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Resident Engagement Officer

companyWiltshire Council
locationSalisbury, UK
PublishedPublished: Published 1 week ago
Marketing / Communications
Job summary

Housing - Empowering Housing Solutions for All in Wiltshire

An exciting opportunity is available for an enthusiastic, professional team player to join the Housing Operations team as a Resident Engagement Officer.

The team works across a diverse range of responsibilities including supporting the Housing Board and Housing Assurance Panel, as well as spear-heading resident engagement.

Main duties of the job

As a Resident Engagement Officer, you will play an essential role in implementing the resident engagement strategy, engaging with and supporting tenants, encouraging their involvement to bring about change in the services provided. Your responsibilities will include recruiting, training and monitoring tenant volunteers for various projects, innovating creative new ways to engage with residents, leading your designated area in promoting mechanisms for resident participation.

This role does occasionally require evening or weekend working for Area Board and Partnership events, so some flexibility is essential.

Our ideal candidate should have sound knowledge of resident engagement, community development, regulatory standards and statutory frameworks in relation to resident engagement. You should possess excellent communication skills, with proven ability to co-ordinate projects and meetings and you should be able to work to deadlines whilst delivering to a high standard.

About us

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Job description

Job responsibilities

To promote and enable effective resident and leaseholder participation, ensuring good resident representation and accountability. To work alongside the senior resident engagement officer to take forward the actions and priorities within the Resident Engagement Strategy and housing service plan. To encourage and promote the involvement of residents in the decision making process of the Local Authority. The post holder is required to organise and prioritise their own workload, and make their own recommendations ensuring that any complex or contentious issues are discussed with the senior resident engagement officer in the first instance. The nature of the role will require the post holder to adopt a flexible attitude to working hours as evening and weekend work will be necessary.Specific duties and responsibilities include:

The Resident Engagement Officer will be recruiting, inducting, training and monitoring the work of tenant volunteers. These volunteers will be engaged in a range of functions including forming an editorial panel for the tenants newsletter, acting as reporters on the publication, tenant housing board member or HAP tenant scrutiny

The post is an important one in implementing the agreed resident engagement strategy. As such the postholder will be using their experience and expertise to innovate ways of involving tenants that have not been tried before by this Council, and creativity and innovation will be essential. The involvement of tenant volunteers in particular is pushing the boundaries of existing policies and has significant service implications, particularly around their involvement in producing the tenant magazine.

To be responsible for and take the lead role for your designated area in promoting and supporting mechanisms for residents to participate in decision making affecting their homes and communities. This will involve traditional as well as new and innovative structures for participation, working with existing residents groups and LHPs and encouraging the formation of new ones. To help establish an Involvement Register. To support and enable tenants to take part in forums such as Area Boards/Partnerships, Wiltshire Housing Partnerships and any corporate arrangements such as the Tenants Panel or Housing Board. This will require you to be able to recognise through tenant contact who would benefit from some gentle encouragement and persuasion in getting involved with decision making to ensure we comply with the resident engagement statutory framework

To work directly with the tenants, leaseholder and sheltered housing forum panels to enable the smooth running of these groups, through effective chairing and taking control of tenant meetings and help to influence discussions whilst trying to seek to maximise their independence and sustainability. Enabling residents to influence decisions relating to housing policy and service delivery.

To hold and manage relevant budgets currently £5k an officer in relation to resident involvement as directed by the System support, performance & engagement manager To verify and recommend authorisation of routine claims for payment of expenses and subsistence by individuals and groups in connection with resident involvement.

As well as organising and setting up regular resident group meetings and LHPs you will be required to prepare agendas with clear topics for discussion for all residents groups in your area and take and distribute minutes of those meetings, ensuring that all actions are taken forward and reported back to the group.

To take part in area board and partnership events, which often take place in the evening, to be the housing link between the area board and the housing service, ensuring that tenant views are discussed or issues raised put forward for consideration by the board

To assist with the production and editing of the Housing Departments quarterly housing magazine Housing Matters and oversee the production and distribution of the magazine to all tenants and leaseholders. To assist in writing the magazine content ensuring that it is relevant to the reader base and that the content is accurate, timely, well written and well presented.

To maximise tenant participation in your designated area, you will be required to review theareas/estates with little or no tenant involvement and then look to set up and facilitate the establishment of newly forming tenant and leaseholder groups including the provision of guidance and practical support to ensure formal recognition by the Local Authority.

