Team Manager - Operating Structure and Capability Building

Southampton City Council is seeking an experienced organisational development and workforce planning professional to join Housing as our Team Manager – Operating Structure and Capability Building. This is a new role at the heart of Housing’s organisational transformation, stewarding our operating structure and ensuring workforce planning, recruitment and capability development remain aligned with service priorities, affordability and the needs of residents.

Housing is central to Southampton’s ambition to be a city of opportunity where everyone thrives. Our Housing Directorate is working to ensure residents have access to safe, affordable and sustainable homes, while supporting inclusive and thriving communities. We are introducing a new operating model that will be implemented progressively through internal movement, recruitment and development, and will continue to evolve as we learn what works, needs change and resources allow.

This role will be a key part of the new Strategy, Insight & Performance function, within the Learning Organisation & Capability team. You will report to the Head of Housing Organisational Capability and Change and work closely with Housing’s senior and operational leaders, HR, Finance and recruitment colleagues, trade unions, learning and development providers, professional leads, and colleagues responsible for planning, performance, commissioning and service modernisation.

You will act as steward of Housing’s operating structure, coordinating the workforce and capability actions needed to implement and sustain it. You will maintain a clear view of approved and emerging structures, roles, vacancies, workforce movements, capability requirements, implementation dependencies and affordability.

Working with senior leaders, HR and Finance, you will support workforce planning and recruitment decisions, oversee the practical application of workforce policies and coordinate training and development activity. You will use workforce evidence, service demand and learning from implementation to identify capacity gaps, clarify roles and interfaces, and advise where the operating model may need refinement.

• Maintaining an accurate and usable view of Housing’s approved and emerging operating structure, including roles, vacancies, workforce movements, implementation dependencies and affordability.
• Supporting workforce planning and recruitment decisions so roles are populated in line with operational priorities, regulatory risk and agreed budgets.
• Designing and overseeing the practical application of workforce policies within Housing, including interim staffing arrangements, controlled vacancy management and selected backfill or internal-transfer arrangements.
• Working with HR and Finance to ensure workforce decisions are lawful, fair, affordable and consistent with organisational policies and Housing Revenue Account constraints.
• Developing and coordinating capability plans that connect service needs, regulatory requirements, professional standards, succession risks and career pathways to practical learning and development activity.
• Overseeing training and development interventions and evaluating whether they improve capability, capacity and confidence in operational practice.
• Clarifying roles, responsibilities, interfaces and accountabilities where organisational design is unclear or implementation evidence shows that the model needs refinement.
• Using implementation learning, workforce data and service performance to advise senior leaders on structural risks, capacity gaps and options for future organisational development.

You will bring credibility with senior and operational leaders, together with a strong understanding of how organisational design, workforce planning and capability development affect service performance. You will be analytical, pragmatic and comfortable working across organisational boundaries to turn complex workforce information into clear advice, decisions and practical action.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate:

• Significant experience working in large, complex service organisations, with an…