Working for Ealing Council’s Housing and Environment Directorate offers a unique opportunity to make a significant impact on our communities. The council owns and manages around 18,000 properties, oversees a capital programme of £40m, and administers a £150m programme to acquire affordable housing for customers affected by homelessness and a £15m repairs budget. The council is dedicated to providing safe, secure, and sustainable housing, aligning with the council’s strategic priorities. You’ll be part of a team that focuses on supporting people to live well in the community and improving the quality of housing.
Ealing Council’s housing strategies, such as the Homelessness Reduction Strategy and the Rough Sleeping Strategy, demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing housing challenges and ensuring that all residents have access to decent and affordable housing. By joining the Directorate, you’ll contribute to these impactful initiatives and help shape a better future for Ealing’s residents
Job description
Recruitment practices to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and/or vulnerable adults apply to this post in addition to the requirement to obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Purpose of role
* Lead and oversee the Council’s operational services for Council leaseholders, including Right to Buy sales, lease extensions, alterations, service charge setting, billing and collection, leaseholder consultation, Section 20 notices, and leaseholder enquiries, while also managing services related to other tenures such as garages, commercial properties, and private sector leases.
* Ensure that leaseholder consultation and engagement, including Section 20 consultation, is customer-sensitive, efficient, effective, and compliant with legislation and regulation, while ensuring accurate billing and effective dispute management.
* Lead and oversee the Council’s annual rental income and service charge setting, ensuring charges are accurately calculated and communicated to residents, while also maximizing rental income and supporting residents with benefits and debt through the Housing Income Service.
* Represent the Council strongly at First Tier Tribunal and/or County Court in relation to debt or leasehold matters, providing specialist support, as necessary.
* Design, develop, and implement a financial inclusion strategy and actions to support residents, ensuring clear and targeted communications regarding payment responsibilities, options, support, and consequences of nonpayment.
* Provide leadership and direction for the Leasehold Services teams, leveraging expertise in leasehold management and legislation to guide and support the team effectively. Provide leadership and direction for the Housing Income Services team, ensuring that officers adhere to procedures and the pre-action protocol, while also referring residents for support with benefits and debt.
Key accountabilities
1. Ensure that service policies, procedures, and processes are continuously developed to reflect legislative changes, regulations, guidance, and best practices, with a strong emphasis on adhering to legislation affecting the service, and ensure all working practices are compliant and efficient.
2. Establish a culture of continuous improvement and innovation by developing and implementing key changes, including clearly communicating goals and expectations to enhance service delivery, processes, and outcomes, ensuring alignment with the organisation and directorate's overall objectives and industry trends and best practice.
3. To be responsible for leading and inspiring the workforce, ensuring effective team management, professional development, and fostering a positive and productive work environment in line the council’s employment policies, procedures, and practices.
4. To engage with community stakeholders and partners, ensuring collaboration and co-creation on joint initiatives and integrating community and partnership working into service planning and delivery.
5. To be responsible and accountable for managing the budget, involving finance teams early, ensuring compliance with financial and procurement procedure rules, policies, and processes, and proactively managing risks and overspends, and maximising income, funding opportunities and efficiencies.
6. Foster effective communication with all service staff, ensuring they are wellinformed and actively involved. Clearly articulate service objectives, provide comprehensive briefings on Council-wide issues, and ensure that corporate messages are effectively cascaded.
7. Draft comprehensive reports, briefing notes, and presentations, support audits and committee meetings with detailed information and analysis and collaborate with the Assistant Director to ensure all documentation meets organisational standards and aids decision-making.
8. To be responsible for identifying, assessing, and managing risks to ensure effective service delivery in accordance with the council’s risk management policy, frameworks, and local risk register, including ensuring the timely escalation of risks to the Assistant Director.
9. Support the Assistant Director in managing relationships with members concerning service delivery and politically sensitive issues by providing accurate and timely information and reporting within your area of responsibility, while representing the service and the council at meetings and events as required.
