Job Ref: 212627053

Date: 2020-10-21 09:52:20

Apply Now

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join this forward-thinking Housing Association, on a 3 month FTC.

This role will involve working from home.

Salary; £31,962 (pro rata)

The Empty Homes and Lettings Specialists provide a seamless and holistic void-to-let service. Your involvement begins the moment we know a home will become empty or available to the market and doesn't end until a customer is happily settled in their new home. Along the way you'll find the right customer the right home and make sure that the home meets our lettable standard. Our Empty Homes and Lettings Specialists also use their skills to maximise income by finding the right customers for our garages, car parking spaces and any other commercial assets we own or manage on behalf of other people.

What you will be responsible for

• Owning and managing our empty homes process from beginning to end, creating a seamless and smooth experience for both us, our customers and our clients

• Making sure that all empty homes are up to our lettable standard, in a way that makes financial sense

• Managing our garage portfolio to ensure we deliver excellent consistent service, maximising rental income and minimising voids

• Making sure our customers inspire and influence the design, delivery and outcome of everything that we do

• Making sure that our vision, mission and values influence every aspect of our business

What we need you to do:

* Help us to revolutionise our approach to finding customers their new home

* Play a lead role in implementing our Empty Home policy and procedures to create an efficient process that minimises rental loss and creates satisfaction with quality

* Work in partnership with surveyors and other professionals so that they have everything they need to carry out their role efficiently

* Issue, monitor and action tasks through to completion and invoice payment on Open Housing and on our Finance system Ebis

* Work closely with contractors and suppliers to have effective contract management of the empty homes process

* Maintain all empty homes data and provide it in a clear format for inputting into our

Asset Management system, Keystone

* Maintain effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders such as the local authority, other local housing providers and private landlords

* Keep accurate records of items to be recharged to tenants and issue recharges efficiently

* Making sure that the right tenant is found quickly for a home using a range of methods such as direct let or advertising via Choice Based Lettings – it could be someone looking to rent social housing or a customer searching for a market rent home

* Create and execute alternative advertising strategies for hard to let homes

* Perform rent checks on current and former tenants and applicant

* Arrange viewings, manage the viewing process and keep other colleagues updated

* Keep Bucks Home Choice updated throughout the lettings process

* Manage the signup process, including issuing the correct tenancy agreement for each type of home and tenancy, applying service charges and updating records

* Negotiate with private landlords and procure new homes for letting through new business activities

* Turn our garage strategy into action by managing our portfolio of over 1200 garages

* Maximise garage occupancy levels at local market rents by applying innovative marketing strategies where demand needs to be stimulated

* Apply a commercial approach to recovering arrears from garage tenants who have not paid in line with their agreement

* Project manage garage investment programmes, liaising with contractors, customers and colleagues to ensure efficient and effective delivery

* Evaluate demand for garages and deliver changes to our portfolio where required

Where you have come from:

• A customer service focused environment with a responsibility for delivering results

• A role where achieving deadlines and managing numerous work streams is second nature

• Estate agency, commercial or property sector with an understanding of lettings negotiation, property management and maintenance

• An environment where you have developed your IT skills

• A role where you have implemented policy and procedures

• A role where you have developed effective written and verbal communication skills, with a particular emphasis on negotiation and problem resolution

• A service delivery environment where you have been committed to promoting equality and diversity

What our teams will see in you:

• An achiever driven by improving performance and success

• A relationship builder, going the extra mile to make the customer feel proud of their new home

• A 'whole picture' and creative thinker

• A technophile who is always searching for and embracing new technology to help them and our customers

• Someone who remains calm in a reactive and regularly changing environment

• Someone who is passionate about improving communities and quality of life

• Someone who can organise several work streams at one time and manage competing priorities, while keeping their eye on the detail

• A person who demonstrates initiative and the ability to work on their own or as part of a team

• Someone who can build effective relationships both internally and externally, and who is a flexible and strong communicator (both verbally and in writing)

• Someone who contributes new ways of working that improve the effectiveness of the team and the wider organisation

* Someone who embraces early morning, evening or weekend working hours so that we can meet the needs of customers who live and work a modern society.

As a person, you will:

• Be a highly motivated person who does what they say and is committed to the aims and ambitions of the organisation and the broader issues of providing great homes

• Look beyond traditional voids and lettings services to implement the best practices that can be found in public and commercial lettings services

• Be commercially focused, understanding how you can make a positive difference to the bottom line.

• Prioritise, plan and balance short, medium and long term workloads to meet service demands

• Have a positive outlook and identify solutions and opportunities not obstacles and barriers

• Ideally have some housing or property management experience or equivalent

• Be confident, and have the ability to demonstrate initiative and ability to work on your own

• Be driven to go the extra mile to deliver a customer focused and efficient service

• Recognise the need to be adaptable as the needs of our customers and business evolve – this could mean a change in tasks carried out or working hours

• Ideally have a full driving license and access to a car

• Enjoy working in a fast paced and results driven environment

Apply Now