Assistant Director of Accommodation and Support

Why Southwark? Could your leadership help transform the future for some of London’s most vulnerable residents? Does the opportunity to help people build independence, security and a better quality of life inspire you? Are you ready to lead services where compassion, dignity and opportunity shape every decision? If yes, this could be the opportunity you have been looking for! We are seeking an experienced Assistant Director of Accommodation and Support to join our Housing senior leadership team and play a key role in shaping the future of accommodation and support services across Southwark.

As one of London’s largest local authority landlords, we have a unique responsibility (and opportunity) to ensure residents have access to safe, high-quality homes alongside the support they need to thrive. Through our Good Landlord Plan, we are placing residents at the heart of everything we do: strengthening trust, improving services and ensuring every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, independent and fulfilling life.

This is a unique opportunity to lead services that make a meaningful difference every day - supporting residents with complex needs, strengthening communities and ensuring housing remains a foundation for stability, wellbeing and opportunity.

The Role:

Reporting to the Director of Housing Needs and Support, you will provide strategic leadership across Southwark’s Accommodation and Support services, ensuring they are safe, effective, financially sustainable and designed around positive outcomes for residents. You will lead a diverse and impactful portfolio, including:
Older Persons’ Housing Supported Hostel Provision Traveller Services Tenancy Sustainment Council-owned Temporary Accommodation Housing Counter Fraud Services As a key member of the housing senior leadership team, you will help shape the future direction of the council’s housing offer, ensuring Southwark remains a landlord residents can trust. You will champion innovation, continuous improvement and partnership working, ensuring services evolve in response to changing community needs and continue to deliver meaningful support that enables residents to live with dignity, confidence and independence.

What You'll Be Doing You will provide strategic direction and leadership for Accommodation and Support services, ensuring strong governance, accountability and delivery against council priorities, regulatory requirements and contractual commitments. You will:
Lead transformation and continuous improvement programmes that enhance service quality and improve outcomes for residents. Drive the delivery of key strategic priorities, including the Older Person’s Housing Strategy and Supported Housing Strategy. Inspire and develop Heads of Service and senior managers, creating a culture of inclusion, accountability, innovation and excellence. Build high-performing multidisciplinary teams through effective workforce development, talent management and succession planning.

Manage significant budgets, ensuring services remain financially sustainable, efficient and responsive to future challenges. Develop strong partnerships with government departments, council services, housing teams, external agencies and sector experts. Provide expert strategic advice to elected Members, the Corporate Management Team and senior leaders on housing needs, homelessness, safeguarding, risk and performance. Champion equality, diversity and inclusion, ensuring services reflect and respond to the needs of Southwark’s diverse communities.

Ensure services maintain the highest standards of health and safety, safeguarding, compliance and resident protection. Deputise for the Director of Housing Needs and Support and other executive leaders when required. This is a role where your leadership, decisions and ambition will directly shape the experiences, opportunities and futures of residents across the borough. What We're Looking For We are looking for an inspirational and experienced senior leader with a proven track record of leading complex housing, accommodation, support services or local government functions.

You will bring:
Significant experience of…