Assistant Area Director (Services)

Join Us and Help Shape Brighter Futures. At Depaul UK, we believe in people’s potential — and we take action every day to help unlock it. Whether you’re supporting young people directly or strengthening our organisation behind the scenes, your work will create real, lasting impact.

About The Role

Full Time | 12 Months Fixed Term Contract | £49,237. Ready to lead services that change lives? We're looking for a dynamic and values-driven leader to oversee homelessness and housing support services across London and the South East. You'll inspire and develop high-performing teams, drive service quality, and build strong partnerships that deliver outstanding outcomes for young people and adults facing homelessness.

This is an opportunity for an experienced operational manager who thrives in a fast-paced environment and has a strong understanding of housing, homelessness, safeguarding, and service performance. You'll be confident influencing stakeholders, leading through change, and turning strategy into action.

Join a supportive and ambitious organisation where inclusion, collaboration, and impact are at the heart of everything we do. If you're passionate about empowering people to achieve independence and creating services that make a real difference, we'd love to hear from you.

Please note that this job opportunity is offered as a full time (37.5 hour per week), 12 months fixed term contract.

In This Role, You Will:

• Lead on achieving challenging outcomes for the vulnerable people we support and those at risk of becoming homeless in the future.
• Ensure that safeguarding policies and procedures and legal compliance are adhered to and lead on the delivery of this.
• Be responsible for the high quality, compliance, and effectiveness of a range of services within their region.
• Lead on regional manager team meetings and the regional on-call rota.
• Work closely with all internal departments to manage relationships and performance compliance, ensuring London services are positively represented, receive the necessary internal support, and remain compliant with KPIs and internal reporting requirements.
• With support from the Area Director, manage external relationships with local authorities, landlords as and when required along with other external services and stakeholders as required.
• Ensure rental income is maximised across services; working closely with service teams, revenue and benefit teams, and landlords when problems arise.
• Ensure that accommodation projects are maintained to a high standard and are compliant with all Health and Safety Requirements.
• Lead on mobilisation plans for new services.
• Line management of Service and Pathway Managers.
• Deputise for the Area Director.

KEY DELIVERABLES:

• Leading high performing teams and services.
• Lead several Pathway and Service Managers across London and the Southeast to manage and deliver high-performance teams and services to clients.
• Ensure that staff receive appropriate support and supervision and provide regular feedback and advice about their performance.
• Support Managers when required to deal with difficult staffing issues and ensure that all of their staff are developed, trained internally and externally.
• Promoting a culture of professional curiosity and co-production.

Safeguarding:

• Take a lead role in keeping clients and staff safe within our services, using both Depaul and local authority policies and procedures and legal frameworks to ensure that teams are compliant, applying best practice and reporting effectively.
• Attending safeguarding panels and meetings both externally and internally as appropriate.
• Ensuring that teams are working with and for clients to ensure they are safe and feel able to report/discuss concerns when they arise.

Quality and Compliance:

• Ensure all services are operating within Depaul’s policy framework to meet contractual obligations by working with colleagues in Quality and Compliance and others to audit, update, amend or develop new policies, procedures and practices.
• Monitor the performance of services within own regional area working closely with Managers and Teams to ensure compliance and quality of outcomes against internal and external KPI’s.
• Deal with escalated complaints or concerns from clients and commissioners and other stakeholders in line with Depaul policies.
• Maintain up to date knowledge and understanding of contract requirements across the region, particularly the portfolio of services where there is a direct line of management responsibility.
• Gather regular feedback from project managers on the performance of projects and feedback from clients, commissioners, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Where shortfalls in performance are identified, work with managers to develop action plans and ensure these plans are adhered to.
• Escalate serious performance concerns to senior managers so that appropriate resources can be deployed and corrective action taken.
• Actively promote sustainability and social value considerations in decision making.

Housing Management and Maximising income:

• To maintain oversight of voids and arrears within your services and ensure rental income is maximised.
• To support Managers and lead on complaints or concerns to benefits and revenue teams, and landlords.
• Work closely with the Depaul Rents Team to ensure that payments from Housing Benefit Teams and Children's Services Teams are claimed for and arrive in a timely and organised manner.
• Work with the Area Director, Service Managers and the Finance Team on annual budget setting.
• Work with the Area Director, Service Managers, and the Finance Team on the monitoring, compliance and any remedial actions of budgets.

