Let’s Rent Coventry’ is Coventry City Council’s rent guarantee scheme, launched in May 2020. It aims to match households who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, with private landlords who have properties to let in the city. This provides homeless households with a safe, suitable home for at least 12 months and enables the Council to fulfil its duties under the homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996).

The Housing and Homelessness Service is a very busy environment  and faces several challenges to meet the housing needs of citizens of Coventry.  The team have grown significantly during the last 12 months and this reflects the fact that Housing & Homelessness are now a key council priority.  

The team are responsible for the delivery of the following service functions: 

• Provision of the statutory homeless service 

• Provision of temporary accommodation 

• Management of the housing register 

• Co-ordination of support to citizens rough sleeping 

• Commissioning of homeless services, and  

• Responsibility for housing strategy  

The Council has a strategic vision that is clearly set out in both the Housing & Homelessness and the Rough Sleeping Strategies which were both approved in 2019. 

By becoming part of an expanding team who are focused on preventing households from becoming homeless as well as providing tailored support and interventions when someone does become homeless this is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference to some of the most vulnerable people in our city. 

It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Coventry City Council. As a prospective employee, it is important that everyone who works for us is committed to our One Coventry values and shares our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation. 

Our Values are:

We are looking for a Housing and Homelessness Manager to join our team, providing leadership; supervision; guidance and motivation to officers in the Housing and Homelessness Service in the execution of their job. You will be working with the Housing and Homelessness Operational Leads to develop the service, including responding to new legislation, new initiatives and new technology.

The main duties and responsibilities of your role will be to:

• Leading the homeless service’s access into the private rented sector, including manging lets rent Coventry, alongside other private rented options for single people.
• Building links with new landlords and retaining current landlords to secure accommodation and prevent homelessness, with a focus on securing private rented accommodation.
• Leading and motivating a team of accommodation officers who alongside you will work to find landlords and match to households in temporary accommodation to allow the service to discharge its homeless duties.
• Ensuring high performance of officers through effective performance management, undertaking regular 121, team meetings and appraisals and that relevant legislation, policy and procedures are applied consistently across the team.

We are looking for someone who has experience of working with customers in housing need and the private rent sector, specifically homelessness and social/ affordable housing allocations at an operational level. You will also have experience of operating in an environment with a high degree of direct involvement with the public.

You will also have:

• Experience working with or a good understanding of the Private Rented Sector
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and guidance and the ability to interpret, translate, communicate and incorporate into policies and procedures.
• Detailed knowledge of the different housing options that are available to customers and how they are accessed
• Ability to supervise a team of officers
• Supervision skills to be able to assist staff on a one to one basis in the management of their workload and in resolving issues that impact on work
• Ability to work flexibly to respond to changed priorities and new circumstances that arise
• Communication skills to communicate with a wide variety of audiences

When applying for this role you will be asked to write a personal statement, when writing your personal statement please include the following:

• Ability to supervise a team of officers deploying them so that operational goals are achieved, and time schedules met.
• Organisational and administrative skills to plan, prioritise and organise workload and meet deadlines when working under pressure.
• Communication skills to communicate with a wide variety of audiences (e.g. customers; housing providers; support agencies) using a variety of methods eg. verbal and written
• Negotiation and advocacy skills to achieve appropriate case outcomes involving customers, landlords, colleagues and other agencies; with the aim of resolving disputes or acceptance of available resources.

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

Interview date(s): 14 + 15/10/2021

Coventry is a lively, multicultural city, which embraces old and new. Around the modern city centre there are traces of history everywhere – in the old city walls, the timber-framed buildings and the reconstructed medieval Spon Street. But Coventry has always had an eye on the future, and is now firmly focused on regenerating and re-inventing itself to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. With major developments and new projects taking place right across the city, Coventry City Council is the place to be!

There's a huge buzz about the city – Coventry ranks as the 8th best city to live, work and do business in the UK, and is the UK City of Culture 2021 ! We believe this will help put Coventry on the map for all the right reasons. You can feel the sense of local pride throughout the city as we build towards this momentous year. It also offers a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to those joining us to play their part in it.

We genuinely believe that Coventry City Council is a special place. You will be joining Coventry City Council during an exciting time to become part of a team that contribute to achieving our visions for the city. We have made our council a place where we look after our people, making sure you're happy in your work and given everything you need to succeed. We've created friendly, welcoming workplaces where everyone is working towards the same cause, providing the best possible services for the city of Coventry.

As a council with improvement at its heart, we’re committed to making life better for the people who live and work in Coventry. We’re equally concerned with the quality of life enjoyed by our people, so by joining us, you won’t just be helping the community, you’ll be helping yourself too.

Not only do you get to work alongside great people that are helping to improve services for our community we offer great benefits too! For your valued contribution we will provide a fantastic benefits package including;

• Flexible working arrangements
• Generous annual leave allowance starting at 27 days and rising to 32 days
• Pay progression through multiple increments
• Outstanding local government pension scheme
• Learning & Development with access to certified courses.
• Access to an award winning Occupational Health Team
• Vibrant employee networks