Assistant Director of Resident

Position: Assistant Director of Resident Experience
Location: Isle Of Man

Why Southwark?

Please note:

External candidates:
If you are interested in applying for this position, please apply via our recruitment partner, Allen Lane , using the microsite link below.  to apply Please do not use the ‘Apply Now’ button on this page, as external applications are being managed by Allen Lane and applications submitted through this button will not be accepted. Internal candidates:
If you are a current council employee, please continue to apply using the ‘Apply Now’ button on this page . This is a rare opportunity to provide strategic leadership for how residents access, experience and engage with Southwark's services. Southwark is a dynamic London borough serving over 300,000 residents with diverse needs and as Assistant Director of Resident Experience, reporting to the Director of Digital and Resident Experience, you will lead the Council's resident experience, digital access and channel strategy, ensuring services are accessible, inclusive and responsive while aligning to wider organisational priorities.

You will shape and lead the Council's digital channels and resident facing platforms, lead service design and resident insight activity, and ensure technology enabled services improve access, satisfaction and outcomes. You'll lead the development of a Transformation Programme to support a more connected, personalised and proactive service to residents, businesses and visitors, working alongside the Assistant Directors for Innovation and Change and for Technology Operations and Security to ensure the resident perspective shapes digital, data and technology decisions.

Southwark's Digital and Resident Experience service is newly formed, and this is a genuinely exciting opportunity to shape and build the structure of this function. What You'll Be Doing In this role, you will:
Lead the Council's resident experience and digital channel strategy, ensuring residents can access services through inclusive, user-centred and effective channels that align with corporate priorities. Own the design, development and continuous improvement of resident facing digital channels and customer platforms, ensuring they are accessible, effective and responsive to resident needs. Lead resident engagement, insight and service design activity, embedding user research, co-design and evidence-led improvement into service transformation.

Develop and govern a Council wide approach to measuring resident experience and customer satisfaction, using insight, feedback, analytics and service data to inform continuous improvement. Shape the Council's digital access model across web, mobile and face-to-face contact channels and emerging AI-enabled interfaces, ensuring consistent and accessible resident experiences. Lead and develop multidisciplinary teams across resident experience, digital channels, engagement and service design, with delegated responsibility for significant operational and capital investment programmes and approval authority for substantial expenditure.

What We're Looking For We're seeking a strategic, resident focused leader who brings: A deep understanding of resident experience, digital engagement and service design principles, sufficient to set strategic direction and standards across resident facing services. In-depth knowledge of digital channels, web platforms, contact models and emerging digital interaction technologies, including how to deliver accessible, inclusive and effective services. A passion for innovation and a track record of putting it into practice, including the responsible use of AI, chatbots, virtual assistants and automation to improve how residents get help, underpinned by strong service design and user research so that new technology makes services simpler,…