Lettings Officer

To apply for this role, send your CV and a covering letter to recruitment@isha.co.uk by 9am on Tuesday, 17 November.

In your cover letter, you must answer the following questions:

1. Why do you believe you are a strong fit for the role, with reference to the job description and person specification?
2. Can you give an example of how you manage your time to meet competing deadlines?
3. What motivates you to provide excellent customer service?
4. Is there anything else you would like us to know in support of your application?

Please keep your responses to a maximum of 300 words per answer.

Unfortunately, we cannot consider your application if you do not answer these questions.

Reports to: Housing Manager
Direct reports: None
Team: Tenancy Team
Directorate: Housing and Neighbourhoods

Job purpose

To coordinate the end-to-end lettings process, from notification of tenancy termination through to sign-up of new tenants.

This role is focused on reducing void times, maximising rental income, and delivering a proactive, customer-focused service. You will manage lettings activity, liaise with internal teams and contractors, and ensure a smooth and efficient process for customers. You will be the main point of contact for our local authority partners.  

Our values

Consistently demonstrate and champion ISHA’s values through your behaviours, decisions, and interactions, whilst always acting as a positive and visible role model for our values:

• Professional
• Motivated to Deliver
• People Focused
• Compassionate 

Key accountabilities

1. Co-ordinate the allocations and lettings of all voids to include relets and new lets whilst complying with Local Authority nomination agreements and ISHA’s allocation policy.
2. Liaise with local authority partners to ensure the timely supply of nominations.
3. Work closely with colleagues and contractors involved in the voids process to ensure that viewings and lettings are coordinated and completed at the earliest opportunity during the void period to minimise void loss.
4. Carry out viewings and sign-ups across ISHA’s stock for re-let voids and new build voids.
5. Ensure that properties are let when all health and safety requirements have been met and ensuring that any post-letting works agreed with the resident are completed.
6. Support tenants who want to move home by offering advice and assistance, especially focusing on mutual exchange opportunities.
7. Oversee the mutual exchange process in conjunction with colleagues, ensuring that decisions are given in line with statutory targets.
8. Organise and attend events that promote resident mobility.
9. Maintain ISHA’s transfer waiting list, including processing transfer applications, liaising with the independent medical advisory service and keeping residents informed of the progress of their application. Carry out periodic reviews of the transfer list.
10. Ensure new tenancy rents are set in line with ISHA’s rent setting policy, and tenancies are granted in line with ISHA’s policies.
11. Keep up-to-date and accurate records of voids, lettings and allocations and monitor and provide periodic reports on performance in this area.
12. Ensure that records are maintained for CORE reporting, LA authority returns and any other third-party agencies in relation to allocations and lettings processes.
13. Represent ISHA at external stakeholder events and meetings in relation to the voids and lettings service.

Essentials

In addition to the principal accountabilities of the role, there are significant elements that we deem essential for every role at ISHA:

Ensure safeguarding responsibilities are fully and effectively met by promoting a safeguarding culture appropriate to the scope and seniority of the role.

Champion equity, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of work, ensuring policies are actively applied, and the principles of fairness, inclusion and respect are positively promoted.

Maintain a safe, compliant and responsible working environment by ensuring full adherence to health and safety and data protection requirements, and by promoting practices that protect personal wellbeing, organisational data and the safety of others.

Ensure priorities are met through flexible and responsive working, adapting approach and taking on additional reasonable responsibilities to support the needs of the team, directorate and ISHA, as and when required.

Personal specification

Dear applicant

Thank you for your interest in the role of Lettings Officer at ISHA and for taking the time to read this recruitment pack. I hope it gives you a sense of who we are, where we are heading and why this is such an exciting opportunity to join our organisation.

ISHA is a community and neighbourhood-based housing association that owns and manages around 2,500 homes across North and East London, including approximately 400 shared ownership properties. Our vision is to provide high-quality homes and services and contribute to thriving communities. We are proud of our strong social purpose, our commitment to our residents and our ambition to continuously improve the services we provide.

This is an established role within our Housing and Neighbourhoods Directorate and a great opportunity to join a team committed to delivering an excellent service to residents.

