Housing Advice and Prevention Officer – Asylum Dispersal

• East Suffolk Council
• Address: East Suffolk House, Melton, Woodbridge IP12 1RT and Riverside, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0EQ
• Salary: £31,537 - £38,220 per annum
• Hours: 37 hours per week
• Contract: Fixed Term for a period of one year.

• 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 Advice and Prevention Officer – Asylum Dispersal.

The role

You will be responsible to provide a comprehensive housing options service to customers with varying levels of housing need to enable suitable positive outcomes in line with Part VI (Housing Register and Allocations), Part VII (Housing Advice and Homelessness) and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, including having responsibility for a caseload of applicants who present to the Council in acute housing need.

This role will support the Council’s involvement in the Asylum Dispersal Scheme by working collaboratively with key partners, agencies and accommodation providers to prevent homelessness, facilitate effective housing pathways and ensure appropriate support for asylum seekers within the district.

You will also be responsible for assessing and verifying applications made under Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996 in line with the current Allocations Policy.

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 prevention is maximised and effective first point of contact housing advice is given.

In return, we can offer great opportunities for training and development. We want you to stay with us for the long-term, so we’ll give you all the support we can to build a great career with our organisation. There’s also a superb benefits package including flexible working options and a generous leave entitlement, discount scheme, pension scheme and free car parking.

What you will need

The ideal candidate will have at least three years previous experience of working within a similar role and relevant qualification in the sector and have the ability to explain complex legislation in a clear and precise way. They will obtain working knowledge of homelessness and current housing legislation and ability to provide advice and guidance to other team members. The postholder will hold at least 3 GCSE’s (C grade and above) and a hold a relevant Housing Qualification (CIH Level 3) and a proven track record of working at the required level or equivalent.

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 hear 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) .

To find out more

For an informal discussion regarding this post, please contact Callum Dorling on 01502 523132 or by emailing [email hidden]

Closing date: 30 August 2026 at 9.00am

Interview date: Week commencing 14 September 2026

How to apply

Step 1 - Read the advert and the Job Description and Person Specification (docx/pdf)

Step 2 - Complete the Supporting Statement template (docx) . 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 (URL).