Job summary
- Main area
- Administration
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Based across SPFT and local authority sites. Usual office hours 9-5 Monday - Friday)
- Job ref
- 354-CO-21763
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Chapel Street Clinic
- Town
- Chichester
- Salary
- £31,049 - £37,796 Per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 29/12/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Housing Specialist
NHS AfC: Band 5
Come and join us
We’re looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we’re proud to make a difference every day.
At SPFT we put people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.
We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.
We recognise that AI is becoming part of daily life and you may choose to use it to help prepare your application. We welcome innovation but ask that anything you submit reflects your own abilities, experience and voice. AI can support how you describe your skills and experience, but it should never replace your own words as we want to get to know you.
We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.
Job overview
Housing Specialists will join a newly created Housing Team within Sussex Partnership Trust which looks to embed housing expertise across our adult mental health services. Housing Specialists provide housing advice and interventions to people open to adult mental health services. Each Housing Specialist is assigned a host Local Authority area and accepts housing referrals for service users living in that area.
The role will involve travel across various sites across the Chichester area which will include inpatient and community mental health teams, Council Offices, and people's homes. On occasion this could include travel outside of the district. Housing Specialists are expected to work face to face and virtually with people subject to need, demand, location and communication preference.
Successful applicants will have strong knowledge of housing and homelessness legislation, processes, and practice coupled with experiences of providing housing advice services to vulnerable people. Although not essential as training will be provided, it would be advantageous for applicants to have had some experience working with people who experience severe and enduring mental health problems
Main duties of the job
Housing Specialists will receive referrals for people using adult mental health services who have a variety of housing needs. You will be responsible for delivering specialist housing advice, assistance and interventions for adults using mental health services in a way that prevents or relieves homelessness, or improves poor housing quality. This will be done by completing full housing assessments, creating clear action plans that help address the persons housing needs, and coordinating activity required to secure a positive outcome. You will be expected to manage and prioritise a caseload of people who are in housing need across your designated area alongside contributing to an office hours team duty system in place for referrals across Sussex.
The successful candidate will have formal working arrangement with Chichester Council. A part of this role will be preparing information on behalf of the Local Housing Authority for individuals who may be homeless or threatened with homelessness. Housing Specialists will act in accordance with mental health and homelessness legislation including statutory Codes of Guidance and policies relevant to their Local Housing Authority
Working for our organisation
We recognise that working in mental health can be stressful at times so we prioritise staff welfare; providing regular supervision, mentoring, and any other support that our staff need to ensure their wellbeing. We also encourage flexible working.
We know that a positive work/life balance brings about huge health-related benefits, which has a positive impact on the care we provide. Please speak to us about flexible working, for example, partial home-working, part-time hours, or flexible start/finish times. If it works for you and works for the role, we'll do our best to make it happen.
Our vision is to provide outstanding care and treatment; the people that we employ are at the heart of making this vision a reality. If you've got the passion, the belief, the drive and the talent to help us achieve our vision then we would like to hear from you.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To deliver specialist housing advice, assistance, and interventions to people who use our services in relation to their housing needs which will prevent or relieve homelessness, secure good quality and longer term settled housing solutions, and reduce financial hardship.
Prepare information and support decision makers on formal applications for assistance, on behalf of the Local Housing Authority they are attached to, from persons who may be homeless or threatened with homelessness, acting in accordance with the homelessness legislation, statutory Code of Guidance and the policies of the relevant Local Housing Authority.
To work between local mental health and housing systems to ensure people who use our services and staff receive high quality and timely specialist housing input and access to wider housing teams and referral pathways.
The position will be primarily based within the Chichester area and the applicant will be expected to travel across multiple sites across the district. On occasion this may involve travel outside the Chichester area in order to meet need.
Person specification
Proficienties
Essential criteria
- Undergraduate degree in relevant field or equivalent experience
- Good knowledge and understanding of relevant areas of housing policy and practice including the law relating to local housing authority homelessness duties and the allocation of social housing
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in a professional housing advice capacity with people who have housing and mental health needs
- Evidence of continuous professional development
- Good understanding of the role and responsibilities in relation to the safeguarding of vulnerable adults and children
- Experience of partnership working within and across various statutory and non-statutory teams and agencies
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Tess Williams
- Job title
- Housing Team Coordinator
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07766420590
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