We’re looking for someone who enjoys building strong relationships with colleagues, residents and external partners, while delivering a welcoming, customer-focused allocations and lettings service. As you’ll often be the first person our new residents meet, you’ll play an important role in creating a positive first impression and helping residents feel welcomed into their new home and community.

I hope this opportunity inspires you to consider joining us. However, don't just take our word for it. Please do your own research, speak to others and find out more about us. I am confident you will discover an organisation with strong values, ambitious plans and a genuine commitment to making a difference.

Best wishes

Deeion Sharpe
Head of Housing Management

Shape Better Services. Drive Meaningful Change. Make a Real Difference.

As our Lettings Officer, you’ll play a pivotal role within our Housing and Neighbourhoods Directorate, helping new residents through one of the most important moments in their housing journey.

You’ll coordinate our allocations and lettings service, bringing together colleagues, surveyors, tenancy officers and local authority partners to create a positive and seamless experience for residents.

We’re a small, community-based organisation, with one dedicated Lettings Officer, so you’ll have the opportunity to take real ownership of the role, work independently and build strong relationships across the organisation. You’ll be comfortable balancing competing priorities and deadlines while always keeping the resident experience at the heart of what you do.

For many residents, you’ll be their first introduction to ISHA. Your warmth, professionalism and customer focus will help ensure that moving into their new home feels positive and welcoming from day one.

Ready to make a difference? We'd love to hear from you.

You understand that moving home is more than paperwork and collecting keys. It's a significant moment, and the way someone is welcomed matters. As many people's first introduction to ISHA, you'll want to make that first experience a positive one: listening, answering questions and helping people feel comfortable asking for what they need. You'll enjoy a role where being good with people matters just as much as getting the practical details right.

You'll bring:

• A welcoming manner that puts people at ease and helps build trust from the first conversation.
• The patience to listen properly, explain things without jargon and recognise that everyone approaches a move with different questions and circumstances.
• A strong sense of ownership, keeping people informed and following things through so they know what to expect and what happens next.
• A calm, practical approach when plans change, finding the next step while staying thoughtful about the person affected.
• Pride in getting the small things right, knowing that a clear update or a carefully checked detail can make a real difference to someone's move.
• The initiative to get things moving, alongside the judgement to ask for help and bring the right colleagues together when needed.
• A genuine interest in what makes a good resident experience, with the curiosity to ask whether there is a simpler or more helpful way to do things.

At ISHA, community and neighbourhood mean everything to us, and our roots run deep in the areas of North London that we serve. Founded over 90 years ago, we provide around 2,500 homes for over 5,000 people across Islington, Hackney and Waltham Forest. We are proud to remain a community-based housing association with a strong social purpose and an ambitious future.

We offer a wide range of housing choices: social rent, shared ownership, intermediate rent, market rent, supported housing, and options for the elderly. We also provide homes and support for the Vietnamese, South-East Asian and wider communities. We are committed to ensuring equality, diversity, and inclusion of all communities in our approach to services and the way we work.

ISHA is smaller and more local than many other housing associations operating in London. The roots of ISHA go back to 1933 when we were involved with tackling slum clearance, poverty, overcrowding, ill-health, and high rents. Today we employ close to 80 staff and have over 2,500 homes.

We are proud to be a London Living Wage employer, and no employee will earn below that level. It is calculated independently to reflect the high cost of living in the capital, giving a worker in London and their family enough to afford the essentials and to save.

Our purpose

To provide quality, safe, and affordable homes across north and east London.

Our mission

Provide high-quality homes and services and contribute to thriving communities.

Our values

Professional, Motivated to Deliver, Compassionate and People Focused.

We live our values every day and take pride in the diversity of our communities. We are committed to creating inclusive spaces where residents feel happy, respected, and able to be themselves. Our values are at the heart of everything we do, which means we are committed to ensuring that every colleague feels they belong and can contribute fully to our success.

We offer a generous pension scheme, 29 days annual leave, eye care vouchers, a cycle to work scheme, health cash-plan, and other great benefits. And we will invest in your professional development with on-going learning and career development opportunities.

