Housing Assessor (Homelessness)

We’re looking for an empathetic, organised and confident individual to join our Homelessness Prevention, Advice and Resettlement Team as a Housing Assessor. As the first point of contact, you’ll play a vital role in helping people facing housing difficulties across Dorset.

What you’ll be doing
In this fast-paced, customer-focused role, you’ll carry out detailed assessments, gathering essential documentation and evidence to support people under the Homelessness Reduction Act. You’ll manage sensitive and complex cases with professionalism, always aiming to prevent homelessness wherever possible.

Your responsibilities will include:

• conducting thorough interviews to assess housing need
• identifying appropriate homelessness prevention tools and support
• working closely with customers and partner agencies
• gathering and verifying key documentation
• making sound, legally-informed decisions under pressure
• maintaining accurate and timely case records

What’s in it for you
This is a rewarding and meaningful role where you’ll be supported to grow your skills and knowledge in housing legislation and prevention. You'll be working as part of a team that genuinely changes lives, with training and support every step of the way.

You’ll benefit from:

• a permanent, full-time role with flexible hybrid working
• a supportive team committed to making a difference
• comprehensive training in housing legislation and practice
• opportunities to develop professionally in a specialist field
• generous leave and pension entitlements
• job security and a clear purpose in your work

What we’re looking for

• experience in a customer-focused or confidential environment
• strong communication, negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• ability to gather and analyse information quickly and objectively
• understanding of housing and homelessness legislation (or a willingness to learn)
  
• a calm and professional approach under pressure

If you care about helping others and want to support people at one of the most challenging points in their lives, this could be the role for you.

We’re passionate about making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit. Working for us should be no exception.

At Dorset Council we:

• provide more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents
• have ambitious aspirations
• are excited about our future
• care about Dorset and all the people who live here
• know that all roles make a difference and that our employees are key to our success

You will:

• have access to a range of employee benefits 
• be part of an organisation that supports each other to grow and succeed
• have access to range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progression

We are challenging ourselves to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation.

We recognise that recruitment and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to the council and our communities. We have a commitment to equality and welcome applications from everyone.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We offer an interview to everyone who declares a disability and meets the essential criteria for the role.

We are keen to make our interviews accessible. Let us know on your job application if you have a disability and need any reasonable adjustments.

This role is UK based and we will need to establish your Right to Work as part of the appointment process.

We use generic job descriptions and person specifications. This means the job title on any attachments may differ from the job title in the advert. We may provide specific information in a context statement if relevant.

Find out more about how to apply.