Accommodation Officer

The Housing and Homelessness Service is a very busy environment  and faces several challenges in meeting the housing needs of citizens of Coventry. The team have grown significantly during the last 12 months, and this reflects the fact that Housing & Homelessness are now a key council priority.

The team are responsible for the delivery of the following service functions:

• Provision of the statutory homeless service

• Provision of temporary accommodation

• Management of the housing register

• Coordination of support to citizens sleeping rough

• Commissioning of homeless services, and

• Responsibility for housing strategy

The Council has a strategic vision that is clearly set out in both the Housing & Homelessness and the Rough Sleeping Strategies, which were both approved in 2019.

By becoming part of an expanding team who are focused on preventing households from becoming homeless, as well as providing tailored support and interventions when someone does become homeless, this is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference to some of the most vulnerable people in our city.

We value diverse perspectives and experiences and are striving to create an inclusive workplace culture, is accepting of all and is free from discrimination and bias.

In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce. A vital part of this is ensuring we are a truly inclusive organisation that encourages diversity in all respects, including diversity of thinking. We particularly welcome applicants from minority ethnic, LGBT+, disabled and neurodiverse communities to make a real difference to our residents so that equity and respect remains at the heart of everything we do.

Our Values are:

• Open and fair: We are fair, open, and transparent.
• Nurture and develop: We help and encourage everyone to be their best and do their best.
• Engage and empower: We talk and listen to others, working together as one.
• Create and innovate: We embrace new ways of working to continuously improve.
• Own and be accountable: We work together to deliver the best services for our residents.
• Value and respect: We put diversity and inclusion at the heart of all we do.

As an Accommodation Officer, you’ll join the team at an exciting time for the housing and homeless service. In the post, you’ll be responsible for the placement of homeless households into temporary accommodation, managing the provision of temporary accommodation.

This full-time permanent post has been secured to enable to the successful candidate to focus on single homeless people who are in temporary accommodation, to move on to suitable, settled accommodation.

As a move-on officer, your focus will be on working with the most complex people within temporary accommodation. You will be front-facing and out in the community to ensure our services make it to those who need us most.

The role also includes the ongoing case management of homeless households in temporary accommodation in relation to tenancy management, rent collection, and timely move-on into more permanent accommodation to discharge the Council’s rehousing duty.

All candidates must have the Right to Work in the UK. We are currently not offering sponsorship for this role.

This post is exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and as such appointment to this post will be conditional upon the receipt of a satisfactory response to a check of police records via Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

To be successful in this role you will need:

• Positive attitude towards helping people to overcome Homelessness
• Strong negotiating skills and advocacy skills.
• Problem solving and and creative approach to achieve desired outcomes
• Resilience and determination to achieve right outcomes for Homeless people
• Willingness to learn about the relevant legislation for Housing and Homelessness
• The ability to travel around the City.
• You will be able to use your initiative, be forward thinking and solutions led due to this being a reactive role

If you need help or support to complete your application, please visit our accessibility page to see how we can assist you.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme - As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'. If there is any evidence of a candidate using AI to complete their application, then the application will be rejected unless the candidate can provide a justification which the Council considers to be reasonable.

Interview 1, Group exercise - 03/11/2025

Candidates selected from the group stage will continue to the panel interview.

Panel interview - 05/11/2025 and 06/11/2025

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 5100 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies