Service Manager- Housing Options

New Forest District Council; Lyndhurst; Hybrid; GBP 69,000 - 77,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Local Government Pension Scheme

AVCs

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee discount scheme

Cycle to Work Scheme

LEAF values

Learning & development

Inclusive culture

Job summary

New Forest District Council is seeking a proactive Housing Options Service Manager to lead a dedicated team focused on homelessness prevention, housing advice, and allocations. You will work across internal services and partner agencies to deliver outcomes for residents and communities.

The role combines strategic leadership with operational management, ensuring the service adapts to changing housing needs, complies with legislation, and improves customer outcomes through data-driven decisions.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in housing and homelessness policies.
• Ability to drive service improvement and customer outcomes.
• Ability to build partnerships with providers, health services, and stakeholders.
• Leadership experience in managing high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead Housing Options Team delivering homelessness prevention and housing advice.
• Develop and monitor the housing register and allocations processes.
• Oversee budgets, resources, and contracts for an efficient service.
• Lead service improvement and shape housing strategies and policies.
• Ensure statutory duties under homelessness and housing legislation are met.
• Represent the service with senior leaders and external partners.

Skills

Strategic leadership

People leadership

Housing expertise

Homelessness prevention

Partnership building

Budget management

Job description

Do you want a role that helps people through some of the most challenging moments in their lives, while leading a passionate team committed to making a real difference?

About You

You are an ambitious and inspiring housing professional who wants to lead a service that makes a tangible difference to people's lives every day.

You thrive in a fast-paced environment, balancing strategic thinking with operational leadership. Whether it's preventing homelessness, supporting vulnerable households, improving services, managing complex budgets, or leading high-performing teams, you are motivated by achieving positive outcomes for residents and communities.

You bring substantial experience in housing, a strong understanding of homelessness and housing legislation, and the ability to build effective partnerships across organisations. Most importantly, you are a leader who can motivate and develop others, drive innovation, and navigate complex challenges with confidence and compassion.

What’s in it for you?

Benefits

• £68,621- £72,913 per annum (up to £76,727 for exceptional performance once in post)
• 28 days plus bank holidays, rising by an additional week’s leave after 5 years of continuous local authority service
• Hybrid working, with flexibility across our sites, and home working
• Local Government Pension Scheme, with the option of Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs)
• Employee Assistance Programme offering free 24/7 legal, financial, and personal wellbeing advice
• Employee discount scheme with savings across major supermarkets, retailers, restaurants, and leisure providers
• Cycle to Work Scheme, helping you save around 40 percent on bikes and accessories
• A values‑led organisation, guided by our LEAF values (Learning, Empathy, Ambition, Fairness)
• Access to learning and development opportunities to support your growth
• A supportive, inclusive culture, where everyone is welcomed and valued

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and offer a range of active staff networks, including:

• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Group
• LGBTQ+ Network
• Women’s Network
• Early Careers Network
• Neurodiversity Network

About The Role And The Team

Our Housing Options Service plays a vital role in preventing homelessness, supporting households in housing need and helping residents access safe and sustainable accommodation. We are looking for an experienced and motivated leader to manage this important service and drive excellent outcomes for our communities.

As Housing Options Service Manager, you will lead a dedicated team of Housing Options and Allocations professionals responsible for delivering homelessness prevention, managing the housing register, housing advice, statutory homelessness functions and support for vulnerable residents. You will work closely with internal services, housing providers, voluntary organisations and partner agencies to ensure residents receive the right support at the right time.

This is a varied and rewarding leadership role that combines strategic thinking, operational management and service improvement. You will be responsible for ensuring the service remains responsive to changing housing demands, legislative requirements and local needs, while maintaining a strong focus on customer outcomes and performance.

How You’ll Make a Difference

• Leading and developing a high-performing Housing Options team that supports residents facing homelessness and housing uncertainty.
• Driving homelessness prevention activity, ensuring early intervention and positive outcomes for households in need.
• Lead the housing register functions to support transparent allocations of social homes
• Managing service performance, budgets, resources and contracts to deliver an effective and efficient service.
• Developing strong partnerships with registered providers, support agencies, health services and other stakeholders to improve housing outcomes for residents.
• Leading service improvement initiatives and helping shape future housing strategies and policies.
• Ensuring the Council meets its statutory duties under homelessness and housing legislation while delivering a customer-focused service.

Your Role Will Include

• Providing strategic and operational leadership for the Housing Options Service.
• Supporting, coaching and developing team members to achieve their full potential.
• Monitoring performance and using data and insight to drive continuous improvement.
• Managing complex housing cases and responding to emerging challenges across the local housing system.
• Representing the service with senior leaders, elected members, partner organisations and external stakeholders.
• Identifying opportunities for innovation and service transformation to improve outcomes for residents.

About Us

At NFDC we recognise that every colleague - whether in operational, frontline, or office‑based roles - plays a vital part in delivering high‑quality services to our communities. We are committed to creating a supportive and inclusive environment where people feel valued for the work they do and the strengths they bring.

We aim to foster a culture where people feel confident to share ideas, contribute their expertise, and develop through meaningful conversations with their managers and supported learning opportunities. Whilst we have our corporate values, LEAF Learning Empathy Ambition Fairness, we understand that different teams work in different ways, and we want our values to be lived in ways that make sense locally while staying true to our shared purpose as an organisation.

We want colleagues to thrive, which is why we promote wellbeing, balance, and opportunities for learning and progression. Our values guide how we work together and how we support each other to be confident, capable, and adaptable.

Please note: You’ll likely be aware that there is a government mandate to deliver Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) to Hampshire and the Solent region, meaning a transition into a new operating structure from an agreed future date. This transition is currently paused following a recent government announcement, but it is important that applicants understand how this may affect their employment should they be successful. You will find attached a useful LGR update sheet at top of this advert.

For an informal chat about the role please contact Sophie Sajic, Strategic Director for Housing and Communities ([e-mail])

We understand that some applicants may choose to use AI tools to assist with completing their application. Please bear in mind it’s important that your application remains an accurate and honest reflection of your own skills, experience, and achievements. Please ensure that any content generated or supported by AI truly represents you and your capabilities, as this will form the basis of our assessment throughout the recruitment process

This post requires a Basic DBS check to be completed.

Closing Date: Sunday 1st November 2026

Interview Date: Friday 13th November 2026