(Fixed-term contract / Secondment 12 months).

Housing & Homelessness - Accommodation Procurement Officer

Housing options and homelessness roles

We need you to bring empathy and understanding to our customers when they face some of the most challenging circumstances of their lives.

We need you to use your skills and expertise to provide our homeless customers with the very best advice and support.

Housing is a top resident concern and we face high demand for our services. That is why we are making a significant investment in our housing options and homelessness services. If you are passionate about supporting people out of homelessness and giving great customer care, then you will thrive in these rewarding roles that bring fresh challenges every day.

We currently have a range of roles on offer within Housing Options and Homelessness.

About the role  

You will be part of a team that procures good quality accommodation so that the Council can meet and discharge its duties to homeless and potentially homeless households in accordance with relevant legislation. You will also be responsible for procuring accommodation for care leavers. Your duties and responsibilities will be to work alongside Housing Officers, Through Care Services, the Children's Placement Team, Commissioning Services and other partners and stakeholders, ensuring that properties procured are affordable, suitable, and compliant in line with legislation and that inspections are carried out in a professional and timely manner. 

You should have good negotiation skills and be able to provide high level expert advice to the different teams and stakeholders regarding property standards and costs associated with accommodation and any follow up work/recommendations following inspections. It is essential that you have a driving license and you will be required to carry out inspections to void and occupied properties on a regular basis, which includes but not limited to temporary accommodation, commissioned services and hostel/hotel accommodation. Procurement and inspection of properties and establishments will be both in and outside of Tower Hamlets. You should also have good experience of managing data and providing accurate and concise reports as and when required. 

Equality, diversity, and inclusion.  

We are proud of our diversity and our distinct and vibrant communities. Our borough has a history of welcoming migrants, which is reflected in our values. You will share the values of fairness and equality that are shared across all of our services.  

Our offices 

We offer brand new state-of-the-art offices in the heart of the east end with great transport connections. We are right next to Whitechapel Station, putting all of London within easy reach of the town hall. 

Our benefits 

Our employees are put on the Local Government Pension Scheme. This is a career average salary scheme, so your pension benefits are guaranteed and do not depend on how investments perform. We pay into the fund on your behalf.

We have a generous annual leave entitlement starting at 29 working days, rising to 33 days with 5+ years' service, in addition to bank holidays and an additional 3 days at Christmas.  

We positively encourage flexible working and work life balance aimed at supporting individual employee requirements within the context of meeting service needs.  

We have a number of money-saving schemes, including a rent deposit scheme (which offers staff an interest free loan to help pay rent deposits) and season ticket loan scheme (interest-free loans to help staff when purchasing travel season tickets).

Tower Hamlets vision for our borough is that: people are aspirational, independent and have equal access to opportunities; we are a borough that our residents are proud of and love to live in; and we are a dynamic, outcomes-based council using digital innovation and partnership working to respond to the changing needs of our borough. We want people who aspire to our TOWER values: Together; Open; Willing; Excellent; Respect.

Tower Hamlets has a zero-tolerance approach to, and works to eradicate, all forms of discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, age, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital status, status as a civil partner, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and maternity and looks to employ a diverse workforce representative of those groups. We recognise that people can also be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class.

We welcome applicants interested in flexible working arrangements and also applicants who live in the borough.

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