Housing Advice and Options Manager

Opus People Solutions Limited; Northampton; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Opus People Solutions Limited is seeking an experienced Housing Advice & Options Manager to lead a large homelessness and housing advice service in a hybrid working arrangement (office-based with 1 day from home). You will provide strategic and operational leadership across housing advice, homelessness prevention and housing options for a team of around 35 staff.

This leadership role requires delivering performance outcomes, driving service improvement, managing budgets, and building a positive

Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading Housing Advice & Homelessness Prevention services.
• Strong knowledge of homelessness legislation and prevention duties.
• Proven track record managing large operational teams and budgets.
• Experience implementing service improvements and performance frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Lead a high-profile Housing Advice & Options Service.
• Support Team Leaders and Managers to improve delivery and outcomes.
• Drive a prevention-focused culture to reduce homelessness.
• Review operational processes and implement improvements.
• Manage service performance against statutory obligations and local targets.
• Oversee budgeting and financial management.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Budget management

Performance management

Strategic leadership

Change management

Communication

Team development

Job description

Housing Advice & Options Manager

Location: Hybrid Working (Office-Based with 1 Day Working from Home) Contract: Interim / Fixed Term / Permanent Considered Service Area: Housing Needs, Homelessness Prevention & Housing Advice

Make a Real Impact in a High-Pressure Frontline Housing Service We are seeking an experienced Housing Advice & Options Manager to lead a large, busy, and fast-paced homelessness and housing advice service. This is a critical leadership role for an individual who understands how to drive service improvement, deliver performance outcomes, and provide strong operational management within a statutory housing environment. This opportunity is not suited to a case-holding manager or someone looking to manage individual caseloads. We require an experienced leader who has successfully managed housing advice and homelessness services at scale, developed teams, improved performance, and delivered consistent outcomes against demanding targets.

Essential Requirements

• Extensive experience managing a Housing Advice & Homelessness Prevention Service
• Strong knowledge of homelessness legislation, housing advice, prevention and relief duties
• Significant experience managing managers, team leaders, and frontline staff
• Proven ability to lead, motivate and improve the performance of large operational teams
• Experience managing substantial service budgets
• Strong understanding of service performance frameworks, KPIs, target setting and performance management
• Experience implementing service improvement initiatives and driving operational change
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills
• Visible and approachable leadership style with the ability to gain confidence from staff and senior stakeholders

The Role

You will lead a service of approximately 35 staff, providing strategic and operational leadership across housing advice, homelessness prevention and housing options functions.

Key responsibilities include

• Leading and managing a high-profile Housing Advice & Options Service
• Supporting Team Leaders and Managers to improve service delivery and performance outcomes
• Driving a prevention-focused culture, ensuring homelessness is prevented wherever possible
• Reviewing current operational processes, including triage arrangements, and implementing improvements where required
• Managing service performance against statutory obligations and local targets
• Providing leadership during a busy and demanding period, ensuring service stability while driving improvement
• Managing and monitoring a budget
• Building a positive, accountable and high-performing team culture
• Developing staff capability through coaching, mentoring and effective performance management
• Working closely with senior leadership, elected members and external partners

What We’re Looking For

• Proven Housing Advice & Options Managers
• Experienced in leading large teams within homelessness services
• Strong people managers rather than frontline caseworkers
• Skilled at improving underperforming services and teams
• Confident managing budgets and resources at scale
• Resilient leaders who thrive in high-pressure environments
• Approachable, visible and communicative managers who can keep teams motivated and focused

Applicants must have direct experience of:
Managing Housing Advice & Options services
Leading homelessness prevention functions
Managing large teams
Delivering service improvement programmes
Managing significant budgets
Candidates whose experience is primarily case management or frontline officer work without substantial service management responsibility are unlikely to meet the requirements of this role.

Working Arrangements

This is a predominantly office-based position. While there is flexibility for one day per week working from home, regular office presence is non-negotiable due to the leadership, visibility and operational management requirements of the role.

If you are an accomplished Housing Advice & Options leader with a track record of improving services, developing teams and delivering results in challenging environments, we would welcome your application. All offers will be subject to satisfactory compliance screening, including right to work in the UK and references. In addition, due to the nature of the role the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure will be undertaken.