Ashford Borough Council Jobs

About Ashford Borough Council

Ashford Borough Council is the district-level local authority for the borough of Ashford in Kent, in the South East of England. It is based at International House on Dover Place in Ashford town centre, having moved there from its former Civic Centre. Unlike many district councils, Ashford has kept its own council housing stock, so it acts both as a strategic housing authority and as a landlord, running tenancy management, rent collection, repairs and maintenance, mutual exchanges and a tenants' portal for the people who live in its homes.

Housing and homelessness services

The council's Housing Options and Allocations Service is the front door for anyone who is homeless or at risk of losing their home. It carries out assessments under the Homelessness Reduction Act, agrees personal housing plans, and works through the prevention and relief duties to keep people in their homes or find them somewhere suitable to live. The service places households into temporary accommodation where the council owes a duty, and manages the housing register and the allocation of social housing under the council's Allocation Scheme and nomination agreements with housing association partners. A 24-hour line is available for people who have nowhere safe to sleep.

Ashford has a dedicated Single Homeless and Rough Sleepers team and a published Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy. Since the pandemic the council has chosen to temporarily house everyone verified as sleeping rough and then support them into move-on accommodation, and it operates a Severe Weather Emergency Protocol that opens accommodation to all rough sleepers when conditions become dangerous. The team works alongside Ashford Churches Together and local churches on winter provision such as clothing, food and warm spaces. The wider housing service also runs Independent Living Schemes, private sector housing enforcement and HMO licensing, Disabled Facilities Grants, an ABC Lettings service that finds and manages private tenancies, and specialist pathways for young people, care leavers, veterans and survivors of domestic abuse.

Working for the council

Ashford describes itself as an organisation that puts people first, with hybrid and flexible working built into most office-based roles alongside a flexi-time scheme. Staff join the Local Government Pension Scheme and receive life assurance, annual leave that starts at 30 days and rises with grade and service, up to three days of paid volunteering leave, occupational sick pay and an Employee Assistance Programme with 24-hour support. Essential car users can access a subsidised lease car or a cash alternative, and there are Cycle to Work and payroll savings schemes, local retail and leisure discounts, quarterly staff events and structured appraisal and development. Some hard-to-fill posts attract enhanced recruitment payments or relocation help.

Typical roles

The recruitment portal lists categories for Housing Options, Homeless Strategy, Housing and Community Development, Housing Assets, Housing Maintenance, Private Sector Housing and Sheltered Scheme Wardens. Roles that appear regularly include housing options and homelessness prevention officers, allocations officers and managers, temporary accommodation officers, rough sleeper and single homeless support workers, tenancy and neighbourhood officers, and independent living scheme staff.

• Location: International House, Dover Place, Ashford, Kent TN23 1HU
• Recruitment contact: recruitment@ashford.gov.uk / 01233 331111
• Pension: Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)