Chief Officer Housing Solutions and Homelessness

For Housing, there’s no place like Westminster. We are redefining what’s possible in housing and homelessness services. For 20 years, the council has outsourced many of its housing services. But now, putting people first, we are bringing these services back into the Council, reshaping them from the ground up. Westminster is brimming with great potential. We are home to just over 205,000 diverse residents, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses, and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster.

Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

This role is your opportunity to help lead one of the most ambitious and high-profile housing transformations in the country. Reporting to the Director of Housing Needs, you’ll lead the shift from an outsourced service to an integrated, resident-focused one. You will shape a sector-leading approach to housing allocations, temporary accommodation and homelessness, with a key focus on service redesign and transformation that prioritises prevention, early intervention and long-term solutions.

We are investing in this vital service to ensure it delivers the highest standards of support for residents. Our recent award of a C1 Consumer Standard reflects our commitment to outstanding housing services and dedication to delivering to residents’ needs. We are looking for a leader with frontline expertise in homelessness and ability to balance operational excellence with strategic vision. You’ll ensure the statutory provision of housing duties, build strong internal and external partnerships, develop effective relationships with residents, and lead Westminster in becoming an exemplar housing authority.

You will join a council committed to fairness, inclusion, diversity, wellbeing, and excellence. You’ll work alongside talented colleagues and have the opportunity to make a real impact in one of the country’s most complex urban environments. If you are ready to lead a service that will change lives, we want to hear from you. Shape the future of the city and help us bring housing services home.

What we Offer: At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way.

As a forward-thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working. The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application, we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.

Positive Action Policy: The Council is committed to achieving diverse shortlists to support our desire to increase the number of staff from underrepresented groups in our workforce. We especially encourage applications from a Global Majority (GM), people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or have been racialised as 'ethnic minorities' (formally known as B.A.M.E) background and, while the role is open to all applicants, we will utilise the positive action provisions of the Equality Act 2010 to appoint a candidate from a global majority background where there is a choice between two candidates of equal merit. If you are from a Global Majority background you can self-declare this to the hiring manager as part of our positive action commitments.

To apply: Please submit an up-to-date copy of your CV (three sides of A4 maximum), along with a supporting statement (three sides of A4 maximum) detailing your experience, and achievements and addressing the key criteria for the role set out on this site and using examples to demonstrate how you meet the requirements. Documents should be uploaded via our website, please include and upload the below information in two documents only.

• Full contact details;
• Names, positions, organisations and contact details for two referees (we will ask your permission before contacting referees);
• Details of your current salary and notice period;
• Notification of any dates when you are not available for an interview.

At Tile Hill, we are committed to inclusion and accessibility. We champion and support all individuals to ensure everyone feels valued, listened to and motivated to get the very best out of each recruitment process and that processes are designed to meet the needs of individuals.