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Job Description

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: Scale 6-PO1 £35,520 to £43,680

Contract Type: Full-time/Permanent

Retention Bonus: £2K per annum

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 28/07/2026

Proposed Interview Date(s): WC 20/07/2026

Reference: 2121

About Us:

We are a Home Office–licensed sponsor; however, for this specific role we are not able to provide Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. To be considered, you must already hold a form of UK work authorisation that does not require sponsorship.

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

Waltham Forest is proud of its diversity, and we want our workforce to reflect the communities we serve.

We are committed to:

• Promoting equality of opportunity
• Challenging discrimination
• Creating an inclusive and supportive workplace

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

About the role:

Every day in Waltham Forest, people face the risk of losing their home. In this role, you won’t just process cases; you’ll change outcomes.

We’re looking for experienced, resilient Housing Options & Assessment Officers who can think on their feet, make sound decisions, and work compassionately with residents in crisis. If you thrive in a fast paced environment and want your work to have visible impact, this could be the role for you.

This is not a desk job; it’s frontline, high impact work.

As a Housing Options & Assessment Officer, you’ll manage a varied caseload of residents who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. You’ll be responsible for assessing needs, making legally robust decisions and, crucially, identifying realistic solutions that prevent homelessness wherever possible.

You’ll be working with residents who may be vulnerable, in crisis, or facing complex challenges. Success in this role requires confidence, sound judgement, emotional resilience, and the ability to stay focused under pressure.

The ideal candidate for this role would be someone who has a extensive understanding of the realities of frontline housing work

This role offers a Career Development salary range, however it is important to note that candidates with substantial and directly relevant experience may be considered for the higher starting salary within the advertised grade, subject to assessment and the Council's pay policies

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Key Responsibilities:

• Assess housing needs and determine statutory duties under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2018
• Conduct detailed interviews (face-to-face and telephone) with residents in housing need
• Produce clear, compliant statutory decision letters and Personal Housing Plans
• Take proactive action to prevent homelessness, including engaging with landlords and agents
• Promote a full range of housing options including private rented solutions
• Work collaboratively with colleagues and partners to progress cases and remove barriers
• Maintain accurate records, manage data, and contribute to service performance.

Qualifications and Requirements:

To be considered for this position, you should meet the following requirements:

• Minimum 2 years’ experience of having worked in a fast paced, resident focused environment to manage a varied caseload of applicants. 
• Minimum 2 years’ experience in a busy Housing Options / Prevention & Assessment service
• Knowledge of frontline housing services (Desirable)
• Excellent knowledge and application of IT systems and software packages.
• Ability to work with minimum supervision, using problem solving skills and initiative to provide a resident focused support service. 
• Excellent levels of literacy and numeracy. 
• Ability to work flexibly, balancing competing priorities and meeting deadlines whilst understanding the needs, timescales and deadlines of others. 
• Ability to deal diplomatically and confidentially with a wider range of stakeholders internally and externally.
• Strong working knowledge of homelessness legislation and processes
• Confidence managing a complex caseload independently
• The ability to make sound decisions in challenging, time pressured situations
• Excellent communication skills, including handling difficult conversations with empathy and clarity
• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail

Just as important:

• You’re resilient; you can handle pressure without losing focus
• You’re proactive; you look for solutions, not just processes
• You’re committed; you want to make a genuine difference

What you’ll get in return:

• A role where your work has visible, meaningful impact every day
• A supportive team environment with opportunities to learn and develop
• A council that is committed to fairness, inclusion, and staff wellbeing

Terms and conditions:

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

• Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
• Satisfactory declaration of interest;
• As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Leon Irish, Housing Options and Assessment Manager, at Leon.Irish@walthamforest.gov.uk .

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.

Fraud Awareness Notice:

The London Borough of Waltham Forest only advertises vacancies via our official website and approved recruitment platforms (e.g. Jobsgopublic).

We will never ask for payment or request sensitive personal or financial information as part of our recruitment process.

If you are contacted by a third party claiming to represent the Council, please verify the vacancy via our official careers website before sharing any information.

If you have concerns about a job advert or communication, please report it to:
fraud@walthamforest.gov.uk