Homelessness Relief And Prevention Officer x2

My client based in west Berkshire is currently looking for 2 Homelessness Relief And Prevention Officer to join their team, one is a short temporary role for approx 2/3 months at the rate of £21.60 umbrella an hour and is a office based role, the other is a maternity Cover until December 2021 which is a mix of home and office based work at the rate of £21.60 umbrella an hour

Duties

To provide comprehensive housing advice and assistance to prevent and relieve homelessness for all households in housing need
To conduct a housing needs assessment to determine what statutory duty (if any) is owed.
To Issue relevant notifications and decisions under section 184 of the Housing Act as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act
To assist in assessing housing applications and deciding on nominations and allocations of social housing.
To work in partnership with outside agencies, RPs and other departments to resolve households housing problems.Main responsibilities

To provide comprehensive advice and assistance to all households in housing need to enable them to maintain their accommodation and/or prevent homelessness either in person, on the telephone or in writing.
To participate in the frontline duty service.
To conduct a housing needs assessment and prepare a personal housing plan (PHP) taking into account the needs assessment and to keep the PHP updated in line with the Homelessness Reduction Act.

To prevent homelessness and resolve threats of homelessness to eligible households by giving appropriate housing advice and providing hands on support.
To provide excellent standards of customer service at all times.
To maintain confidentiality, particularly when handling sensitive personal information regarding households'' details, in accordance with the organisations confidentiality policy and protocol, acting at all times within the highest standard of professional practice.
To manage a caseload of housing applications, working with the households to resolve their housing issues in line with actions identified in the PHP, making regular contact and updating case notes and the housing database in a timely manner.
To attend multi-agency case conferences and meeting to represent the Housing Service. These may include Child Protection Conferences, Signs of Safety meetings, discharge planning meetings, the Young Persons Housing Panel, the Integrated offender Management meetings, the Mental Health Housing Panel, the Homelessness Forum, the Rough Sleepers Task and Targeting Group, MARAC, MAPPA and other meetings as and when necessary.
To conduct home visits and attend professionals meetings in order to verify information regarding a households'' housing need.
To support households with defending possession proceedings in court and assist with preparation of their file for review by the judge.
To maintain a high level of professional knowledge of current legislation and best practice/case law.
To actively participate in reducing rough sleeping within the district by giving appropriate housing options advice, liaising with the Outreach Worker and other relevant services, such as Probation, Swanswell and the Community Mental Health Team.
To assess the needs of approaching rough sleepers or potential rough sleepers and to accommodate under the Council''s Rough sleeping initiatives or No Second Night Out Scheme, as appropriate.
To calculate homelessness household''s contribution towards their accommodation costs, take payments and issue receipts.
To proactively contribute to the Housing Service Plan and Housing and Homelessness Strategies, meeting the targets identified through a performance management system.
To undertake research leading to recommendations for changes to policy or operational procedures and generally participate in discussions on policy and procedural issues, proactively contributing to the continuous improvement of the Servic