Job Details:

Salary range: £34,359 - £38,637 per annum. Salary negotiable depending upon experience.
Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, SW1E 6QP
Hours per week: 36
Contract type: Permanent
Closing date: 24 June 2026

About Us:

Housing Needs in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. For Abbie, a Homelessness Officer, the work is often about stopping a crisis from happening at all  

This might mean negotiating with landlords, working through financial difficulties with residents, or finding practical solutions that allow people to remain in their homes.

In one situation, Abbie worked with a resident who was at risk of losing their home after the rent became unaffordable and possession action had started. By working closely with the landlord, she took the time to understand what had driven the landlord to increase the rent and the residents’ financial situation. Through careful negotiation, she was able to secure an affordable agreement that worked for both parties. The possession action was withdrawn and the resident was able to stay in their home.

At Westminster, we understand that homelessness is multifaceted and caused by various factors, and addressing homelessness often goes beyond providing emergency accommodation – it requires an in-depth understanding of the root causes. This is why, alongside her negotiation work with the landlord, Abbie worked with officers across the department and the wider Council to help maximise the resident’s income. For Abbie, cases like this are not only about securing housing in the interim, they are about ensuring that residents are also able to sustain their tenancies in the long-term.

This kind of work requires persistence, judgement and empathy. Across Westminster, this is what our Housing Needs officers do every day: working with residents to turn difficult situations into new beginnings.

The Role:

As an Emergency Temporary Accommodation Officer you can make your own powerful contribution to Westminster’s success. Our Homelessness service supports people in housing need and rough sleeping by fulfilling our statutory duties as we provide advice, guidance and assistance. We work across a number of key areas including homelessness prevention and support, housing allocations, temporary accommodation, casework for families and single households, and customer services. We also focus on delivering high-quality, resident-centred services that protect vulnerable households, improve housing outcomes and build strong partnerships with landlords, statutory agencies and the voluntary sector. When you join us in this vital role you’ll be responsible for arranging and managing households as they move to emergency temporary accommodation.

Your day-to-day tasks will include identifying and offering suitable temporary accommodation placements to eligible households, liaising with providers to confirm availability and secure bookings, and preparing and issuing booking packs and key information to our clients. You’ll also update case management systems and records, ensure housing applications and processes, referrals and related documentation are processed correctly, and maintain accurate records on our case management systems and databases.

You’ll have a number of additional responsibilities, including the preparation of letters, decision notices and reports, supporting colleagues with the collection and collation of evidence, assisting with the monitoring of performance returns, and responding to customer queries. We’ll also expect you to schedule appointments, meetings and engagements, liaise with landlords, residents and other agencies, provide administrative support to managers and teams, and support service improvements while contributing to the maintenance of an efficient, customer-focused service.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

To be a success in this important role you should have strong knowledge of related legislation, including the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, Homelessness Code of Guidance, Domestic Abuse Act 2021, Localism Act 2011, Housing Act 1996 (Part VII), Equalities Act 2010 and the Housing Allocation Scheme. It’s also vital that you have experience of working in a customer-focused environment, a good understanding of your safeguarding responsibilities and how to apply them in practice, and the ability to demonstrate empathy and professionalism in your day-to-day work with our residents.

A collaborative team worker, you’ll be capable of interacting well with a diverse range of colleagues and partner organisations, while your organisational and problem solving skills will see you prioritising and managing your caseload effectively. A confident communicator with a good understanding of basic housing policies, procedures and service standards, you’ll be ready to listen actively and without judgement, and respond promptly and respectfully to any queries and concerns you receive from our residents.

With a well developed understanding of the importance of delivering a fair and consistent service, and capable of using service data and resident feedback to identify issues and problems, you’ll be skilled at making fair, timely decisions in routine cases. We’ll also expect you to work cooperatively with team members and share relevant information, build a positive rapport with residents and local partners, and be prepared to seek help and advice when unsure about how to proceed.

Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme, will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role.

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this visit  https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties

As a forward thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application , we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.

We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants.