Private Sector Housing Manager

Varnom & Ross Ltd.; West Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 92,000 - 101,000; Full time

Job summary

Varnom & Ross Ltd. seeks an experienced Interim Private Sector Housing Manager to lead a busy local authority housing team through significant change. The role is hybrid in the West Midlands, with 1–2 office days per week. The day rate is £500–£550 and the initial contract is six months.

The post involves strategic leadership, shaping the service structure, supervising around 12–13 officers, and ensuring delivery on licensing, housing standards and enforcement to meet growing demand.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading Private Sector Housing services within a local authority.
• Strong knowledge of private rented sector legislation, property licensing, housing standards and enforcement.
• Experience delivering service restructures and creating management structures.
• Proven ability to manage increased workloads from licensing programmes and investment.
• Strong leadership, decision-making and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide strong operational leadership to the Private Sector Housing team.
• Support ongoing service restructure and develop effective team structure.
• Assist with recruitment to build capacity and capability for priorities.
• Oversee licensing of privately rented properties and ensure delivery of requirements.
• Lead development and delivery of enforcement in response to licensing activity and investment.
• Drive performance, consistency and service improvement with oversight.
• Provide senior-level advice to colleagues and stakeholders while meeting statutory responsibilities.

Skills

Leadership

Private Sector Housing

Local authority experience

Housing standards enforcement

Team management

Job description

Interim Private Sector Housing Manager

Location: West Midlands (hybrid working, 1–2 days per week in the office)
Day Rate: £500–£550 per day
Duration: Initial 6-month contract, with potential for extension

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced Interim Private Sector Housing Manager to lead a busy local authority team through a period of significant change and development.

With a restructure underway and increased investment in Private Sector Housing, this is an excellent opportunity for an experienced housing professional to provide strategic leadership, strengthen operational delivery and help shape the future structure of the service.

The role will focus on overseeing a team of approximately 12–13 officers, supporting the day to day running of the team whilst also advising on the restructure, and ensuring the service is equipped to meet growing demands around property licensing, housing standards and enforcement.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strong operational leadership and direction to the Private Sector Housing team

• Support the ongoing service restructure, helping to develop an effective team structure

• Assist with recruitment activity to build the capacity and capability required to deliver the service's priorities.

• Oversee the licensing of privately rented properties, ensuring effective delivery of relevant requirements and initiatives

• Lead the development and delivery of a robust enforcement approach in response to increased investment, licensing activity and the identification of properties requiring intervention.

• Drive performance, consistency and service improvement while maintaining effective operational oversight.

• Provide senior-level advice and support to colleagues and stakeholders, ensuring the service continues to deliver against its statutory responsibilities.

The Ideal Candidate

You will be an experienced Private Sector Housing Manager or senior housing professional with a strong track record of leading local authority services through periods of change.

You will bring:

• Significant experience of managing Private Sector Housing services within a local authority.

• Strong knowledge of private rented sector legislation, property licensing, housing standards and enforcement.

• Experience of leading teams and managing operational performance.

• A proven ability to deliver service restructures, develop management structures and support recruitment.

• Experience of managing increased workloads and enforcement demands arising from licensing programmes and additional investment.

• Strong leadership, decision-making and stakeholder management skills.

• The ability to provide immediate leadership and deliver results within an interim assignment.

Working Arrangements

This is a hybrid role based in the West Midlands, with an expectation of attending the office approximately 1–2 days per week.

The initial contract is expected to run for a minimum of six months, with a day rate of £500–£550.