Contractual

29 days annual leave (plus bank holidays) rising to 31 days after five years’ service (pro-rata for part-timers). There are three compulsory office closure days between Christmas and New Year, which need to be taken from an employee’s annual leave entitlement.

Non-contractual

Pension: Defined Contribution as a salary sacrifice. Starting at employer (ER) contribution of 6% and 2% employee (EE), or match funded up to a maximum of 10% from ER and EE.

Emergency leave: Up to five days per annum for unexpected emergencies. Day one is paid on five occasions to allow employees time to make alternative arrangements.

Financial services: We joined the London Credit Union that provides employees with fair, ethical, and affordable financial services. You can also access the home contents insurance negotiated for our residents.

Working flexibly: Up to three days working from home per week, if your role allows and with prior managerial approval. With monthly designated ‘all in’ days.

Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), offering emotional and practical support, advice for legal or financial matters, a manager support line and access to online self-help resources that can help you stay focused and protect your mental health and wellbeing.

Support for continuous professional development: Everyone has a personal development plan, and we offer opportunities to take qualifications, contributing partial funding and study leave. We also offer study loans repayable over 10 months.

Management Academy for managers: Ongoing professional development for all managers that supports ISHA to set minimum standards and helps us meet best practice as line managers. We are members of the Institute of Customer Service and other relevant bodies with access to training through them. We also support all colleagues by paying for one relevant professional subscription (with approval).

Social opportunities: as a small organisation we meet regularly as a whole team, celebrate successes and share experiences.

Health and wellbeing: a health cash plan to reclaim a percentage of the costs for a variety of health services, virtual GP appointments, second opinion diagnosis, online physio, shopping, and gym membership discounts. We also offer eye care vouchers, Cycle to Work scheme, and an interest-free season ticket loan (these are all available post-probation).

At ISHA, we are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels welcome, valued and able to thrive. We believe that having a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve helps us make better decisions, deliver better services and create a stronger organisation.

Working in partnership

We work in close co-operation with our local authorities, the social housing regulator Homes England, the Greater London Authority (GLA) and other local housing associations, including Black and Minority Ethnic, special needs Housing Associations and co-operatives. Investment in development is provided through our own borrowing, the GLA and through local authorities. ISHA leads the North River Alliance (NRA), which is a consortium of North and East London community-based housing associations.

We have a G1 Governance rating, C2 Consumer Standards rating, and a V2 Financial Viability rating. 

Our commitment to inclusion

We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences. We value diversity of thought, experience and perspective, and believe these differences strengthen our team and enrich our culture.

Our address is: 102 Blackstock Road, London, N4 2DR

Getting to the office

Parking: There is very limited parking in the Finsbury Park area, but ISHA can provide a parking permit to staff with a disability who can only commute via car. We have pool cars, and staff can book parking spaces when transport is essential for their role, subject to availability and approval.

Bicycle racks are available outside the back and front of the office.

Tube/Underground: The nearest tube station is Finsbury Park on the Victoria and Piccadilly lines (10 minutes’ walk to our office).

Trains/overground: The nearest train station is Finsbury Park with trains from Moorgate and Kings Cross. London Overground operates a train from Stratford to Finsbury Park.

Buses: Many buses run between Finsbury Park station and our office: 4, 19, 106, 236. Other buses stop on Seven Sisters Road (7 minutes’ walk) 29, 253, 259, 279.

Physical layout and features

Our reception and Repairs Team are located on the ground floor. All other departments are on the first and second floors. There is a lift that serves each floor.

Our office is wheelchair accessible, and there is a disabled toilet on every floor, and one at reception. The height of some desks can be adjusted and would be suitable for wheelchair users or very tall people.

There are soft strip lights throughout with good natural light. Some managers’ offices are further away from windows and rely more on artificial lighting. However, those offices have an air-cooling system to facilitate temperature control.

As the office is mainly open plan, noise levels vary and can, at times, be high. Most employees sit in an open plan office area with colleagues, with computers and printers operating intermittently during the day.

There are audio loop systems in the main meeting room, the tenant interview rooms, and at reception.

If you prefer, you can download or view all this information in a single file.

• Full recruitment pack for Lettings Officer (PDF, 528kb)