To ensure all work is carried out in line with the tenants regulatory framework and highlight any areas of risk or concern if this standard is not being met

To develop a yearly training programme for residents and tenants within your designated area to help expand knowledge and understanding to enable more robust and effective engagement and organise and facilitate training within agreed budgets. Training plans should be discussed with the senior to see if they can enhance options and opportunities in other areas and link plans to try and create any efficiencies

To identify courses and conferences that would be of direct relevance to the work of resident representatives in your area and organise travel/attendance and accommodation as appropriate.

To undertake consultation with residents and stakeholders in connection with the Local Authorities policy and strategy reviews and to undertake tenant satisfaction surveys, establish whether services are meeting tenants needs and expectations. Developing new and relevant ways of undertaking such surveys. To collect and analyse data from consultation exercises, producing reports and recommending action and review procedures.

To assist in writing the Housing Departments Annual Report, ensuring that all statistics are accurate and oversee the production and distribution of the Annual Report to all tenants and leaseholders ensuring the content is accurate, timely, well written and well presented.

To write the Housing Departments annual tenants status/satisfaction survey ensuring the content is accurate, timely, well written and well presented.

Job description
Job responsibilities

To promote and enable effective resident and leaseholder participation, ensuring good resident representation and accountability. To work alongside the senior resident engagement officer to take forward the actions and priorities within the Resident Engagement Strategy and housing service plan. To encourage and promote the involvement of residents in the decision making process of the Local Authority. The post holder is required to organise and prioritise their own workload, and make their own recommendations ensuring that any complex or contentious issues are discussed with the senior resident engagement officer in the first instance. The nature of the role will require the post holder to adopt a flexible attitude to working hours as evening and weekend work will be necessary.Specific duties and responsibilities include:

The Resident Engagement Officer will be recruiting, inducting, training and monitoring the work of tenant volunteers. These volunteers will be engaged in a range of functions including forming an editorial panel for the tenants newsletter, acting as reporters on the publication, tenant housing board member or HAP tenant scrutiny

The post is an important one in implementing the agreed resident engagement strategy. As such the postholder will be using their experience and expertise to innovate ways of involving tenants that have not been tried before by this Council, and creativity and innovation will be essential. The involvement of tenant volunteers in particular is pushing the boundaries of existing policies and has significant service implications, particularly around their involvement in producing the tenant magazine.

To be responsible for and take the lead role for your designated area in promoting and supporting mechanisms for residents to participate in decision making affecting their homes and communities. This will involve traditional as well as new and innovative structures for participation, working with existing residents groups and LHPs and encouraging the formation of new ones. To help establish an Involvement Register. To support and enable tenants to take part in forums such as Area Boards/Partnerships, Wiltshire Housing Partnerships and any corporate arrangements such as the Tenants Panel or Housing Board. This will require you to be able to recognise through tenant contact who would benefit from some gentle encouragement and persuasion in getting involved with decision making to ensure we comply with the resident engagement statutory framework

To work directly with the tenants, leaseholder and sheltered housing forum panels to enable the smooth running of these groups, through effective chairing and taking control of tenant meetings and help to influence discussions whilst trying to seek to maximise their independence and sustainability. Enabling residents to influence decisions relating to housing policy and service delivery.

To hold and manage relevant budgets currently £5k an officer in relation to resident involvement as directed by the System support, performance & engagement manager To verify and recommend authorisation of routine claims for payment of expenses and subsistence by individuals and groups in connection with resident involvement.

As well as organising and setting up regular resident group meetings and LHPs you will be required to prepare agendas with clear topics for discussion for all residents groups in your area and take and distribute minutes of those meetings, ensuring that all actions are taken forward and reported back to the group.

To take part in area board and partnership events, which often take place in the evening, to be the housing link between the area board and the housing service, ensuring that tenant views are discussed or issues raised put forward for consideration by the board

To assist with the production and editing of the Housing Departments quarterly housing magazine Housing Matters and oversee the production and distribution of the magazine to all tenants and leaseholders. To assist in writing the magazine content ensuring that it is relevant to the reader base and that the content is accurate, timely, well written and well presented.

To maximise tenant participation in your designated area, you will be required to review theareas/estates with little or no tenant involvement and then look to set up and facilitate the establishment of newly forming tenant and leaseholder groups including the provision of guidance and practical support to ensure formal recognition by the Local Authority.

