Swindon Borough Council are on an exciting journey to transform service delivery and have been shortlisted for the ‘Most Improved Council’ at the Local Government Awards (LGA).
We want our town to be the best it can be. Our ambitious vision in the new Swindon Plan is supported by realistic transformation programmes, with the people of Swindon at their heart. Because that’s who we’re doing it for – the communities and businesses that make our town great. As part of the Council, you’ll support a friendly local authority making decisions with real impact. It’s all for better public services. Better processes. And a better quality of life, for everyone. Join us, and Swindon will be better with you.
The Housing Team within Swindon Borough Council would like to offer apprenticeship opportunities to enthusiastic individuals who are keen to learn new skills and get started in their housing career.
Swindon Borough Council Housing owns over 10,000 properties across Swindon. We are involved in a wide range of activities in managing these properties which include allocating homes to applicants on our housing register, maintaining properties to a decent standard, ensuring tenancy conditions are met, collecting rent and dealing with arrears as well as tenant involvement and communications. We also provide support services to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, including temporary and supported accommodation.
Your next role
As an apprentice you will be given the opportunity to learn and develop valuable skills such as customer service; team working; time management; decision making; working with information and administration.
You will also gain the Chartered Institute of Housing Level 3 Certificate in Housing Practice as well as the Level 3 Housing Apprenticeship qualification on completion of the 20-month course - a great starting point for a career in Housing.
As an apprentices you will work within one of our housing teams supporting your colleagues to offer valuable service to customers. Examples of the work you will carry out in housing is below:
- Tenancy Services – Working with our Neighbourhood housing officers to deliver services to our Council housing tenants, undertaking generic housing duties including but not limited to rent arrears recovery up to the point a legal proceedings, property inspections, tenancy management issues, attendance at safeguarding professionals meetings and estate inspections. This role would suit an individual who enjoys problem solving and working with the public.
- Housing Options – this role will be the first point of contact for people who are homeless or with concerns about homelessness. You will train to provide a triage service to direct enquiries to right professionals. It is a good entry point into frontline housing services. This role would suit someone with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to thrive in a busy, ever changing environment
- Housing Business Development – to work across all aspects of communications with our tenants. This will include writing social media posts, dealing with queries and signposting for information. You will also support the team to facilitate different training opportunities for tenants. This role would suit an individual who works well with others and enjoys creative writing.
Qualifications required for this post
Entry requirements for the Level 3 Apprenticeship are:
- GCSE English and Maths at grade C (level 4) or above or equivalent qualifications
Knowledge & Experience
In addition, we are also looking for people who have:
- Good IT skills, preferably with experience of using Microsoft Word and Excel
- Good communication skills – both written and verbal
- Ability to work to manage own workload and work within deadlines
- Ability to work independently or as part of a team
- Ability to show initiative and take responsibility for the quality of their own work
- A passion for learning
You must be fluent in the English language (as a requirement of Part 7 of the Immigration Act “for the effective performance of a customer-facing role”).
Your next package
Please see our Rewards and Benefits offer for more details.
As an employee, you will receive a diverse and exciting environment in which to work, encouraging creativity and innovation whilst recognising the need to support ongoing personal development and a flexible work life balance.
For Swindon to thrive in the future, we need to lay the foundations now. It’s why our regeneration and transformation programmes are already underway. So, you’ll be joining us at an exciting time on our journey. We’ll look to you to share your knowledge, influence decisions and drive real, positive change. With your contributions, we’ll achieve our vision of a prosperous, re-vitalised Swindon together. And you’ll be proud to say it was made better with you.
Please see our Vision and Values page for more details and our new Swindon Plan.
Your next steps
Read the role profile and select the Apply button where you will be redirected to the Swindon Borough Council website to complete our online application process. Clicking the ‘Apply’ button on this job website is not an application, you must register on the Swindon Borough Council website in order to be considered for the role.
Potential applicants are sometimes put off if they don’t meet 100% of the requirements. We think individual experience, skills and passion make all the difference, so if you meet the majority of the criteria, we’d love to hear from you.
For further information about the role, please contact Jenna King, Tenant Academy Project Officer, at JKing@swindon.gov.uk
As an inclusive employer, we welcome applications from a diverse range of communities, and in particular disabled people and people from ethnic minorities. Read our statement of commitment to equality & inclusion.
If you are experiencing technical issues submitting your application please email resourcing@swindon.gov.uk
