Accommodation Officer

What will you be doing?

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated and values‑driven professional to join Kent Supported Homes within the Accommodation Team, 18+ Care Leavers Service. This role is based at Worrall House, West Malling, with countywide travel as required.

The Accommodation Officer plays a central role in supporting Kent Supported Homes Hosts, who provide accommodation and day‑to‑day support to young people, including Care Leavers and young adults with a range of experiences and backgrounds, including former Unaccompanied Asylum‑Seeking Children (UASC). The post holder will work closely with Hosts and professional partners to promote safe, stable, and nurturing placements, supporting young people to work towards independence and positive adult outcomes.

About the role:

- Hold a caseload of Kent Supported Homes Hosts, acting as their single point of professional contact and providing guidance, support, and proportionate challenge to ensure placements meet assessed needs and regulatory expectations.

- Work closely with Hosts to support placement stability, helping them respond appropriately to young people’s needs, behaviours, and vulnerabilities within a trauma‑informed, strengths‑based framework.

- Contribute to integrated multi‑agency working, liaising effectively with Social Workers, Personal Advisers, managers, and external agencies to ensure clarity of roles, responsibilities, and desired outcomes for each placement.

- Support Hosts to understand and meet the requirements of the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023, contributing to monitoring, review, and continuous improvement of service quality.

- Deliver or coordinate training and development opportunities for Hosts, identifying learning needs and promoting confident, consistent, and safe practice.

- Provide guidance and support during emergency or unplanned situations, helping to ensure appropriate decision‑making, continuity arrangements, and risk management.

- Work alongside Personal Advisers and relevant colleagues to ensure that housing‑related support, benefits, and practical resources are in place to sustain accommodation and promote independence.

- Represent Kent County Council positively and professionally in meetings, forums, and information sessions, maintaining constructive relationships with Hosts and partners.

- Remain flexible and responsive to service priorities and the evolving needs of Hosts and young people across the county and travel countywide and out of county, when required.

About you:

- Ideally experienced in supporting vulnerable children, young people, or adults to access and sustain suitable accommodation, ideally within supported, shared, or family‑based environments.

- Have a sound understanding of relevant legislation, policy, and regulatory frameworks relating to children, care leavers, and supported accommodation.

- Confident in delivering sensitive information, managing professional challenge, and supporting others to respond appropriately to behaviour and risk.

- Confident in delivering sensitive information, managing professional challenge, and supporting others to respond appropriately to behaviour and risk.

- Passionate about providing high‑quality support to Hosts and carers, recognising their vital role in achieving positive outcomes for young people.

- Takes a firm but compassionate, trauma‑informed approach, ensuring young people’s voices are heard and appropriately balanced within placement decisions and expectations.

- Demonstrates strong planning, organisational, and review skills, with a consistent focus on positive outcomes, placement stability, and progression towards independence.

- Can build effective professional relationships while maintaining clear boundaries, accountability, and an ability to make balanced, defensible decisions.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Application to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

About you

If you would like an informal discussion about this opportunity please contact the Accommodation Team Manager via Sebastian.Blythe@kent.gov.uk

About us

Work that works for you and us - let's talk flexibility!

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note - if you are interested, please apply soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.