Job Outline
Post Title: Housing Services Advisor
Department: Housing Management
Reports to: Housing Manager
Responsible for: Reception Areas
Grade: 2/3
Purpose of Job: - To be the first point of contact to our customers and to assist in the provision of an excellent customer focused housing service.
To respond to enquiries from customers and the general public regarding housing, related matters and other council services.
To provide clerical and admin support to Managers, Team Leaders andHousing Officers and undertake housing management duties.
Generic Housing Services Advisor duties
  • Act as the first point of contact for customers on a day to day basis (reception, phone or face to face), accurately evaluating the nature of the customer enquiry whilst keeping the customer up to date at all times.
  • Responsibility to resolve each call, visit and query as efficiently and effectively as possible to completion, including any non standard situations and sign posting to relevant team.
  • Ensure full up to date working knowledge of services, developments and all systems used and share knowledge with colleagues, including supporting the training of new members of staff when requested.
  • Provide up to date reports and information within allocated timescales.
  • To record customer complaints and resolve stage 1 complaints. If stage 2, forwarding to relevant team on in house system to action and resolve.
  • To ensure compliance with the standards of any external accreditation and Blackpool Coastal Housing service standards.
  • To send and distribute letters as requested.
  • To make unprompted and extra effort to satisfy customer needs and avoid customer complaints, taking ownership of enquiries and proactively feeding back information to customers.
  • To identify, report and assist in the resolution ofresolve reoccurring issues.
  • Suggest solutions for service improvement.
  • Contribute to amending/ creating procedures within a variety of service roles
  • Minute meetings as required.
  • Ensure reception area is kept tidy, well stocked and up to date with relevant literature.
  • HA may be required to move offices/ teams within same job role. E.g.From Estate Management to Lettings.
Lettings
  • Book appointments including sign ups, visits, transfer inspections for relevant officer/team within service standard timescales.
  • Complete references, checks and correspond with relevant partners
  • To input and co-ordinate responses to Customer Satisfaction Surveys onto Survey Monkey and produce reports. Review surveys for further action, contacting and forwarding to Repairs and reporting on responses.
  • Updating computer systemincluding creating new applications, offers, scanned documents.
  • Printing shortlistsfrom the computer system.
  • Checking applications on the computer system.
  • Add documents to the computer system.
  • Complete inter-partner references and arrange property inspections.
  • Compile a property newsletter mailing list (weekly task).
  • Approving mutual exchange adverts.
  • Updating mutual exchange adverts.
  • Ensure property adverts and newsletters are prominently displayed in reception.
  • Notifying relevant teams of updates i.e. keys received, Confirmation of occupancy forms, termination notices.
  • Sending letters including termination acknowledgement letters, multiple viewing/AV letters.
  • Collate decant figures for Lettings Officer/ Lettings manager/ Director (weekly task).
  • Check ITT report for upcoming voids and to advise Housing Options of any changes to applications (weekly task).
  • Create sign-up packs when required for Lettings Officers.
  • Place bids on the computer system for customers.
  • Liaise with all residents who are affected by any decant/ homeloss circumstances. (Assist with bidding, provide information on dates of any works etc).
Estate Management and ASB
  • Provide general admin for both the ASB and Estate Management Officers including producing and sending letters to both complainants and perpetrators;
  • On receipt of the welcome packs, separate them into each housing management area, log them onto the spreadsheet, populate the tenancy audit forms and then send out appointment letters;
  • Assist the ASB and Estate Management Officers in making tenancy changes and inputting those changes on the in-house system accordingly;
  • To work alongside partner agencies in particular the police, social services and NHSand assist in information sharing
  • Updating computer systems, opening new cases and assigning to the relevant ASB and Estate ManagementOfficers.
  • Dealing with sub contractors for Grounds Maintenance, Fly tipping etc.
  • Creating fobs for new tenants/staff/contractors and lost fobs.
  • Managing and booking interview rooms.
  • Allocating, offering and letting garages. Including application forms, keys and dealing with terminations.
  • Dealing with low level ASB and Estate Management enquiries face to face, over the phone and by written correspondence;
  • To manage the booking in and out of keys from contractors and BCH operatives;
Rents
The Rents Assistant (current arrears) tasks are as follows
  • Discussing rent accounts and making payment arrangements.
  • Taking payments.
  • New Tenant Checklists (Checking for identity etc and then making contact with the tenant at a later date).
  • Notice Checklists (inc. contacting Social, Mental Health and Children’s Services for current involvement).
  • RIO Referrals checklist (inc. contacting Social, Mental Health and Children’s Services for current involvement and checking the house file).
  • Scanning and Filing of Direct deduction applications and confirmations and New tenant checklists.
  • Checking and taking the appropriate action on Housing Officers arrears list under £150 arrears (Including issuing letters or calling tenants).
  • Managing arrears on Garage patch, taking appropriate action
  • Checking Arrears Processing No Action list for any accounts that have dropped out of the arrears sequence and taking appropriate action to get it back to where it should be.
  • Ordering rent cards, working out standing order payments and Direct Debit payments and sending forms out.
  • Refunds.
  • Checking for tenants on the death list.
  • Issuing welcome packs.
  • Other ad-hoc and clerical duties.
  • SOD referrals.
  • Debt Check requests from Social Services.
  • Credit list checks – Once monthly.
  • Overflow from RIO’s (Including charity referrals, phone calls, NSL etc).
The FTA post tasks are as follows
  • Dealing with telephone/in person queries relating to FTA’s
  • Monitoring FTA arrears action list and following recommended actions.
  • Making payment arrangements on former tenancy debts and monitoring payments.
  • Ordering payment cards, working out standing orders/direct debits and sending appropriate forms
  • Sending detailed arrears statements to former tenants enquiring about their debts, including collating statements into one readable statement and statements for accounts that have been written off where the former tenant is now paying.
  • Monitoring and recording payments on Former Tenancy arrears.
  • Collating and sending information to Tracing agency and processing returns.
  • Collating and sending information to Debt Collection Agency and processing monthly remits and returns.
  • Collating information for client to approve accounts to be written off
  • Liaising with Repairs to see if any void work is to be re-charged to the former tenant before starting the FTA process to enable sending former tenancy repair invoices with former arrears letters
  • Contacting NOK to see if Deceased estates are able to cover any outstanding debts and liaising with Solicitors processing estates.
  • Processing returned mail
  • Processing Former tenancy credit refunds.
  • Liaising with Hostels and Housing Benefit to get information regarding queries on former tenant accounts.
  • Process and record information from FTA weekly report
  • Processing Home Loss information requests from Lettings Team
  • Working with IT to keep the FTA flow working correctly to mirror the policy and procedures for FTA collection and updating FTA letters as required
  • Work with Lettings team when signing up someone for a new tenancy with Former tenant arrears that are to be written into their tenancy agreement to ensure payment arrangement is set up on their former account.
  • Providing information to Rents Officers regarding former arrears written into current tenancies when the current tenancy is being issued Notice/taken to court.
  • Processing SOD referrals from Housing Applications Team
  • Processing Reference requests from External landlords

