Head of Housing Operations

Overview

Interim Head of Housing Operations

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and overall accountability for the delivery of housing and neighbourhood-based operational services, ensuring safe homes, effective services, and positive resident outcomes.
• Lead and oversee Housing Management, Asset Management, Compliance and Resident Management services, ensuring alignment across services and effective integration of operational delivery.
• Ensure all housing operations are delivered in line with the Council's corporate priorities, statutory duties, regulatory requirements, and the expectations of the Regulator of Social Housing and Housing Ombudsman.
• Set the strategic direction for housing operations, translating corporate and service strategies into clear operational priorities, delivery plans, and performance expectations.
• Provide visible leadership to senior managers, fostering a culture of accountability, professionalism, collaboration, and continuous improvement across housing services.
• Ensure the effective delivery of core housing functions, including tenancy and housing management, income and tenancy sustainment, repairs and maintenance, compliance, capital investment, and resident engagement.
• Oversee and assure robust governance arrangements across housing operations, including strategic and operational boards and groups, ensuring effective escalation, decision-making, and assurance.
• Act as the senior responsible officer for housing compliance and building safety, ensuring risks are identified, managed, and mitigated, and that assurance is provided to senior leadership and Members.
• Ensure safeguarding responsibilities are embedded across housing operations, providing strategic oversight of complex safeguarding and multi-agency cases.
• Lead performance management across housing operations, ensuring services meet agreed KPIs, regulatory standards, and service commitments, and taking action where performance falls short.
• Provide strategic oversight of financial management across housing operations, including the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), general funded properties, capital delivery, ensuring effective budget control, value for money, and long-term financial sustainability.
• Lead workforce planning, organisational development, and significant service transformation, including restructuring, operating model redesign, and cultural change, ensuring the service is resilient, compliant, and fit for future demands.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with residents, Members, regulators, partner organisations, and external stakeholders to support transparency, trust, and effective partnership working.
• Lead service improvement, transformation, and innovation across housing operations, using insight, data, complaints, and learning to drive better outcomes for residents.
• Lead and deliver complex, time-bound change programmes within housing operations, including service recovery, regulatory readiness, and transformation activity, maintaining pace, momentum, and staff engagement during periods of change.

Skills and Knowledge

• Accountability
• Experience of providing clear strategic accountability for complex housing services, with responsibility for the performance, compliance, and outcomes delivered through Service Managers and their teams.
• Experience of building and sustaining positive relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including elected Members, senior officers, regulators, delivery partners, and community representatives, with a strong understanding of political drivers and governance requirements.
• Experience of creating and embedding a culture of learning, accountability, and continuous improvement to maintain a capable, resilient, and high-performing workforce across multiple services.

Delivery

• Work collaboratively with internal and external partners to inform strategic and operational decision-making, ensuring delivery supports the Council's corporate priorities, housing strategies, and wider place-based objectives.
• Establish clarity around expected outcomes, service standards, and performance expectations, providing clear lines of accountability, delegated authority, and assurance across Housing Operations.
• Establish and promote a culture of learning, workforce planning, and organisational development that enables Service Managers and staff to realise their potential, manage their careers, and improve outcomes for residents.
• Ensure effective performance management arrangements are in place across services, providing constructive challenge and support, and taking decisive action where performance falls below expected standards.
• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of housing, asset management, compliance, and resident engagement and the ability to apply this knowledge to strategic planning, investment decisions, and service delivery.

Decision Making

• Experience of making complex strategic decisions based on the analysis of performance data, financial information, regulatory requirements, and risk assessments.
• Experience of balancing competing priorities in a pressurised environment, exercising sound judgement and accountability for outcomes.
• Experience of making and implementing difficult decisions in complex, high-risk environments, including addressing underperformance, managing organisational change, and balancing competing priorities under external scrutiny.
• Ability to rapidly assess service position, identify priority risks and opportunities, and implement short- and medium-term improvement actions while maintaining service stability and compliance.

Working Together

• Experience of leading and influencing cross-organisational working at a senior level, taking account of diverse perspectives and harnessing the benefits of multi-disciplinary and diverse teams.
• Experience of managing and developing senior managers and teams in a way that recognises the needs of diverse stakeholder groups, promotes inclusion, and supports collaborative delivery across services and partners.

Qualifications

• The post holder will hold a relevant degree and/or postgraduate qualification. Consideration will be given to applicants who are not formally qualified, but who can demonstrate significant experience operating at a senior leadership level within housing, asset management, compliance or resident engagement.
• The post holder will hold a NEBOSH Diploma, CIH Level 5, or be a member of a relevant professional body, such as the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).