Commissioning and Contract Monitoring Team Leader

You are an experienced housing or homelessness professional with a strong background in commissioning, contract management and performance monitoring within a complex accommodation or support environment. You are motivated by improving outcomes for people experiencing homelessness and understand how effective commissioning and robust contract oversight underpin a safe, sustainable homelessness system.

You bring proven experience of leading and developing staff, setting clear priorities and managing performance in a pressured operational setting. You are confident supporting teams through change, providing clear direction, constructive challenge and wellbeing‑focused management. You have a strong working knowledge of homelessness legislation, landlord and tenant law, and health and safety requirements, and are comfortable applying these in practice to ensure statutory compliance and quality assurance across accommodation provision.

You understand how to use data, insight and performance information to inform commissioning intentions, service design and continuous improvement. You are skilled in building productive relationships with internal colleagues, providers, partners and stakeholders, including managing challenging conversations, complaints and escalations in a professional and proportionate way. You communicate clearly and effectively at all levels, with strong written skills and the ability to produce clear reports, specifications and performance summaries.

You work in a trauma‑informed and psychologically informed way and are committed to delivering services that are person‑centred, non‑judgemental and focused on stability, prevention and long‑term housing sustainment. You demonstrate a positive, solutions‑focused approach, remain resilient under pressure and take pride in delivering high‑quality, value‑for‑money services. You are flexible, adaptable and willing to respond to emergency situations, including participation in out‑of‑hours arrangements where required.

As Commissioning and Contract Monitoring Team Leader, you will play a central role in ensuring the council provides safe, high‑quality and value‑for‑money accommodation and support services for people experiencing homelessness. You will lead the commissioning, contract management and performance monitoring of temporary accommodation, accommodation based and related services. Managing a dedicated team, you will oversee provider performance, compliance, health and safety, and service quality, ensuring contracts meet statutory requirements and deliver positive outcomes for residents.

You will use data, inspection findings and service user feedback to drive improvement, manage risk and inform future commissioning activity. Working closely with internal housing services, external providers and partners, you will help shape a sustainable homelessness system that reduces reliance on emergency accommodation and supports move‑on into settled housing. This key leadership role combines people management, commercial awareness and a strong commitment to improving lives through effective commissioning.

Exeter City Council is transforming its Housing Needs and Homelessness service to create a more proactive, compassionate, and effective system for the city. Following a comprehensive review of our homelessness pressures, we have redesigned our services to focus on early intervention, trauma informed practice, and integrated multi‑agency working. This transformation includes new specialist teams, a strengthened commissioning model, clearer pathways, and a renewed focus on prevention, quality, and outcomes for vulnerable residents. We are now recruiting ambitious and motivated leaders to help deliver this new model. These roles offer the chance to shape a modern, evidence‑led service, drive innovation, and make a meaningful difference to people experiencing homelessness in Exeter.

At Exeter City Council we are fully committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce to reflect the communities we serve. To support this commitment we will strive to implement reasonable adjustments to support any members of our communities who face barriers in recruitment processes, irrespective of the reason. We are also proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and have committed to guaranteeing an interview to anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.