Health and Safety:

• To ensure safe and secure environments and maintain high standards and compliance within the services.
• This includes risk assessments, health and safety checks, fire safety, gas safety, electrical safety and supporting Managers with this.
• Liaison with landlords regarding management agreements, repairs, health and safety and compliance and required quarterly and annual return documents.
• Where services are based in Depaul Housing Services owned buildings ensuring with Managers that these are well maintained, safe and health and safety compliant.
• To develop an awareness of all staff of their own personal and building health and safety, through information sessions, key working and support planning and resident meetings.
• To ensure that the projects are clean and safe and in good condition both internally and externally with a focus on them being psychologically informed environments.

Workforce Development:

• Coach and support managers on effective recruitment, deployment and development of staff so that projects can be delivered against contracts and within budget.
• With advice from POD as needed, work with managers to identify where changes and improvements are required and how this can be realistically achieved.
• Ensure that services and teams are participating in internal and external Learning and Development and identifying skills improvements where required.
• Provide full line management to a group of managers across a region.
• Ensure that staff receive appropriate support and supervision and provide regular feedback and advice about their performance.
• Support managers dealing with complicated staff issues and carry out formal management processes including investigations and hearing grievance and disciplinary cases as needed.

Client Strategy:

• Champion client involvement across your region, contributing to the client involvement strategy and ensuring the client’s voice is at the centre of service delivery with positive outcomes for clients supported by our services.
• Promote the development and co-production of services with and for clients.
• Representing London services at key internal and external client involvement meetings and forums.
• Making sure that services and teams are working in a trauma informed way that offers clients choice and control over the services that they receive from Depaul.
• And an approach that maximises opportunities for them to engage with, whether that be in house events, local education, training and employment options, or advocating positively on their behalf so that they receive community services they are entitled to.

Business Development:

• Take a lead role in creating mobilisation plans for new or changing services and implementing these plans when new contracts are awarded or changes to services take place.

Managing relationships:

• Maintain close and constructive relationships with key external and internal stakeholders, including commissioners and funders.
• This will include representing Depaul at key events and meetings.
• These meetings will include regular commissioner meetings, safeguarding panels, neighbourhood forums, and internal meetings such as regional meetings, inter-departmental meetings, and local team meetings.

About You

What we are looking for from you – Person Specification:

• Experience of operational management of services.
• Experience of contract management / compliance monitoring.
• Experience of working with vulnerable people.
• Experience of managing staff and managing performance.
• Experience of managing change is desirable.
• Experience of managing performance, working to KPIs or targets.
• Working knowledge of housing and homelessness issues and trends.
• Significant experience of implementing & communicating clear standards and expectations and helps individuals and teams to develop to their full potential.
• Ability to develop, manage and measure a performance culture, including change management.

Knowledge and understanding:

• Able to demonstrate a good understanding of the areas in which Depaul works.
• Knowledge of relevant organisational policies and procedures.

Skills:

• Excellent problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently, exercising own judgement and managing multiple priorities.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence and engage with people.
• Self-motivated and resilient.

General Responsibilities:

• In conjunction with your Line Manager to continuously develop the role to ensure that all tasks are being undertaken in an effective and appropriate manner which meets the strategic aims and objectives of Depaul UK.
• Participate in regular supervision and annual appraisal and help identify your own job-related development and training needs.
• Ensure that all Depaul UK policies and procedures are being adhered to, particularly those relating to Safeguarding, Health and Safety, Code of Practice and Confidentiality.
• Contribute to the effective implementation of Depaul’s Diversity and Equality Policy as it affects both Depaul and its work with its clients.
• At all times undertake your role in a professional manner maintaining a high-quality standard of work, and to always work in accordance with the aims, values and ethos of Depaul UK.
• Undertake any other duties that may be required which are commensurate with the role.

What You’ll Receive:

• Tailored training and development.
• Flexible working options where suitable.
• 26 days annual leave, rising with service.
• Family‑friendly leave policies.
• Pension scheme with employer contributions up to 7%.
• Employee Assistance Programme with 24/7 GP access.
• Discounts across retail, travel, food, fitness and more.
• Cash health plan for you and your family.
• Death‑in‑service benefit.
• Access to legal and practical support.

Safer Recruitment:

Depaul UK is committed to fair and inclusive recruitment, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. If a role requires it under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, we will carry out the appropriate Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. We only look at information that is relevant to the role, and a criminal record will never be treated as an automatic barrier to employment. All DBS information is handled sensitively, confidentially and in line with the DBS Code of Practice, and we encourage applicants to discuss any concerns with us openly.