Procurement And Contract Officer
Location: Hornton Street, W8 7NX
Start Date: ASAP
Contract Duration: 3+ Months
Working Hours: Mon – Fri, 09:00 – 17:00, 37 Hours per week
Pay rate: £ 20.86 per hour
Job Ref: 5274721x
Responsibilities
- Support the Procurement and Contract Management Team Managers in enhancing the development, efficiency, and success of the Temporary Accommodation and Resettlement department.
- Commission, procure, and manage the supply of accommodation, including temporary accommodation, direct lets, and private rented sector accommodation.
- Ensure effective supply of accommodation for households in housing need and provide effective contract monitoring.
- Contribute to ad hoc accommodation-related projects, property decant programs, and new contract development.
- Assist with the management of accommodation units within the Council’s private leasing portfolio.
- Develop and deliver strategies, policies, and programs to manage accommodation for homeless cases, focusing on reducing usage and promoting value for money.
- Successfully tender, evaluate, and let contracts to providers, ensuring quality, value for money, and compliance with financial regulations and legal requirements.
- Develop and maintain relationships with private sector landlords, managing and letting agents, and owners of empty properties to secure privately rented properties for households in need.
- Carry out property inspections to assess suitability for housing needs, investigate disrepair complaints, and take property inventories.
- Collect, analyze, and act upon demand and supply data, performance, and financial information to shape commissioning decisions and manage service problems.
- Review, monitor, and evaluate the performance of accommodation-related projects, contracts, and service level agreements, addressing under-performance and service failures.
- Ensure systems are in place for effective move-on from emergency accommodation to minimize high-cost placements and subsidy loss.
- Interpret and assess customer needs, prepare forecasts and supply plans, and identify trends in accommodation needs.
- Assess and authorize payments related to the accommodation portfolio and work with finance teams to monitor and evaluate the accommodation budget.
- Promote the Council’s procurement options at landlord forums, trade events, and one-to-one meetings.
- Manage property and tenancy aspects for properties under direct Council management and liaise with landlords, agents, tenants, and contractors.
- Actively liaise with landlords and managing agents to resolve accommodation-related problems.
- Support senior managers in contract and performance management of accommodation providers, analyzing contract performance data and complaints.
- Act as a contact for landlords with established tenancies facing difficulties and negotiate to resolve issues and sustain tenancies.
- Encourage landlords to develop good property management and standards.
- Stay informed on legislation and policy related to temporary accommodation supply and use, including housing benefit legislation.
- Ensure value for money is considered in all decisions and recommendations.
- Respond promptly to enquiries and complaints from temporary accommodation clients and attend court cases as required.
- Maintain accurate service records to comply with reporting arrangements and provide management with performance information.
- Develop and maintain positive relationships with clients, residents, council officers, housing providers, and other stakeholders to achieve high customer satisfaction.
- Ensure health and safety responsibilities are met by attending relevant training and complying with health and safety policies.
Person Specification
- Demonstrate understanding and commitment to Council policies on Equal Opportunity, Customer Care, and service delivery.
- Essential: Grade C or above in GCSE Maths and English or equivalent qualifications.
- Desirable: Qualified to undertake property inspection under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System or ability to obtain qualification.
- Experience of procurement and contract management, including addressing under-performance (Desirable).
- Understanding of the private rented sector and issues related to accommodation acquisition, security of tenure, health and safety, housing standards, and housing benefit regulations (Essential).
- Experience working with private landlords and lettings agents (Desirable).
- Experience working in a social/private sector housing environment or related field (Essential).
- Good verbal and written communication skills, including negotiation with accommodation providers and writing reports and procedures in plain English (Essential).
- Experience communicating effectively to customers and at all organizational levels (Essential).
- Ability to relate Department’s objectives and policies to service and communicate them concisely to colleagues, customers, and partners (Essential).
- Ability to manage a varied workload and provide high-quality work with limited supervision (Essential).
- Ability to take responsibility for personal and team performance in delivering a customer-focused service (Essential).
- Ability to assess and communicate service issues, identify and cost appropriate responses and solutions (Essential).
- Commitment to equalities issues and understanding of their relevance to the Procurement and Contract Management Team and diverse customer needs (Essential).
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Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 3 months
Pay: £20.86 per hour
Expected hours: 37 per week
Experience:
- Procurement And Contract Officer: 1 year (required)
Work Location: In person
Reference ID: 5274721
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