Housing Allocations Officer Ref: 48-25

Salary: Grade 9, starting at £25,539 per annum
Hours: Full time, 37 per week
Basis: Permanent contract
Place of Work: Working from offices in Dereham and Thetford, some home visits and occasional home working

Would you like a job where what you do:

• makes a difference to some of the most vulnerable people in your community?
• ensures excellent quality of service for customers who want to apply to the council's housing register

We are seeking someone to assess housing register applications and be a key contact for partner housing associations, helping the choice-based lettings system to run smoothly.

About you:

The type of person that you are and your attitude is just as important to us as your working experience.  People like dealing with you because you make things easy for them to understand and you focus on and listen to what they say. You are empathetic and will do whatever you can to help, which allows you to quickly establish rapport and build strong relationships. You provide fair and accurate feedback to others, helping them to believe in themselves, see what they are capable of achieving and create the conditions for people to grow and develop for themselves.  You are quite happy to take responsibility for your own decisions and accountabilities.

You will deal sensitively with situations that may be challenging but require clear and logical decisions to be made. You keep going no matter how difficult things get and use setbacks as a springboard for greater success. You have an inner composure whatever the situation and are exceptionally well-organised, ensuring that everything you do is accurate and error free. Although you plan your work out in advance, you regularly re-prioritise to manage changing demands. Although you like to work within fixed guidelines you enjoy working out how things can be improved or done better.

You are passionate about providing the best possible service for our residents.

Collaborative; Ambitious; Results-Driven; Empowering; Supportive

OK, I'm interested... But is it really the job for me?

As a Housing Allocations Officer you will:

• Carry out assessments of applications to join the housing register.
• Assess households who do not qualify for the housing register and provide them with advice about alternate housing options.
• Determine wait time, level of preference, and any special factors which may affect their applications.
• Provide comprehensive advice and assistance to applicants on the Breckland Key Select Scheme
• Take decisions and notify applicants where a change to their circumstances has changed their priority on the housing register
• Review cases to ensure the banding and bedroom allocation is accurate
• Ensure applications to join the housing register are dealt with in compliance with the allocation scheme
• Carry out administrative procedures relating to the lettings process and produce statistical information on homelessness, allocations, voids etc.

Please see the job description and person specification for more a comprehensive list of duties and for the qualities needed.

If you would like an informal chat regarding this role please contact Tammy.Giff@breckland.gov.uk  

Closing date - 9am, Monday, 8^th December 2025
Interviews - Tuesday, 16^th December 2025

What's it like to work for us?

We are passionate about our people and pride ourselves on being a great place to work, we genuinely care and know that a happy workforce is a productive and motivated one! If you're still not sure, here are some stats from our 2024 staff survey to convince you..

• 94% said they feel trusted and empowered
• 90% of staff recommend Breckland as a great place to work
• 89% said they have had opportunities to learn and grow in the last 12 months
• 94% think Breckland provide positive action on health and wellbeing
• 91% said they felt supported by their manager

If you STILL need convincing, here's what some of our staff say...

• "Breckland is a fantastic employer, lots of opportunities and support"
• "Having only just started, it is a great place to work, everyone says hello, is smiley and chatty. I like the groups that are on, like carers shed and neurodiversity"
• "We are encouraged to take regular breaks and there are mental health first aiders and a wide range of good promotional aspects of healthy living and wellbeing."
• "In times of need the council offers excellent support."
• "BDC really does seem to care about the wellbeing and happiness of their staff."

At Breckland Council we have embraced the Government's agenda to modernise local government. Our approach is to lead change rather than follow it, and to add the best value we can to our communities. We achieve this by developing our employees to their full potential, providing them with the relevant knowledge, equipment, and authority to carry out their duties.

We are a dynamic and innovative organisation that is always testing and learning as we seek to continually improve. We have never stood still in response to the emergence of new opportunities, changing customer demands, and ongoing funding challenges. We have exciting plans for how to deliver the best possible services to our residents and businesses.

