Housing First Officer

• East Suffolk Council
• Location: East Suffolk House, Melton, Woodbridge IP12 1RT and Riverside, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0EQ
• Salary: £31,537 - £38,220 per annum, Band 5 - 6
• Hours: 37 hours per week
• Contract: Fixed Term Contract until 31 March 2029

East Suffolk Council is an exciting place to work, delivering essential local services and making a real difference to a quarter of a million people across East Suffolk.

We currently have an opportunity to join East Suffolk Council's Housing Needs Team as a Housing First Officer.

The role

You will be responsible in providing a flexible, open-ended package of support, advice and assistance to people who are entrenched rough sleepers or are at risk of repeat homelessness. The support you offer will enable someone to access and maintain a safe and secure home of their own, in line with Housing First principles. 

To be responsible for supporting individuals to be accommodated in their own accommodation under the Housing First Scheme and throughout their housing pathway. To lead on a multi-agency support approach, working close with a variety of agencies such as drug and alcohol, and mental health services to ensure appropriate support for the individuals who have complex needs. 

The successful candidate will be able to promote a customer centred approach and work with vulnerable customers, their advocates, family, and support networks to ensure that homelessness is prevented and work towards reducing rough sleeping and ending cycles of homelessness in East Suffolk.

What you will need

The ideal candidate will have previous experience of working within a similar role and have a relevant qualification in the sector They will have relevant or transferable skills and the ability to provide housing advice and assistance to our customers. 

The postholder will hold at least 3 GCSE’s (C grade and above), a relevant Housing Qualification (CIH Level 3) and/or have a proven track record of working In housing or care and support role.

If you think you have what it takes to be successful in this role, even if you don’t meet all of the essential requirements, please apply. We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

Why work for us?

East Suffolk Council is a great place to work and there are lots of benefits our employees can access. To find out more about why we are so proud of East Suffolk Council, take a look at our video and find out why our employees think it is such a great place to work (youtube).

Here are some of the main benefits: 

• Generous leave entitlement (equivalent to 25 days a year, increasing to 31 days after 5 years’ service, plus bank holidays) 
• Local government pension scheme 
• Flexible working arrangements 
• Learning and development tailored to your role 
• A wide variety of staff support networks including access to health and wellbeing initiatives and programmes. 
• Discounts on mobile phones, computers, holiday and travel, fashion and clothing, health and beauty and many other products and services. 

Find more information about what we offer in our benefits brochure (pdf). 

The majority of our teams are working in an agile way, with a mixture of home and office working, depending on individual preferences and service requirements. If you wish to discuss how that might impact your working arrangements if you were the successful candidate, please contact the recruiting manager listed at the bottom of this advert.

To find out more

For an informal discussion regarding this post, please contact Lisa Johnson by either calling 01502 523133 or emailing [email protected]

Closing date: 9.00 am,12 June 2026.

Interview date: Week commencing 22 June 2026.

How to apply

Step 1 - Read the advert and the Job Description and Person Specification (Word).

Step 2 - Complete the Supporting Statement template (Word). Your statement needs to indicate how you meet each of the criteria contained within the Person Specification. Please use the template provided (other formats will not be accepted).

Step 3 - Complete the online application and upload your statement. Please note, CVs are not accepted.

For more information, check out the How to Apply section of our career site.