Housing Team Manager WCC621272

Job Details:

Salary range: £41,580 - £55,710 per annum. Salary negotiable depending upon experience
Work location: Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, Westminster, SW1E 6QP 
Hours per week: 36
Contract type: Permanent
Closing date: 15 June 2025
Contact details for informal discussion: Edith Brannigan, Area Housing Manager, Via email on ebrannigan1@westminster.gov.uk

About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF KATE’S PASSION FOR NUMBERS AND PEOPLE

Housing in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where dedicated and compassionate professionals bring everything to their work. 

Take Kate, an absolute wizard at managing housing asset data for our annual £50m capital programme. Kate’s an inspiration to her team. Now a senior manager, she first joined as a college leaver in finance. Through Westminster’s encouragement, as well as her own hard work and determination, she’s gained professional qualifications and taken on a series of increasingly stretching roles.  

Today, we depend on Kate’s analytical powers to keep track of the condition of over 21,000 of our tenanted and leasehold homes – from roofs and windows to kitchens and bathrooms. Kate’s committed to achieving the Decent Homes Standard for all our tenants and a high standard for all our leaseholders. Her passion is numbers but, because she grew up in social housing, she also understands the human stories behind the data. 

More than that she understands the disruption renewal work entails. So, when an elderly resident’s family mentioned that their mother needed not just a new kitchen, but adaptations to her bathroom, Kate got right on to it. She co-ordinated with colleagues to assess the resident’s disability needs. 

Kate’s worked hard to ensure our routine external and internal stock condition surveys pick up on repairs and health & safety issues at the same time. And, by recognising patterns in the data that’s gathered, she makes a vital contribution to forward planning for large-scale capital renewal works. 

The Role:

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 the hustle of Paddington and Little Venice to the colourful streets of Queen Park via the calm and prestigious Maida Vale. Through our major improvement programme in the Housing directorate, you will truly 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. Leading by example, you’ll demonstrate an approachable and professional outlook while working in a highly demanding fast-paced, frontline services role. By managing a portfolio of properties in a specific area, keeping your team informed on Council-wide issues, and sharing your expertise, you will inspire and motivate them to achieve outstanding results. Plus, you’ll be a proponent of the Westminster City Council equalities framework policy, supporting fair opportunities for all staff. 

Caring 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. You will encourage staff to report discrimination, from either staff members or residents. Also, 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 to create surgeries where residents are given the chance (and encouraged) to raise their concerns. You will also 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. Also, you’ll be a part of making sure that repairs are carried out and that emergency access is given, when need be. You will be on the rota for out of hours emergencies too. When required, you will protect the Council’s interest by taking enforcement action, be it 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 to a high standard.  When there are stage 1 complaints, you will undertake an investigation and prepare a written response to be reviewed by the Area Housing Manager. You’ll reach out to residents about their stage 1 complaints, take responsibility, and see if they are satisfied with a proposed response. 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 be a driver of constantly improving professional services that are met by high levels of resident satisfaction.

Please refer to the Job Description for more information

About You:

You are someone with the ability to not only demonstrate but to inspire enthusiasm. When it comes to work, people are your focus, and you thrive in a team. You may bring experience of staff management, with a focus on target setting and performance. Plus, you’ve got a good understanding of Diversity and Equal opportunities. 

We’d like for you to have significant, relevant experience of housing management. Accompanied by an excellent knowledge of tenancy law and general tenancy management.  

You’ll need to be comfortable being a figurehead for the residents of Westminster, representing their interests and coordinating services to meet their needs. A vast and varied workload excites you. You have the flexibility to sometimes attend events outside of the 9 to 5 core hours. 

Your written and verbal communication skills are excellent. As is your aptitude for customer service, even in the face of challenging and difficult behaviour.   

You have a familiarity with IT and computer management systems. No formal qualifications are required to apply for this role. 

Westminster City Council is committed to supporting Care Leavers into the workplace. Care Leavers seeking their first job and who wish to be considered under our scheme, will automatically be invited to interview should they meet the essential criteria for the role.

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, 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.

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. To find out more about how we do this visit  https://www.westminster.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-strategy-policies-and-reports/equality-duties

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.

We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning subject to the volume of suitable applicants.