (grade C/4 or above, or equivalent)
  • Experience of working with vulnerable people with complex needs
  • Experience of supervising staff or supporting service delivery within a housing or support setting
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Confidence using IT systems, including Microsoft and Google packages
  • A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle for work purposes

  Desirable

  • A relevant professional or academic qualification
  • Knowledge or experience of project management
  • Membership of a relevant professional body
  For more information about this role please see the Job Description/Person Specification.
   
  Special Conditions
  •  Full UK driving licence and ability to travel across the district
  • Standard DBS check required
  • Deputising for the Temporary Accommodation Lead when required
  • Participating in an on-call duty rota (additional remuneration provided)

  Should we receive a high volume of applications, we reserve the right to close this vacancy early. We therefore encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Previous applicants need not apply.

  What we can do for you

  • Agile working allowing a mix of home and office working
  • Flexible working arrangements (depending on the role)
  • 27 days paid annual leave (pro rata if you are working part time) plus bank holidays and an extra two volunteering days off a year for you to support a charity of your choice
  • Renewed again for another year there is a health cash plan giving you cash back on health, dental and eye care
  • Pension scheme with a good employer contribution of up to 7% of your earnings
  • Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, providing positive, preventative and supportive advice and counselling to deal with everyday events and issues
  • Cycle to work scheme
  • Salary sacrifice car lease scheme with significant tax and NI savings to be made on electric cars
  • Generous sickness cover above statutory entitlements
  • Additional income protection, covering 50% of your salary for potentially a further five years if you are unable to work due to sickness or injury
  • Life assurance, currently four times your annual salary

  Watch our new 'What is Publica' video to see why its great to join us!

• About Us

• You will be employed by Publica Group Ltd which was created by four partner Councils (West Oxfordshire District Council, Cotswold District Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and Forest of Dean District Council) to deliver more efficient and improved services. 

  Publica is committed to meeting its statutory and moral duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people under 18 years of age and adults at risk who are the recipients of its services and/or activities.

  
  Publica is a unique place to work, established to transform the way local services are delivered, fundamentally rethinking the way our services are designed and delivered in a digital era, making us a customer-focused organisation driven by real user needs.

We are looking to recruit an experienced HR Advisor to provide comprehensive HR support. You’ll play a key role in supporting the employee experience, providing top-notch support to all teams in the organisation and be comfortable working with all levels of seniority.  

Experience of employee relations will be pivotal in supporting the organisation as we transition to a unionised environment. As a trusted advisor, you will have sound employment law knowledge and be comfortable with challenging conversations, supporting managers with any issues such as sickness absence, capability or a disciplinary procedure. 

You’ll ensure that recruitment costs are kept to a minimum, work with recruitment managers to ensure vacancies are advertised following internal processes and ensure employment contracts are finalised before onboarding starts.  You'll also be happy using systems to assign training to new joiners and to existing staff, keeping records of courses and ensuring that safeguarding training is completed.

Bringing your experience of HR and a willingness and enthusiasm to the role,  you will proactively seek to continually improve yourself and the role, championing a culture of service excellence, as well as taking ownership and accountability of your workload.

Please refer to the job description for further information. If you have any questions please email us.

In your cv and cover letter please outline how you meet the requirements of the role and why you would like to work for us. You must account for any gaps in your employment history.

The Centre is an equal opportunities employer.  We are always looking for talented people from all backgrounds to join us and help improve the lives of homeless young people, insecurely housed families and their children.  We particularly want to encourage people from under-represented groups in the not-for-profit sector to step forward and apply to work with us. We require our staff to recognise the valuable role that volunteers play in the work of the Centre and to welcome and support volunteers with whom they work.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We require job applicants, staff and volunteers to complete a criminal records self-declaration and, for this role, to undertake a basic DBS check.

Applicants must have the right to work in the UK. We are unable to sponsor visas.

Benefits

· 26 days’ leave, rising to 28 days’ leave after two years’ service (pro rata for part time staff)

· Discretionary wellbeing and celebratory days

· Workplace pension scheme and we’ll match employee contributions up to a maximum of 6%

· Life assurance cover (after probation passed)

· Employee assistance programme

· Season ticket loan

· Training and development opportunities

· Access to Blue Light Card discounts

How to apply

Send your cv and cover letter.  To ensure fairness at all stages of the process, please don’t send your application to any other email address at the Centre

Closing date for applications: Monday 2 February, 9am
Interviews will be held mid-end February

Please note that a short test will form part of the interview process, if you are shortlisted details will be provided to you in advance.

If you’ve not heard from us three weeks after the closing date, please assume you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.