Breckland as a district is a special place nestled in the heart of rural Norfolk, spanning over 500 square miles of beautiful countryside and forest, with five Market Towns and over 140,000 residents. We care, we listen, and we support people and businesses within our district. We have big ideas and we are innovative in our approach, coming up with ways to meet the needs of the local communities that we serve. Through our actions, we want to make things better.

But we know that we can't do it alone. We are a collaborative organisation and we work together with others to make a greater impact. We are also an organisation where our employees can grow and develop and are empowered to achieve and succeed. We are proud of our area, and by driving investment and enabling opportunities, we can maximise its full potential. We want to inspire aspiration to live, work, visit, or do business here: we want our district to be one of choice.

We will support and enable growth and change in our thriving, welcoming places where people and businesses choose to be, knowing their ambitions can be not just fulfilled but exceeded. By listening to people, by understanding what they need and by working together, we can shape what we have to offer. By doing so, we can benefit those who are already here and those who choose to come to live, work, visit, or do business.

We offer excellent conditions of service, including:

• A local government pension scheme (14 per cent employer contribution).
• Attractive holiday package (25 days increasing after three years' continuous Local Authority service by one day per year up to the maximum of 28 days, plus bank holidays)
• Free car parking.
• Remote-enabled working arrangements.
• A newly refurbished office. See what it is like working here by watching this short film: 
  

Our commitment to talent development, on the job learning and upskilling, training and professional memberships, will keep your knowledge and skills up to date.

Job summary

Description of duties

• Carry out assessments of applications to join the housing register against the council's Allocations Policy, taking into account any special factors which may affect their applications.
• Advise households who do not qualify for the housing register about alternate housing options.
• Notify applicants on any decisions made on their application.
• To provide comprehensive advice and assistance to applicants on the Breckland Key Select Scheme to ensure they understand how to apply for housing but also understand the limitations.
• Deal with incoming and outgoing enquiries from clients and other third parties: in person/by telephone/by email
• Follow up decisions with decision letters and liaise with applicants to ensure they understand the decisions.
• Ensure all records are accurate and maintained in a timely manner
• Make decisions according to the Allocations Policy and notify applicants where a change to their circumstances has changed their priority on the housing register
• Review cases to ensure the banding and bedroom allocation is accurate
• Carry out regular system data cleanses including for non-bidders and annual reviews of cases
• Ensure applications that are suspended following a change of circumstances being submitted, are dealt with appropriately and in a timely way.
• Ensure properties are advertised correctly and liaise with partner landlords in relation to this.
• Ensure all systems are updated following relet of properties
• Carry out administrative procedures relating to the lettings process and produce statistical information on homelessness, allocations, voids etc.

Responsibilities for:

Finance

Raise payment invoices and requisitions to be signed off by Team Leader or Manager.

Decision Making

To make appropriate decisions on Housing Register Applications and provide evidence and reasoning for the decisions.

To regularly make subjective and objective complex judgements to arrive at logical solutions based on data analysis, as well as evidence gathered in the field and from customers. Post-holder to be able to discuss/defend such decisions against challenges from lay or legal persons informally or formally in a court of law or tribunal.

Communications

The post holder will be required to communicate with Members of the public, colleagues within Housing and other departments, elected members, registered providers and other landlords, voluntary and statutory agencies. This will include routine exchanges of information, communication with individuals or groups, influencing, directing and negotiating.

Communicate with internal and external agencies for routine exchanges of information, including but not limited to: Employers, GPs and Hospitals, Other Councils, Benefits Agencies, Police, Probation, and Children's' Services.
 

This job description is not exhaustive.

