Head of Housing Service Centre

Tower Hamlets Homes Ltd; Greater London; On-site; GBP 87,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Local Government Pension Scheme

Generous annual leave

Flexible working

Staff money-saving schemes

Learning & development

Job summary

Tower Hamlets Homes Ltd is seeking a Head of Housing Service Centre to lead the Housing Service Centre within the Neighbourhoods & Customer Services division. This senior role shapes strategic direction and delivers an exceptional first point of contact for housing services.

The role requires transformation experience, data-driven decision-making, and strong leadership to drive performance, customer access strategy, and continuous improvement across channels and processes.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience leading teams to deliver demanding targets in housing or property services.
• Strong knowledge of customer experience disciplines and housing services.
• Proven record leading transformation with data insight, segmentation, and digital channels.
• Ability to inspire, influence and challenge at senior level, build effective partnerships.
• Commercial and financial awareness, with experience of budgets and contracts.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the Housing Service Centre.
• Develop a clear direction and a professional, proactive and responsive service.
• Drive performance culture balancing timeliness, quality, and first-time resolution.
• Deliver the Customer Access Strategy and target operating model.
• Use insight and performance data to redesign processes and support evidence-led decisions.
• Lead change and transformation projects, embedding Lean, digitalisation and continuous improvement.
• Ensure alignment with housing regulation and best practice.

Skills

Senior leadership

Customer service

Transformation

Data insight

Lean / process improvement

Education

CIH Level 5

PRINCE2 (or Lean Systems Thinking)

Job description

About The Role

We are recruiting for a Head of Housing Service Centre to join our Neighbourhoods & Customer Services division.This is a senior leadership opportunity to shape the strategic direction and operational delivery of the first point of contact for customers accessing housing management services.

If you are passionate about delivering excellent housing services, improving customer experience and using insight, technology and service redesign to achieve better outcomes, we would love to hear from you.

Key Responsibilities

This role will provide strategic and operational leadership for the Housing Service Centre, setting a clear direction and developing a professional, proactive and responsive service.

In this role, you will:

• Drive a strong performance culture, balancing timeliness, quality, customer satisfaction and first-time resolution while ensuring effective use of resources and budgets.
• Deliver the Customer Access Strategy and target operating model, enabling channel shift while protecting access for residents who need additional support.
• Use customer insight, root-cause analysis, segmentation and performance data to reduce repeat contact, redesign processes and support evidence-led decisions.
• Lead customer service change and transformation projects, embedding Lean methodologies, digitalisation, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Keep the service aligned with social housing regulation, legislation, policy, sector best practice and advances in customer-service technology.

Requirements

We are looking for an inclusive and credible senior leader who can demonstrate:

• Substantial experience of leading teams to deliver demanding performance targets and excellent customer service in a complex, high-volume environment.
• Strong knowledge of customer experience disciplines and a sound understanding of housing or property-management services.
• A successful record of leading transformation, including the use of data insight, customer segmentation, digital channels and process redesign.
• The ability to inspire, influence and challenge at senior level, build effective partnerships and translate complex issues into practical solutions.
• Commercial and financial awareness, with experience of managing budgets, contracts or frameworks and securing value for money.
• A relevant professional qualification or membership, such as the Institute of Customer Service, PRINCE2 or Lean Systems Thinking, or equivalent senior-level experience.
• A CIH Level 5 qualification, or willingness to achieve this within three years.

Our benefits

• Competitive salary: £87,249 - £95,392

• Local Government Pension Scheme membership.

• Generous annual leave: 29 days, rising to 33 days with five or more years’ service, plus bank holidays and three additional days at Christmas.

• Flexible and agile working to support work-life balance.

• Staff money-saving schemes, including rent deposit and season ticket loans.

• Learning and development through the Learning Academy, with clear career development and leadership pathways.

Additional information

DBS: This post requires a basic DBS check. Working arrangements: The role may require occasional evening and weekend work and participation in out-of-hours emergency arrangements. Political restriction: The post is politically restricted.

This advert has a maximum application limit, when this limit is reached the advert will close automatically

About Tower Hamlets

Tower Hamlets is a truly unique borough at the heart of London – a place where history and innovation sit side by side. From the docks and markets that shaped the East End to the global business hub of Canary Wharf, we are proud to be one of the most dynamic, diverse, and ambitious communities in the UK. We are also one of the fastest growing and youngest boroughs in the country, offering unrivalled opportunities to make a real difference to people’s lives. Our residents are energetic, creative, and resilient, and our council is committed to delivering the best possible services and opportunities for them.

Our award-winning new Town Hall in Whitechapel provides a modern, flexible workplace for our staff, right at the heart of the borough and directly opposite Whitechapel Tube and Elizabeth line station. It is more than just a workplace – it’s a hub for collaboration, innovation and community, designed to bring out the best in our people.

As an employer, we put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of everything we do. Our active Employee Network Groups celebrate and champion our workforce, helping to ensure that everyone feels a sense of belonging. Guided by our TOWER values – Together, Open, Willing, Excellent and Respect – we are building a positive, inclusive culture where colleagues can thrive.

At Tower Hamlets Council, you’ll find exciting challenges, supportive colleagues, and the chance to shape one of London’s most important and vibrant places. If you’re looking for a role where you can see the impact of your work every day, then Tower Hamlets is the place for you.