Housing Officer

On behalf of the Home Office, Serco manages the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contract (AASC) for the Northwest of England. We focus on assisting individuals through the asylum system, ensuring that vulnerable asylum seekers have access to the support they need along with a high standard of accommodation. Our Housing Officers (HO's) are responsible for ensuring compliance with the AASC Contract, company policies, processes, and procedures through their liaison with Staff, Service Users, Landlords, External Agencies and Partners. You will be covering multiple areas in the Northwest and ensuring that all properties within the allocated portfolio are safe, habitable, fit for purpose and fully equipped in accordance with AASC Standards. There is a requirement to operate an Emergency On-Call system outside of normal working hours amongst all Housing Officers on a rota basis. This role is suited to someone with a solid work history dealing with people face to face and enjoys a demanding workload where you get to utilise your organisations skills whilst remaining calm under pressure and supporting our service users. You will be expected to travel between properties in Lancaster so you must hold a valid UK drivers' licence and be enthusiastic about taking on a range of accountabilities such as:

• Complete a Monthly Inspection of all Properties within the allocated portfolio in accordance with the standard defined within the AASC Contract and property standards guide.
• Manage on-boarding and withdrawal of properties within allocated portfolio in accordance with the Housing Officer Local Operating Procedures (LOP).
• Report all property faults identified, correctly categorising them for appropriate response.
• Complete all minor Property repairs within the scope enabled by training, experience and the toolkit and spares provided.
• Administration of operational cash to enable the completion of tasks such as topping up of utility meters & emergency cash payments.
• Respond to customer complaints.
What you will need to do the role To be considered for this role, you are required to have a valid UK driving licence and you will be provided with a company car. Due to the nature of the role, Criminal Record Bureau checks are required (all offers of employment are subject to security clearance checks and approval by the Home Office). Whilst experience in a previous property related role is beneficial, this isn't a requirement, more importantly is your desire and enthusiasm to make a difference. You will be expected to take on a variety of tasks to support our service users and some may be challenging - dealing with anti-social behaviours, medical needs, management of child safeguarding needs etc. You will have strong communication skills and be confident managing conflict. Why Serco A place you can make an impact: As part of a highly collaborative team, you'll be able to strongly influence hiring managers efforts that help us deliver vital services. A place you can count on: Working for a globally operating business delivering essential services across 5 vital sectors, your next opportunity and challenge won't be hard to find. A place for you: You'll become an integral member of a well-defined and supportive team, who believe passionately in the value of our work. What we offer
• Pension up to - 6%
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Company Car
• Chance to contribute to innovation in the public services
• A company passionate about diversity and inclusion
• Serco Benefits package
• A safe and supportive culture
• A company passionate about diversity and inclusion
  
  About Serco
At Serco, not only is the nature of the work we do important, everyone has an important role to play, from caring for vulnerable people to managing complex public services. We are a team of 50,000 people responsible for delivering essential public services around the world in areas including defence, transport, justice, immigration, healthcare and citizen services. We are innovators, committed to redesigning and improving public services for the benefit of everyone. By joining Serco you will have unlimited access to our Global Employee Networks - SercoInspire (Gender), SercoEmbrace (Multicultural), SercoUnlimited (Disability) and In@Serco (LGBT & Networks). Serco Employee Networks, led by colleagues who are passionate about diversity, inclusion and belonging.