The Council
Northumberland County Council operates a huge range of services across the largest county in the UK. Local Government’s ongoing challenges and the diversity of our residents means we have to work smarter. That’s why we want bold, creative and agile thinkers who can help us move forward and innovate. For further information about working for Northumberland County Council, please click here: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/working

The Service
Stretegic Housing Services covers a wide remit including: Private sector team, homelessness and housing options, asylum seeker and refugee, Gypsy and Roma Traveller, affordable housing and policy. The team reports into the Housing Services Manager.

The Role
We have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Private Sector Housing Initiatives Officer to join our Strategic Housing Team to deliver on the Council’s priorities. We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic person who is a great team player with a good standard of education (to NVQ level 4 or equivalent), with recent experience in this field to show a thorough knowledge in the relevant context. The role requires excellent organisational skills and the ability to communicate with people on all levels including council members, colleagues and members of the public. A good level of effective IT skills and the ability to understand and develop the use of ICT to achieve work objectives. The role will focus on delivering the priorities from the Private Sector Housing Strategy including identifying areas requiring Housing Regeneration, using legislation, policies, and practices to source effective long-term solutions to reduce the number of empty homes and maximise the use of private sector properties to improve access to housing for vulnerable people. This will involve developing and implementing schemes, such as Selective Licensing, and developing other enforcement options available. You must be innovative in using a range of tools to tackle empty homes such as Empty Dwelling Management Orders, Enforced Sale and Compulsory Purchase Orders and be competent in applying for external funding such as Homes England funding schemes. The post holder will be required to travel to locations across the County, therefore you will need to meet the transport requirements. You will also be required to occasionally work outside normal working hours to attend evening meetings. The ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.

We are offering:
A starting salary of £33,486 - £37,568 per annum (Band 8)
Access to the Local Government Pension Scheme
A wide range of staff benefits including a competitive annual leave provision and flexible working arrangements

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Kirsty.Gilmartin@northumberland.gov.uk or Victoria.Ledger@northumberland.gov.uk

To view a copy of the Job Description and Personal Specification please click here 

To apply please click the Apply Now link below.