Want a job that makes a real difference?!
Help tackle homelessness!
We are providing critical help and support to 1000s of households every year in Cornwall who are facing homelessness or who are already homeless. We offer a variety of exciting and challenging roles from providing early “upstream” prevention support for people experiencing issues that may need to lead to homelessness to helping families move from emergency accommodation into a settled home and everything in between. Whatever the role, you will be working with passionate, supportive colleagues committed to make a difference to our communities and our residents.
If you have no direct experience of working in homelessness but you have energy, learn quickly, are caring and have great people skills then we still want to hear from you! We can teach you the rest.
This role is in the Housing Options Directorate and is linked to delivery of Cornwall Councils statutory duty to those homeless or threatened with homelessness under Part VII Housing Act 1996 (as amended) and the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy. Specifically your caseload will be Refugees identified as being homeless or at risk of homelessness with a focus on Homelessness Prevention and fulfilling any obligations under the Homelessness Reduction Act where a Homelessness Application is triggered.
The role aims to deliver the Three main priorities identified in the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy:
- Prevention - we will deliver creative and personalised services that help people sustain their homes and ensure they receive early support when they are at risk of homelessness;
- Intervention – when people fall into crisis, we will act swiftly to give them targeted support to get them into accommodation or off the streets;
- Recovery – we believe that ending homelessness is about more than a roof over someone’s head and we will support people to live independently and lead meaningful quality lives.
The role will:
- Work across the wider virtual resettlement services area to ensure a joined up approach to services provided to Refugees and Asylum Seekers
- seek to identify people who may be at risk of homelessness at the earliest possible opportunity and work proactively with those identified as being at risk of homelessness or already homeless to prevent and relieve their homelessness wherever possible.
- provide specialist advice on housing and related matters in a manner that is flexible, person-centred and responsive to the individual needs of the client. All clients will be supported to identify their strengths and to develop the skills and knowledge needed to achieve their housing related goals.
- build on strong partnerships, with a view to maximise opportunities to prevent homelessness in the first instance or if not possible, relieve homelessness as quickly as possible
- provide an effective, professional homelessness service on behalf of the Council including assessment, investigation and decisions making in line with the Councils’ statutory duties under Housing Act Part VII Housing Act 1996 (as amended), code of guidance, best practise and relevant case law
- drive the council’s reduction in the use of temporary accommodation by ensuring that all other appropriate avenues are thoroughly explored to prevent or relieve homelessness as an alternative to needing to provide emergency accommodation.
The function of the post requires face to face and remote (telephone & other IT solutions) interaction with customers. The role will be primarily be home or office based but on occasions there will be a requirement for visiting customers at their accommodation and attending meetings.
The jobholder may occasionally be subject to emotional demands due to the nature of the customers presenting issues.
A role profile can be found here.
Fairness and inclusion are at the heart of our vision for Cornwall. In order to best serve our communities, we are striving to achieve a diverse workforce that is inclusive of all backgrounds, cultures and identities; e.g. race, disability, sex, gender, age, religion and sexual orientation. We are an equal opportunities and Disability Confident employer, and we will assess applicants on their merits.
Cornwall Council is committed to safeguarding and following safer recruitment principles to help make sure our staff and volunteers are suitable to work with children, young people and adults at risk. It’s a vital part of creating a safe and positive environment and making a commitment to keeping all service users safe from harm.
Whilst the location/work-base for this role has been specified our evolving ways of working means that the role may require you to also work remotely (e.g. from home/other locations). We will discuss this with you during the recruitment process.
More information about working for Cornwall Council is available here.
We are open to discussion about flexible working.
