The Role

Based within Sevenoaks District Council offices, you will provide support to the Private Sector Housing team in the administration of grants delivered through the Better Care Fund.

You will be the first point of contact for staff, colleagues, customers, external contractors and stakeholders in relation to the administration of grants and to ensure a smooth journey for customers as applications progress and necessary works are concluded.

Home visits will be required as part of the role.

 

About the role

Salary: £26,923pa

Hours: 35 hours per week

Contract: Fixed Term until March 2025

Probation Period: 6 Months

Notice: 1 month

 

Why choose us?

By choosing Town and Country you will enjoy a variety of employee benefits including:

·Contributory pension scheme 4% to 10% matched contributions

·Hybrid working

·Free onsite car parking

·Life assurance of 4x annual salary (Terms and Conditions apply)

·30 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays

·Employee assistance programme (24/7 telephone advice, information portal & face to face counselling sessions)

·Corporate eye care scheme providing free eye tests and free VDU glasses or contribution towards VDU glasses

·Extensive annual Staff Wellbeing programme

·Enhanced maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave provision

·Flexible annual benefits allowance of 1% of salary (for dental, healthcare, shopping vouchers, technology etc)

·Annual flu vaccinations

·Access to an extensive range of corporate discounts on shopping, travel & days out

·Regular staff social events lunchtime walking club, rounders, yoga, Pilates, Summer BBQ, Christmas party, festive Fridays etc

·Travel loan.

 

What will you be doing?

Key Activities:

• Forming part of the private sector housing team within Sevenoaks District Council your role will require you to be a point of contact to receive referrals from the Health and Housing coordinators within 3 acute hospitals and all other Better Care Fund initiatives. You will need to assess referrals and action the requests in a timely and appropriate manner ensuring a coordinated approach.
• Being the first point of contact for staff, customers, colleagues and stakeholders. You will need to accept and deal with enquiries from the general public who maybe enquiring about a variety of grants available. You will need to provide information, log enquiries and process appropriately.
• Undertake home visits in order to complete necessary grant application forms and explain the grant process to applicants.
• To identify and deal with any immediate needs and hazards to ensure customer safety.
• Propose approval of grants, ensuring all information is submitted correctly.
• Liaise with relevant organisations as necessary.
• Order goods requested via grant assistance and ensuring invoices are processed in a timely manner and recommending payment.
• Use resources effectively by managing own workload to maximise the benefit of the service to the individual.
• Maintain administration of files, spreadsheets, and a database as required by the service including, post handling, correspondence, telephone support and other monitoring tools to ensure comprehensive case management and to enable the preparation of reports and statistics.
• Ensure that correspondence and comprehensible file notes on all contacts with or about the customers are kept on file and that file notes are factual and free from personal opinions, and where appropriate are clearly identified as confidential.
• Collate and produce monitoring information as requested by both TCH and Sevenoaks District Council.
• Work in collaboration with other TCH departments to ensure a seamless service.
• Promote, at all levels, the service vision, values, and strategic objectives.
• Implement the association’s equal opportunities policy as an integral part of all duties and observe the letter and the spirit of the policy at all times.
• Implement and maintain safe practises at all times in accordance with TCH’s health and safety policy.
• Work in collaboration with other TCH directorates and colleagues as required.
• Undertake such other duties as are appropriate to meeting the responsibilities, policies and procedures and whenever reasonably instructed, which may include working outside normal working hours.

 

About you

Key Skills & Competencies

 

• Well organised with excellent time management skills, able to arrange and manage workload demands, determine priority tasks, meet tight deadlines and achieve goals.
• Excellent IT skills, to include use of Microsoft office and databases.
• Ability to collect data, produce case studies and reports.
• The capability to listen to the individual’s expressed preferences and choice with respect for their values.
• Ability to carry out person centred assessments of the individual’s perceived difficulties/needs.
• Able to communicate effectively with clients, teams, stakeholders and partner organisations both verbally and in writing using easy to understand plain English.
• The ability to access appropriate resources for evidence-based practice.
• Demonstrable commitment to equality and diversity and a genuine desire to help people with disabilities and/or support needs.
• Fully understand relationships between work processes and the organisation and their impact on work; uses this knowledge in own area to improve work process.
• Ability to work as part of a team and build and maintain effective and supportive relationships with peers and partners.

 

Behaviours

 

• Well organised and able to work under own initiative. Responding positively and proactively to changing demands and new developments.
• A DBS check result which is satisfactory to TCH.
• Able to work outside your designated days/hours as required.
• Willing to train and gain qualifications to enhance own ability to undertake role.
• Able and willing to work in other locations when required.
• You will need to be able to drive and have access to a suitable means of transport. Personal vehicles need to be insured for business use.
• Some knowledge and understanding of grants, loans and related services provided by both the statutory and voluntary sector desirable.
• Approachable with a can-do attitude.

 

 

Our Values

Our culture is about the shared values, beliefs and behaviours that determine how we do things, then the ways and systems of working that help to get those things done.

Our new values, principles and behaviours will put customers at the heart and provide the foundation for the culture of the new organisation. Only by delivering a cohesive and customer-focused culture will we be able to achieve our purpose and priorities.

We have taken an inclusive and collaborative approach to developing the following values, working together with colleagues, customers and the Board:

 

Equal opportunities Statement

TCH is an equal opportunities employer committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity or paternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership, or caring responsibilities.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join TCH.

We are recognised as a ‘Disability Confident Committed Employer’. As part of this commitment, individuals who disclose at application stage that they have a disability, will be invited to interview provided they demonstrate that they meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy. Candidates will be asked if they require any support or reasonable adjustments to enable them to fully participate in the recruitment process.

 

We reserve the right to bring the closing date forward, so we strongly encourage early applications.

 

Application Closes: 29th November

Interviews: 6th December