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ARK Housing Association; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

4-day working week

Generous annual leave

4% pension

Employee Assistance Programme

Blue Light Card discounts

Cycle to Work

Job summary

ARK Housing Association seeks an Assistant Director of Housing & Customer Experience to guide Housing, Neighbourhood and Customer Services across Ark. This senior leadership role drives a customer-first agenda and helps shape a new 5-year plan while evolving digital services.

You will lead a strategic, hands-on team with accountability for performance, compliance and service excellence, delivering outcomes for thousands of customers and communities.

Qualifications

• Senior housing leadership or portfolio management experience.
• Experience in customer-focused service design and improvement.
• Strong knowledge of housing regulation, governance and compliance.
• Experience presenting to senior governance forums and preparing board papers.

Responsibilities

• Lead housing management, neighbourhood and customer services across Ark Group.
• Provide strategic advice to Executive Team, SLT and Board.
• Drive customer engagement, insight and service improvement.
• Lead performance, compliance and regulatory assurance activities.
• Use customer feedback and data to improve outcomes.
• Develop high-performing teams and a culture of service excellence.
• Build partnerships with local authorities, regulators and stakeholders.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Customer experience

Governance & compliance

Stakeholder management

People leadership

Job description

Assistant Director of Housing & Customer Experience

Assistant Director of Housing & Customer Experience

Hours: 32 hours per week (full-time)

Contract: Permanent

Salary: £57,696.82 per annum + £4,564.80 per annum car allowance

Location: Hybrid, Lochside House, Edinburgh, EH12 9DT

A senior housing leadership role, with a 4-day working week and the opportunity to shape customer experience across Ark.

At Ark, our customers are at the heart of everything we do. As a values-driven housing and social care organisation, we create inclusive communities where people can live with dignity, independence and belonging.

We are seeking an Assistant Director of Housing & Customer Experience to lead our Housing, Neighbourhood and Customer Services functions across the Ark Group. This is a key role at an exciting time as we continue to strengthen our customer-first approach and deliver excellent outcomes. You will help shape our emerging new 5 year business plan, evolve our digital services, drive customer satisfaction and ensure we have the people, systems and partnerships needed to deliver our long-term ambitions.

About The Role

This is a strategic and hands-on leadership role with significant influence across the organisation. You will help shape how Ark delivers housing and customer services, ensuring our services remain responsive, customer-focused, compliant and fit for the future.

Our corporate services roles are based on a 4-day working week, with no loss of pay. We believe this supports focused time, healthier workloads and more sustainable performance, helping colleagues do their best work while maintaining balance.

As a member of Ark's Senior Leadership Team, you will provide leadership and business management across housing management, tenancy sustainment, neighbourhood services, customer services and customer engagement. You will play a pivotal role in delivering Ark's strategic priorities, strengthening customer outcomes and embedding a culture of service excellence across the organisation.

Day to day, you'll be involved in things like:

• Leading Ark's Housing and Customer Experience strategic priorities;
• Operational responsibility for Ark’s subsidiary companies; Ark Services Limited and Ark Commercial Investment Limited
• Providing strategic advice to the Executive Team, Senior Leadership Team and Board of Management;
• Driving customer engagement, insight and service improvement;
• Leading performance, compliance and regulatory assurance activities;
• Using customer feedback and performance data to improve outcomes;
• Developing high-performing teams and a culture of customer service excellence;
• Building partnerships with local authorities, regulators and key stakeholders.

About You

We're looking for someone who brings:

• A strong track record in a senior housing, portfolio management, customer experience or related leadership role;
• Experience operating as part of a senior leadership team;
• Experience leading customer-focused services and service improvement;
• Strong knowledge of housing regulation, governance and compliance;
• Experience using performance data and customer insight to support decision-making;
• Experience preparing Board papers and presenting at senior governance forums;
• Excellent leadership, stakeholder management and influencing skills.

Most importantly, you will be a visible, inclusive and values-driven leader who can build trust, influence effectively and support others to deliver excellent outcomes.

You will bring professional credibility, sound judgement and the ability to balance strategic ambition with practical delivery.

Why Work With Us?

At Ark, you will join an organisation with a clear social purpose and a genuine commitment to improving lives.

You will also join us at an exciting time as we continue to strengthen our customer experience offer, develop our services and deliver on our strategic ambitions. This role provides the opportunity to shape how housing and customer services are delivered across Ark for years to come.

As Assistant Director of Housing & Customer Experience, you will lead services that directly affect thousands of customers and communities across Ark. This role offers the opportunity to influence strategic direction, drive meaningful service improvement and make a lasting difference to people's lives.

We offer:

• A 4-day working week with no loss of pay;
• A generous annual leave allowance, with additional leave awarded as your service grows;
• 4% contributory pension (salary sacrifice scheme);
• Employee Assistance Programme and wellbeing support;
• Employee discounts, access to Blue Light Card and Cycle to Work scheme;
• Annual leave buy and sell options.

Ark is a values-driven housing and social care organisation. We aim to create inclusive communities where people can live with dignity, independence and a sense of belonging, and that starts with how we treat our colleagues.

Please ensure your CV/profile contains your full employment history, qualifications and any relevant experience, as this information will be considered alongside your responses to the application questions.

Should you choose to use AI tools to support your application, we ask that you do this thoughtfully. We encourage you to ensure your application reflects your own voice, experience, and motivations. We value authenticity and want to understand your individual strengths and perspectives.

Applications close at 5pm on Sunday 20th September 2026.

Interviews will be held on Tuesday 29th September and/or Wednesday 30 September 2026 at Lochside House, 3 Lochside Way, Edinburgh, EH12 9DT.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

About Disability Confident Disability Confident is a government scheme. It encourages employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long term health conditions.

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