Housing Team Manager WCC621272

Overview

As a Housing Team Manager, you can make your own powerful contribution. This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced housing manager to bring their expertise and leadership skills to a new position in one of London\’s most dynamic boroughs. You will touch a variety of communities, from Paddington and Little Venice to Queen Park via Maida Vale. Through our major improvement programme in the Housing directorate, you will improve standards and services to all residents, including the most vulnerable.

You will manage a team of about four staff members within local teams, working alongside specialists in repairs, income, anti-social behaviour, and engagement, among other areas. You will manage a portfolio of properties in a specific area, keep your team informed on Council-wide issues, and share your expertise to inspire and motivate outstanding results. You will be a proponent of the Westminster City Council equalities framework policy, supporting fair opportunities for all staff.

Care for your team will be crucial to their overall success. Ensure that all staff understand and adhere to Westminster City Council Health and Safety policies. Encourage staff to report discrimination from either staff members or residents. Effectively manage capability, disciplinary, sickness and absence issues.

As a Housing Team Manager, you will work directly with and for residents. This will entail supporting the team to create productive partnerships with relevant associations, attending resident meetings, and creating surgeries where residents are given the chance to raise their concerns. You will manage the delivery of the quarterly estate inspection programme to monitor standards of service delivery, keep a tab on void properties, and ensure that casework is properly managed. For tenancies, you will ensure settling-in visits are completed within 28 days of the start date, conduct tenancy audits, identify potential fraud cases, and appropriately handle tenant possessions where necessary. You will ensure repairs are carried out and emergency access is provided when needed. You will be on the rota for out-of-hours emergencies. When required, you will protect the Council’s interest by taking enforcement action, including serving notices, evictions and attending court.

You will use your strong communication skills to closely monitor written contact with residents, ensuring that they are timely, clear and of a high standard. For stage 1 complaints, you will undertake an investigation and prepare a written response to be reviewed by the Area Housing Manager. You will engage with residents about their stage 1 complaints, take responsibility, and assess satisfaction with proposed responses. Alongside the Area Housing Manager, you will prepare responses to stage 2 complaints and enquiries from Cabinet Members, Councillors and MPs.

Overall, you will be leading a team set on making a genuine positive difference to the Council. You will drive continuously improving professional services that meet high levels of resident satisfaction.

You are someone who can inspire enthusiasm. You thrive in a team-oriented environment. You may have experience of staff management, with a focus on target setting and performance. You also should have a good understanding of Diversity and Equal opportunities.

We would like you to have significant, relevant experience of housing management, accompanied by strong knowledge of tenancy law and general tenancy management. You need to be comfortable representing Westminster residents and coordinating services to meet their needs. A varied workload should excite you, and you should be flexible to attend events outside standard hours. Your written and verbal communication skills, and your aptitude for customer service, should be excellent even in challenging situations. You should be familiar with IT and computer systems. No formal qualifications are required to apply for this role.