Responsibilities of all employees:

The post holder may be expected to undertake other similar reasonable duties related to the scope and main purpose of the job. Any significant changes to these duties will result in changes to the job outline, which will be fully consulted and subject to a job evaluation.

It is the responsibility of the post holder to operate safely within the workplace with regard to health and safety procedures and safe working practices. To be responsible for your own health and safety and that of other people.

All employees are required to operate in accordance with all equalities policies, embracing through personal example, open commitment and clear action that diversity is positively valued, resulting in access for all by ensuring fair treatment in employment, service delivery and communications.

All employees must adhere to confidentiality and data protection procedures at all times. Where access is provided to sensitive information this must remain confidential, and may only be used, copied, stored or disclosed for authorised purposes.

The post holder is responsible for working at all times within the established policies and procedures for the organisation and their service area.

It is the responsibility of the post holder to undertake any relevant training as required for the job role.

All employees are responsible for understanding and adhering to professional boundaries. This includes establishing a professional approach in all dealings with customers.

I agree to the terms of the new job outline and understand that this may be changed in relation to the future needs of the organisation and that I will be fully consulted regarding any changes.

Employee (Print) ______Signature ______Date ______
Line Manager (Print) ______Signature ______Date______


Person Specification
Post Title: HousingServices Advisor / A – Application
Department: Housing Management / I - Interview
T – Test
Reports to: Housing Manager
Grade: 2 / 3

Note: E denotes essential / D denotes desirable

Skills / E/D
  • Excellent communication skills - written and verbal ( A, I, T)
  • Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team (A, I)
  • Time Management Skills (A, I)
  • Good Numeric skills (A, I, T)
  • Computer literate with Microsoft Office including Word and Excel (A)
/ E
E
E
E
E
Knowledge / E/D
  • Knowledge and understanding of Data Protection Act (A, I)
  • Knowledge of national housing issues (A, I, T)
/ D
D
Experience / E/D
  • Experience of working with tenants and residents (A, I)
  • Experience of working in a customer focused environment (A, I)
  • Experience of dealing with neighbourhood nuisance issues (A, I, T)
  • Experience of working in a social housing environment (A)
  • Experience of minute taking (A)
  • Experience of report writing (A)
/ D
E
D
D
D
D
Qualifications / E/D
  • A minimum of 3 GCSE or equivalent at grade C or above to include Maths and English (A)
  • Post Secondary Education (A)
  • Relevant housing or customer care qualification (A)
/ E
D
D
Special Requirements & Environmental Factors / E/D
  • To be flexible (A, I, T)
/ E