Chief Customer Officer

Thirteen Group; Middlesbrough; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A charitable housing association is seeking a Chief Customer Officer to shape and champion the customer experience strategy. This executive leader will lead customer-facing operations, ensuring services are inclusive and effective. Responsibilities include driving community resilience and engaging with external stakeholders to enhance service delivery. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in large, customer-focused organizations and strong leadership skills.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of delivering major change in customer-focused organizations.
• Visible, energetic leadership style that builds trust and drives performance.
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills across various sectors.

Responsibilities

• Shape and champion the customer experience strategy.
• Lead customer-facing functions including housing management and repairs.
• Collaborate on regeneration and place-based strategies.

Skills

Customer experience strategy

Change management

Stakeholder engagement

Data-driven decision making

Financial management

Tools

CRM systems

Digital tools

Job description

As a charitable housing association, Thirteen exists to provide housing and support services across the North East of England, Yorkshire, and the Humber region. Thirteen Group currently manages 35,000 homes providing a safe place to live for more than 73,000 people across the region. Thirteen prides itself on not just providing a home but also offering help and support to its residents through its various services.

This is an exciting opportunity to join Thirteen Group as our Chief Customer Officer. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, this role is not only responsible for exceptional customer service delivery but also plays a vital part in shaping the strategic direction of the organisation. As a key member of the Executive Team, the Chief Customer Officer will help define and deliver the long-term vision, drive organisation-wide excellence, and ensure that Thirteen has meaningful social and neighbourhood impact.

You’ll lead the development and execution of a forward-thinking customer strategy, ensuring that Thirteen remains trusted by customers, respected by stakeholders, and aligned with social purpose. Alongside responsibility for all customer-facing operations, including housing management, repairs, compliance, and neighbourhood services, you will also play a critical strategic leadership role across the business, shaping decisions at the highest level and contributing to the organisation's wider success.

As an executive leader, the Chief Customer Officer will also act as a key representative with external stakeholders, including the Housing Ombudsman, the Regulator of Social Housing, local councillors, and Members of Parliament. Through this leadership, you will ensure that the organisation continues to deliver excellence while building strong, lasting relationships across communities and the wider sector.

Responsibilities of the role include:

• Shape and champion the organisation’s customer experience strategy within the broader strategic framework of Thirteen Group.
• Lead a range of customer-facing functions, including customer experience, repairs, property compliance, housing management, and specialist housing services, ensuring they are inclusive, effective, and of high quality.
• Work closely with the wider Executive Team to influence organisation-wide priorities, bringing a strategic customer perspective to business planning and long-term decision-making.
• Drive community resilience and neighbourhood-based delivery models that foster thriving, inclusive places to live.
• Collaborate on regeneration and place-based strategies with the Chief Investment and Property Officer, forging strong partnerships with local authorities and support agencies.
• Serve as the executive lead for customer compliance, ensuring all services reflect tenant rights, evolving consumer standards, and regulatory expectations.
• Use data, service intelligence, and customer insight to inform strategy, drive continuous improvement, and extend organisational impact.
• Expand digital capabilities to enhance accessibility, efficiency, and customer satisfaction across services.
• Act as a visible leader internally and externally, modelling our values and driving a high-performance, customer-centric culture.

Thirteen Group is looking to appoint an executive leader who has the following attributes:

• Passionate advocate for service excellence, ensuring customers remain central to decision-making.
• Proven track record of delivering major change and organisational improvement in large, customer-focused organisations.
• Visible, energetic leadership style that builds trust, inspires teams, and drives performance with resilience and adaptability.
• Skilled in using data insights, CRM systems, and modern digital tools to enhance service delivery.
• Strong financial and risk management capability, with experience in managing complex budgets and delivering efficiencies.
• Effective performance management focus, driving measures that deliver value for money, efficiency, and great service outcomes.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with the ability to collaborate across boards, regulators, partners, contractors, local authorities, residents, and internal teams.
• Deep understanding of balancing social and commercial priorities.
• Resilient and adaptable, with the ability to navigate change and drive progress in fast-moving environments.

If you are interested in hearing more about this opportunity, please get in touch with one of our consultants at Neemar Search.

Tom Neely

Director

[e-mail]

Eliot Jeffries

Delivery Consultant

07985 791149 – [e-mail]