The job description outlines the current position and will be subject to review in the light of development within the service. This will be in consultation with the post holder, as detailed in your Contract of Employment.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Experience of working with and supporting the needs of vulnerable people
• Experience of combining excellent team working with the ability to operate with a minimum amount of supervision
• Proven experience of working in a busy customer service focused environment
• Working knowledge of a wide range of Microsoft Office packages
• Experiencing of taking initiative, identifying opportunities and taking an outcome-oriented approach to addressing challenges
• Experience of taking decisions in a busy environment
• Excellent time management and negotiation skills
• Experience of report and letter-writing
• Experience of understanding and completing research and investigation

Desirable

• Experience or clear knowledge of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
• Proven experience of working in a housing advice, homelessness, supported housing, allocations and/or private sector housing
• A working knowledge of housing allocations and homelessness law, and landlord and tenant law
• Experience in different interview techniques.

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to A-Level standard or equivalent qualification or appropriately experienced for the role

Essential Behaviours

Collaborative:

• 'I recognise the skills, talent and experience of others and reach out to them for their contribution and input'.
• 'I listen supportively to the ideas of others, building on their ideas, while sharing my views and knowledge'.
• 'I celebrate success with my colleagues'.

Ambitious:

• 'I have an open mindset, take risks and explore new ways of doing things'.
• 'My approach to work is filled with positivity and optimism'.
• 'I work hard to build relationships inside and outside my own area of work'.

Results Driven:

• 'I am driven to achieve results and show courage and resilience even when things don't go to plan'.
• 'I understand our council priorities and how I make a difference.'
• 'I keep to my promises and challenge myself and others to deliver high-quality services'.
• 'I make sure I am clear on what I need to achieve, keeping a focus on results and solutions'.

Empowering:

• 'I show energy and drive to explore new opportunities and challenge the status quo'.
• 'I take responsibility if things don't go well and learn from it for my own and for the organisation's development'.
• 'I look for and act on opportunities where we can generate an income or drive down costs'
• 'I appropriately challenge unacceptable behaviour'.
• 'I ask for help and support when needed'.

Supportive:

• 'I treat everyone with kindness, dignity and respect, valuing their thoughts, background and experience'.
• 'I understand and take care of my own well-being and of that of those around me.'
• 'I treat others as I would want to be treated myself ensuring I am welcoming, friendly and approachable'.
• 'I care for my colleagues, taking an interest in them, showing support for their personal identities and what's important to them'.
• 'I give time to colleagues who need help or support, even when the pressure is on'.

Mental Demands

The post requires the successful candidate to deal sensitively with customers who may be vulnerable and/or emotional and situations that may be challenging, demanding and stressful, but still require clear and logical decisions to be made to bring matters to an acceptable conclusion.  

The role is led by service demand and at times is likely to require regular re-prioritisation of existing workload to cope with unpredictable peaks in demand for the service which requires professionalism at all times.

In order to deal with the workload and manage customer expectation the role will regularly be mentally and emotionally demanding.

Physical Demands

The role is office based (sometimes in satellite offices) requiring the use of PC's and laptops, or working remotely from home or on site.

To be able to meet the physical and travel/mobility requirements of the post and to make home or out of office visits as required.

Health & Safety (exposure to risk)

The post is exposed to occasional unavoidable risks including:

• Complex and varied work area. Need to manage to tight deadlines and look after welfare ( workplace stress)
• Visits to properties that are 'filthy' and/or verminous, infested with pests, or with trip/slip hazards
• Could face angry/verbally aggressive/ verbally abusive customers ( phone/email).
• Majority of time is spent at work station/sedentary- VDU/ Work Related Upper Limb and Posture issues
• Exposure to some personal and sensitive data and records which could affect mental well being.

Please ensure that you include a Supporting Statement demonstrating how you meet the requirements as set out in the Person Specification.

If you would like an informal chat regarding this role please contact Tammy.Giff@breckland.gov.uk  

Closing date - 9am, Monday, 8^th December 2025
Interviews- Tuesday, 16^th December 2025

Please be aware that if you are selected for this role there will be a requirement to undertake a basic DBS check as part of pre-employment checks.

APPLY ONLINE

Equal Opportunities

We are committed to being an Equal Opportunities employer, recognising the benefits of sustaining a workforce that reflects the diversity of the community we serve. We welcome applications from anyone who feels they meet the requirements of our vacancies. These are listed as essential requirements on the person specification.