Gosport Borough Council Jobs | 1 Live Vacancy

About Gosport Borough Council

Gosport Borough Council is the district council for the Gosport peninsula on Hampshire's south coast, based at the Town Hall on the High Street in Gosport. The borough has 25 miles of coastline, including the Portsmouth Harbour waterfront and the beaches at Stokes Bay and Lee-on-the-Solent, and a strong Royal Navy heritage that still shapes its economy and community. The council is a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant and recognises the particular housing needs of service leavers.

Housing and homelessness services

Unusually for a small district, Gosport is a stock-holding landlord: its Property and Housing Services team is responsible for more than 3,000 council houses and flats, some dedicated to older people and some used as temporary accommodation, alongside a commercial property portfolio and a residential home park. The Housing Options Service, part of the wider Housing Needs and Advice Service, provides advice and assistance on homelessness, deposits, the housing waiting list, landlord and tenant law, relationship breakdown, domestic abuse, care leavers, prison leavers and money problems, with a drop-in at the Town Hall and an out-of-hours emergency accommodation line.

The council directly runs hostel-style temporary accommodation staffed by a team of Hostel Support Officers who deliver person-centred, trauma-informed support to residents while they progress towards independent living. Rough sleeper outreach for Fareham and Gosport is delivered by the charity Two Saints, and the council promotes StreetLink for public referrals. Its Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2022-2027 sets the direction for prevention work, supported by a duty-to-refer process and local partners such as the Gosport Basics Bank and Citizens Advice Gosport.

Working for the council

Gosport describes a supportive team environment with training and skills opportunities, a career average pension scheme and flexible working. It is an equal opportunities employer, an accredited Disability Confident employer and holds Gold status in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme. Vacancies are advertised through Portsmouth City Council's shared recruitment portal, and applications are submitted on the council's own form by email rather than through the portal.

Typical roles

For someone seeking homelessness work, the most relevant roles are Hostel Support Officers and their senior lead within temporary accommodation, Housing Advisors in the Housing Options Service, and accommodation and lettings posts. Adverts typically ask for experience in a homeless hostel or supported housing setting, knowledge of homelessness legislation and welfare benefits, and confidence in managing complex cases involving mental health, substance misuse and safeguarding.