Housing Advice Officer (x2)

About the Role:

An exciting opportunity has arisen for two Housing Advice Officers to join our dedicated and busy Housing & Inclusion Team to act as caseworkers for applicants, providing advice and assistance on the range of options available to resolve their housing problems. We are looking for someone with a sound knowledge of Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended) and the ability to make decisions within the realm of the legislation. You also should have experience of supporting vulnerable people with complex needs including domestic abuse issues. You will have a robust understanding of the causes of homelessness, the challenges faced by those at risk, and the interventions available to help prevent and relieve homelessness.

You would be based at our Community Hub, Trinity, in Maidstone Town Centre for a minimum of three days a week. The Housing & inclusion team provides a compassionate and supportive response to service users who are at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping by providing a face-to-face housing advice service to those who need it.  

As a Housing Advice Officer, you will manage your own case load, work with clients to assess their housing needs and provide exceptional advice and support. You will need the ability to demonstrate skills of empathy in assessing the clients housing circumstances and support needs, to devise personalised housing plans and to provide a broad range of housing options, with the aim of assisting clients to retain their current accommodation, or secure alternative suitable accommodation.

These roles are offered on a full-time basis, working 37 hours per week from Trinity House on permanent contracts. There is also the scope for agile working under the Council’s agile working arrangements, dependant on the needs of the service.

You may be required to participate in the out of hours on-call rota covering evenings, weekends and bank holidays to provide emergency assistance on housing matters.

About You:

The successful applicant will be enthusiastic, highly motivated and have excellent communication skills. You should have an excellent understanding of housing legislation and experience of interviewing clients or working in a front facing housing related field. Additionally, you will have excellent interpersonal, organisation and IT skills.

You should be a strong team player who embraces change and is able to work flexibility to meet the needs of the service and our clients.

The Council considers this to be a customer focused role and the ability to converse at ease with customers adapting communication style to suit differing audiences and provide advice in accurate spoken English is fundamental to the role.

Selection Process:

Following the submission of your application form, it will be reviewed by the recruiting manager. Those that are successful in securing an interview can expect a job specific interview assessment, followed by an interview.

About Us:

Maidstone Borough Council is a confident organisation with ambition and aspirations to deliver high quality services to our residents and local businesses. We strive to make the borough an attractive place for all and secure a successful economy.

We continue to build on our strengths - assets, knowledge and expertise and our track record for innovation and improvement to create a financially sustainable future so that we can continue with our undiminished plans.

We will only achieve the results we are aiming for through the talents and hard work of all our people. You are encouraged to become part of our vision and in return you can expect support, training, and fair reward from us. We will give you the opportunity to develop the skills to do your job well and create a positive working environment where your ideas about improving how we do things are valued and we manage the changes needed for new ways of working well.

Our Offer:

A range of benefits including: 

• Flexible hybrid working opportunities
• 7am to 7pm flexi time to suit personal circumstances for most roles
• Generous holiday entitlement which increases after 5 years LG service plus bank holidays with the option to buy additional leave.
• Additional 3 days leave given to enable a close down of the offices between Christmas and New year.
• Free parking
• Range of flexible working opportunities to accommodate people’s home/work life balance including compressed hours, 9-day fortnight, part time.
• Invitations to staff events to celebrate success and support wellbeing that include holistic therapies and outdoor activities
• Employee Assistance Programme which provides confidential & independent information and access to counsellors
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with valuable life cover and financial protection for your family.
• Life Assurance – three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• Season Ticket Loan - to help with the cost of your rail/ bus journey, to & from work 
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand-new car. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax. 
• Annual flu vaccine
• Cycle to work scheme
• Staff benefits discounts on leisure, eating out, holidays and shopping
• Excellent learning and career opportunities for committed individuals
• A professional fee payment, if required for the role

Maidstone Borough Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employee and volunteers to share this commitment.

The Council considers that the successful applicant will have access to the Government’s secure network and will need to have a Baseline Personnel Security Standard check completed. In addition to the normal pre-employment checks this requires a criminal record check for unspent convictions and verification of employment history for the preceding 3 years. Where the 3 years of employment history cannot be verified through the most recent employment reference, you will need to provide a copy of your HMRC PAYE record for the 3-year period and will need to explain the reasons for any gaps in employment

If you would like to discuss this position, please contact Samantha Mc’Coy SamanthaMcCoy@Maidstone.gov.uk or Michael Collins MichaelCollins@Maidstone.gov.uk

Interview Date: Thursday 12^th November 2026