Private Sector Access Officer

Working alongside our colleagues in the Private Rented Access Team, you'll build effective relationships with private landlords and letting agents to develop and maintain the private sector leasing scheme, and create opportunities for customers who are homeless or threatened with homelessness to secure accommodation in the private rented sector market.

You will develop and administer key initiatives to maximise the use of the private rented sector, including the landlord incentive scheme and the homelessness prevention fund.

You don't need experience across all aspects of the job as that will form part of your development journey, but you will need experience of managing temporary accommodation, supported housing or rented housing and knowledge of private rented sector legislation, policy and practice, as this is central to the role. We would be particularly interested in hearing from you if you have training or experience in the application of the Decent Homes Standard or the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

You'll need to have a solutions driven and adaptable approach to working and thrive in a busy environment with a positive approach to challenges!

You will have previous experience of using your excellent communication skills to negotiate and communicate with a wide range of people, including customers, colleagues, landlords, letting agents and other partnership agencies. You will be able to smoothly manage the private rented sector processes whilst being able use your own initiative to 'think outside of the box'. You will have a drive and commitment to meet targets and achieve positive outcomes for customers.

This is an exciting time to join our Housing Solutions service! Following the creation of West Northants Council in 2021, we are on a journey of shaping what the new Housing Solutions service looks like. West Northants is a great place to work, with a focus on career development, wellbeing, flexibility and support., At West Northants Council, it's about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is 'to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive'. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.


• Cycle to Work scheme.


• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.


• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.


• Car Lease scheme


• Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.


• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.


• Ongoing training and development opportunities.


• A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).


• Our West Ways of Working - We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.


• Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.