Housing Solutions Apprentice

About Us

North Somerset Council is committed to providing high-quality services to our community. We are committed to creating a fair, green, and more inclusive environment for all our residents. Join us and contribute to making a positive impact on our community.

The Role

Are you a Modern Apprentice who is interested in a career in housing? Join our Home Choice and Lettings Team to get a great start to your career. The Home Choice & Lettings Team is responsible for providing emergency accommodation, administering the social housing register and working with private landlords to find suitable homes for our customers.

In this role, you will; Work with our Home Choice team, who oversee the social housing register. You will learn how to assess housing applications, applying our allocations policy, provide excellent customer service to applicants by phone, email and face to face and will be given opportunities to spend time with other functions within the housing service to broaden your knowledge. If you show aptitude and make good progress in year one, you will have the opportunity to study for a formal qualification with the Chartered Institute of Housing in your second year.

Key Responsibilities:

• Working on the administration of the housing register
• Verifying information to ensure that applications are correctly prioritised
• Correspondence with applicants and other professionals such as healthcare professionals, the police and social workers to make robust decisions about priority on the housing register
• Learn about the legislation and policies surrounding social housing
• Work on our supported housing register
• Speak to customers and professionals by phone and face to face
• Keep in regular contact with housing providers
• Assist in providing reports and statistics to identify service needs

Please note: this role is office based and the successful candidate will need to be able to travel to the Town Hall in Weston-super-Mare for work.

Work Style

At North Somerset Council, we offer a hybrid working environment based on four distinct work styles. Depending on the role and personal circumstances, you will fall into one of these categories. However, please note that during the induction period, it may be necessary to spend more time in the office to support your learning and development. We are flexible and open to discussions about your preferred working style, and if you wish to be in the office more frequently, this can be negotiated.

This role falls into the category of Fixed Worker which means you can expect to work in the following way:

• 4+ days in the office
• Spends most or all of their time in the office, due to nature of the post but can be for reasons such as unsuitable home working conditions or a desire for separation of home and work life.
• The office remains a shared space with cultural encouragement for clear desk policies.

About You

We are looking for an individual who wants to building a career in housing, and who possess the following skills and experience:

Essential Criteria:

• GCSE or equivalent in English and maths
• Organised and reliable
• Able to work in an office environment and travel daily to and from the Town Hall
• Able to work as part of a team
• Excellent customer service skills
• Good standard of spoken English
• Knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel
• Empathy and an understanding of the challenges facing people trying to access housing

Desirable Criteria:

• Some knowledge of the legislation and issues related to housing and homelessness
• Some experience of providing customer service in a work environment
• An interest in undertaking further study with the Chartered Institute of Housing

What We Offer

At North Somerset Council, we value our employees and provide a supportive and inclusive work environment. We offer:

• Competitive salary and benefits
• Flexible working arrangements
• Local Government Pension
• Opportunities for professional development
• Inclusive Staff groups including Carers, Disabled, LGBTQ+, REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), and Young Staff Forums
• Opportunity to purchase up to an additional 10 days annual leave each year
• Dedicated in house Wellbeing Team
• Salary sacrifice Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle schemes

Further details of our excellent rewards package can be found in our Benefits booklet.

How to Apply

If you share our vision and valuesand are ready to make an impact to North Somerset, please apply on the following link: Business Administration Apprentice – Find an apprenticeship – GOV.UK

Contact Information

For further information about the role, please contact Christine Gibson, Senior Projects Officer at Christine.Gibson@n-somerset.gov.uk

Important Information

As a Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job role.

Interview Date: TBA

Please note: We are currently only able to accept applications from candidates who have full permission to work in the UK and are unable to provide Sponsorship for this role.

Equal Opportunities

At North Somerset Council we want all our employees to feel valued and appreciated. We aim to ensure equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination irrespective of your sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or belief, race, age, disability, including neurodiversity, if you are married or in a civil partnership or are pregnant or currently on maternity leave. We strive to create a workplace that reflects the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We reserve the right to close this advertisement early or extend the closing date depending on the number of applications received.