Head of Local Link - London North West

Job description

The role

Reporting to the Director of Resident Experience North, you'll lead the London North West Resident Experience team, driving the delivery of our Local Link model across mixed-tenure communities. You'll have overall responsibility for ensuring residents receive excellent housing services from the point of allocation through to sustaining successful tenancies and homeownership experiences.

As a senior leader, you will also hold the Lettings Portfolio and provide strategic direction across allocations and lettings, acting as the organisation's subject matter expert while ensuring a consistent, resident-focused approach across localities. You'll work closely with internal teams, local authorities, partner organisations, and resident groups to shape services, drive continuous improvement, and deliver meaningful outcomes.

What you'll be doing

• Leading the Local Link service across the London North West region, delivering excellent neighbourhood and resident-focused services.
• Providing strategic leadership for allocations and lettings, ensuring compliance, good governance, and best practice.
• Leading multidisciplinary teams delivering services across tenancy, home ownership and independent living.
• Building strong relationships with local authorities, external partners and stakeholder groups.
• Using performance information, insight and resident feedback to drive service improvements.
• Overseeing audits, regulatory compliance, risk management and service assurance activities.
• Leading resident engagement, including working with resident panels and ensuring residents influence service delivery.
• Managing budgets, contracts and resources to deliver value for money.
• Supporting and developing colleagues through effective leadership, coaching and performance management.
• Leading complex operational issues, service improvements and organisational change initiatives.

What we're looking for

We're seeking a confident and inclusive leader with substantial experience leading frontline housing services within the social housing sector.

You'll bring:

• Significant experience leading operational housing teams.
• Strong knowledge of allocations, lettings and rehousing processes.
• Experience working with regulatory frameworks, governance and compliance requirements.
• Excellent stakeholder management and partnership-building skills.
• Strong leadership, coaching and people development experience.
• The ability to analyse performance information and use data to improve services.
• Excellent communication, influencing and negotiation skills.
• Experience managing change and delivering continuous improvement.
• A customer-focused approach and commitment to delivering excellent resident outcomes.
• A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle.

Closing Date: 14th October 2026 at 23:59

Interview Date: 23rd October 2026

About Us

At Southern Housing, our residents are at the heart of everything we do. As one of the largest housing providers in the UK with over 77,000 homes across London, the Southeast, the Isle of Wight, and the Midlands, we give over 167,000 people somewhere affordable to call their own! We also understand the difference that safe, secure, and affordable homes can make to people's lives.

A career at Southern Housing will allow you to make a difference every day you come to work. Working in the housing sector with us will bring fresh challenges and give you the opportunity to grow and develop, too.