10.Develop and implement a business continuity strategy for critical service delivery functions, ensuring effective planning and communication, and collaborating with the council’s emergency planning team, emergency and health services, partner agencies, and government organisations to establish robust contingency plans and procedures for managing emergencies.
11.Ensure continuous professional development and mandatory training for yourself and your team, fostering a culture of ongoing learning and compliance.
12.To have responsibility for ensuring robust arrangements to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of staff and others in line with the council’s policies, procedures, and guidance.
13.Ensure adherence to the council’s equality, diversity, and inclusion strategies, policies, frameworks, and legislative requirements, actively promoting these principles in all areas of service delivery, including conducting equality analysis assessments, and fostering inclusive interactions with service users, partners, and the workforce.
14.Responsible for delivering accurate insights, establishing, and monitoring metrics, and ensuring KPI targets are met, and collaborating with the council’s corporate performance team to align with broader organisational goals and reporting requirements.
15.Ensure the safeguarding of vulnerable adults by implementing and adhering to local authority policies, promptly addressing concerns, collaborating with relevant agencies, and providing training and guidance to the housing solutions team.
16.Undertake any duties commensurate with the role, including deputising for the Assistant Director and Heads of Services as needed, to ensure the effective delivery of the department’s services.
Key performance indicators
* Delivery of statutory and local performance indicators
* Rental and service charge collection rates
* Accuracy of rent and service charge setting
* Levels of resident satisfaction (measured by Tenant Satisfaction Measures, surveys, and resident feedback) •
* Compliance with statutory and corporate standards (measured by recorded exceptions)
* Delivery of improvement projects within agreed timeframes and budgets
Key relationships (internal and external)
* Assistant Director of Housing Landlord Service
* Housing Landlord Services management team
* Housing Landlord Services Departmental staff
* Housing & Environment Directorate colleagues
* Council wide senior managers and heads of service e.g. Children’s Adults and Public Health, Housing Benefits
* Corporate colleagues e.g., Finance, HR, ICT, Legal, Audit, Commercial hub, and Comms
* External stakeholders e.g., Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Greater London Authority, Department for Work & Pensions
* Peers in other London Councils
* Other stakeholders e.g. voluntary sector organisations, service providers, resident groups, partnership organisations
Authority level
* Resource allocation and salaries budget
* Financial sign off up to 100K
* Revenue budget up to £73m
* Operating budget £5m
Person specification
Recruitment practices to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and/or vulnerable adults apply to this post in addition to the requirement to obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Essential knowledge, skills, and experience
1. Proven experience in managing leasehold services and housing income within a local authority or similar public sector environment.
2. Extensive knowledge of leasehold law and housing legislation to ensure compliance and effective service delivery.
3. In-depth understanding of regulatory frameworks governing leasehold and housing income services.
4. Strong leadership and team management skills to motivate and guide a diverse team towards achieving high performance.
5. Excellent financial management abilities, including budgeting, forecasting, and income collection.
6. Exceptional customer service skills with a commitment to resolving complex enquiries efficiently and effectively.
7. Outstanding verbal and written communication skills to present information clearly to various stakeholders.
8. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to develop innovative solutions to complex issues.
9. Experience in project management, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget.
10.Proficiency in using housing management systems and relevant software applications to streamline operations.
11.Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with colleagues, stakeholders, and external partners.
12.Commitment to promoting equality and diversity in the workplace and in service delivery.
Essential qualification(s) and professional memberships
1. Educated to degree level in a related field such as Housing Management, Property Management, Business Administration or Finance.
2. A Level 4 or 5 Certificate or Diploma in Housing, or a foundation degree from the Chartered Institute of Housing, or a willingness and ability to work towards obtaining this qualification.
3. Membership in a relevant professional body, such as the Chartered Institute of Housing, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Institute of Residential Property Management.
4. Evidence of Continuous Professional Development, for example:
* Leadership and management training
* Financial Management
* Leasehold Management
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