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ROLE DESCRIPTION
Job Title: Head of Housing
Location: Leeds
Responsible to: Director of Customer Services
Reporting: (See Organisation Chart)
MAIN PURPOSE
- Provide leadership and expertise in ensuring that the organisation meets the needs of customers, prospective customers, and stakeholders through the delivery of high-quality housing management services which meet or exceed regulatory requirements
- Lead and maintain a culture of excellence in all areas of activity
- Ensure high levels of core business performance in line with our Corporate Plan, strategic goals, and objectives
- Lead the delivery of people-focused services, demonstrably influenced by engagement with customers
- Engage effectively with committees, customers, and the wider leadership team to provide assurance on areas of responsibility
- Contribute to the delivery of core business policies such as Health & Safety, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, and Value for Money
- Uphold the organisation’s values and behaviours, and demonstrate leadership in relation to these
SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITIES AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
STRATEGY, POLICY AND PLANNING
- Develop strategy and policy to deliver the organisation’s aims in relation to housing and neighbourhood management, supported housing, income management, and financial inclusion services
- Establish and maintain clear plans for the development and delivery of services as part of the organisation’s wider corporate planning process
- Anticipate possible emerging risks and performance challenges based on available information from internal and external sources, and plan accordingly
- Set and phase budgets effectively based on sound service planning
- Oversee and review the operation of applicable risks and controls forming part of our risk management framework
- Work with regard to all applicable statutory, regulatory, and good practice requirements
PERFORMANCE
- Maintain a team culture that aspires to, and delivers, a high level of performance
- Establish and maintain clear performance standards for housing and neighbourhood management, supported housing, income management, and financial inclusion services, with a focus on outcomes for customers
- Oversee and maintain a system of intelligent performance metrics across areas of responsibility which incentivises people-focused working and positive outcomes for customers
- Ensure any applicable statutory or regulatory performance metrics are an embedded part of our understanding of performance
- Set challenging and achievable performance targets for relevant operational areas
- Use resources effectively to deliver agreed performance criteria
- Take prompt and decisive action in response to any underperformance
- Provide regular, timely, and accurate management information internally, and to board and committee structures
- Ensure statutory and regulatory returns are completed accurately and submitted within notified timescales
- Ensure safeguarding responsibilities to customers, team members, and the wider public are properly discharged
- Manage budgets effectively, identifying and responding appropriately to any variances
- Produce timely reports by exception on potential areas of concern
- Ensure operational procedures are documented and up to date
- Keep abreast of technological innovations & recommend changes offering demonstrable benefit
CORPORATE ROLE
- Contribute to the wider function of the leadership team in confident, collegiate manner
- Develop operating plans and service improvement plans for areas of responsibility, delegating actions appropriately
- Contribute to the development of the organisation’s corporate strategies, corporate plan, and financial plan
- Participate effectively in governance meetings, leading debate on own areas of responsibility and expertise, providing accountability and assurance
- Represent the interests of the Association and its customers when dealing with partners, stakeholders and other parties, maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and integrity
- Ensure internal and external communications content meets customer, stakeholder and colleague needs, and remains accurate and relevant
- Work in accordance with the Association’s values and behaviours, supporting and promoting the organisation’s reputation
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
- Maintain a team culture that is focused on learning and continuous improvement, and which rewards curiosity, openness to change, and experimentation
- Act as a catalyst for change, challenging the status quo and acting as an advocate for the customer
- Maximise the use of customer insight and feedback in identifying opportunities for improvement
- Maintain colleague engagement and support for change and improvement initiatives by communicating effectively and demonstrating organisational values and behaviours
- Ensure effective communication with customers on improvement initiatives that affect service design and delivery
- Implement and maintain appropriate systems to measure and monitor the impact and benefits of change and improvement initiatives
- Lead designated corporate projects as part of agreed corporate plan programme
SERVICE QUALITY
- Liaise effectively with Service Improvement Team colleagues to ensure our services are improved in line with business needs, reflecting customer needs/preferences and aspirations where appropriate
- Maintain a team culture that is focused on, and motivated by, excellent service to our customers
- Ensure the delivery of high quality, empathetic service through training, effective resource planning and quality monitoring
- Implement and maintain systems to gather, analyse, and make use of customer feedback, including complaints
- Deliver high levels of customer satisfaction across all areas of responsibility
- Ensure complaints dealt are with efficiently and effectively, and with openness and transparency
- Collaborate with the wider leadership team to maintain high standards for working with internal customers
- Ensure customer data is handled in line with organisational policy and in line with data protection legislation
HOUSING AND NEIGHBOURHOOD MANAGEMENT
- Lead the delivery of excellent housing and neighbourhood management services
- Ensure the existence of comprehensive and efficient procedures for the management of tenancies, voids & allocations, anti-social behaviour, safeguarding, and other complex cases
- Maintain a necessary level of knowledge and skill across the team to ensure that services can be delivered to the required standards
- Ensure compliance with all applicable statutory and regulatory standards, codes of practice, and local agreements with partner and stakeholder organisations
- Work effectively with partner agencies in delivering effective neighbourhood and estate management, developing new partnerships where this delivers improved outcomes
- Liaise effectively with Asset Management and Development colleagues to ensure housing stock is built, maintained and improved in line with business needs, reflecting customer preferences where appropriate
- Ensure all communal areas are well-managed and periodically inspected in line with insurance requirements
INCOME management AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION
- Lead the delivery of excellent income management and financial inclusion services
- Ensure the existence of comprehensive and efficient procedures for the management of income collection and financial inclusion services, focusing on maximising tenancy sustainability
- Maintain a necessary level of knowledge and skill across the team to ensure that services can be delivered to the required standards
- Maintain strong partnerships with external agencies to deliver positive outcomes for customers and for the business
SUPPORTED HOUSING
- Maintain high standards of tenancy support in directly-managed older person’s housing services, ensuring these remain in line with internal and external requirements
- Ensure effective liaison with, and oversight of, the activities of managing agents delivering services in our accommodation, ensuring that we are able to meet our landlord responsibilities
- Prepare and present option appraisals where necessary in relation to housing stock proposed to be used for supported housing or where housing stock has no future supported housing use
- Ensure adherence to established management agreements and service contract agreements.
No job description can be entirely comprehensive and the job holder will be expected to carry out such other duties as may be required from time to time and are broadly consistent with the job description and position of the post within the organisation.