To ensure all work is carried out in line with the tenants regulatory framework and highlight any areas of risk or concern if this standard is not being met

To develop a yearly training programme for residents and tenants within your designated area to help expand knowledge and understanding to enable more robust and effective engagement and organise and facilitate training within agreed budgets. Training plans should be discussed with the senior to see if they can enhance options and opportunities in other areas and link plans to try and create any efficiencies

To identify courses and conferences that would be of direct relevance to the work of resident representatives in your area and organise travel/attendance and accommodation as appropriate.

To undertake consultation with residents and stakeholders in connection with the Local Authorities policy and strategy reviews and to undertake tenant satisfaction surveys, establish whether services are meeting tenants needs and expectations. Developing new and relevant ways of undertaking such surveys. To collect and analyse data from consultation exercises, producing reports and recommending action and review procedures.

To assist in writing the Housing Departments Annual Report, ensuring that all statistics are accurate and oversee the production and distribution of the Annual Report to all tenants and leaseholders ensuring the content is accurate, timely, well written and well presented.

To write the Housing Departments annual tenants status/satisfaction survey ensuring the content is accurate, timely, well written and well presented.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • HNC or equivalent experience/skills.
  • ITQ 2 or equivalent skill and ability.
  • Working towards relevant professional qualification.
Experience

Essential

  • HNC/NVQ 4 in a related field or Chartered Institute of Housing (CIOH) or ability to
  • demonstrate equivalent experience / skills
  • Proven experience of working with people, specifically of tenant participation and housing with
  • a social landlord.
  • Advanced knowledge of resident engagement, community development, private housing
  • sector, landlord and tenant legislation
  • Advanced knowledge of the Regulatory standards with particular reference to the Tenant
  • Involvement and Empowerment Standard and experience of reporting and auditing of those
  • standards
  • Advanced knowledge of statutory framework, best practice models, trends in relation to resident
  • engagement
  • High level of interpersonal and communication (verbal and written) skills, and the ability to be
  • diplomatic, maintain confidentiality, and to mediate in disputes.
  • A degree of empathy and understanding of equality issues and how they affect engagement
  • and participation is essential to effectively support tenants.
  • Excellent creativity skills and strong editorial/journalistic skills
  • Experience of co-ordinating, undertaking and facilitating effective participation and
  • engagement exercises and meetings, and using the results to identify service needs /
  • improvements or opportunities
  • Excellent time management skills and ability to prioritise workload to meet specific targets and
  • deadlines.
  • Enthusiasm, self-motivation and the ability to motivate others
  • Ability and previous experience of preparing and delivering training
Desirable

  • Project Management Skills
  • Chairing skills
  • Previous experience of producing written reports to a high standard and producing minutes and
  • agendas
Person Specification
Qualifications

Essential

  • HNC or equivalent experience/skills.
  • ITQ 2 or equivalent skill and ability.
  • Working towards relevant professional qualification.
Experience

Essential

  • HNC/NVQ 4 in a related field or Chartered Institute of Housing (CIOH) or ability to
  • demonstrate equivalent experience / skills
  • Proven experience of working with people, specifically of tenant participation and housing with
  • a social landlord.
  • Advanced knowledge of resident engagement, community development, private housing
  • sector, landlord and tenant legislation
  • Advanced knowledge of the Regulatory standards with particular reference to the Tenant
  • Involvement and Empowerment Standard and experience of reporting and auditing of those
  • standards
  • Advanced knowledge of statutory framework, best practice models, trends in relation to resident
  • engagement
  • High level of interpersonal and communication (verbal and written) skills, and the ability to be
  • diplomatic, maintain confidentiality, and to mediate in disputes.
  • A degree of empathy and understanding of equality issues and how they affect engagement
  • and participation is essential to effectively support tenants.
  • Excellent creativity skills and strong editorial/journalistic skills
  • Experience of co-ordinating, undertaking and facilitating effective participation and
  • engagement exercises and meetings, and using the results to identify service needs /
  • improvements or opportunities
  • Excellent time management skills and ability to prioritise workload to meet specific targets and
  • deadlines.
  • Enthusiasm, self-motivation and the ability to motivate others
  • Ability and previous experience of preparing and delivering training
Desirable

  • Project Management Skills
  • Chairing skills
  • Previous experience of producing written reports to a high standard and producing minutes and
  • agendas
Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Wiltshire Council
Address

Stephenson Road

Salisbury

SP2 7NP

Employer's website