Southampton City Council is seeking an experienced and practical facilitator to join Housing as our Team Leader – Customer-Centric Ways of Working and Collaboration. This new role will help Housing teams work together more effectively to solve problems and improve services for residents.
Many Housing services cut across teams and organisations. Repairs, neighbourhood management, customer contact and homes specialists often need to work together to resolve problems that do not sit neatly within a single service. This means teams must collaborate well, share information and take joint ownership of issues affecting residents and neighbourhoods.
The role sits within Strategy, Insight & Performance and the Learning Organisation & Capability team. You will work directly with managers and operational teams across Housing, stepping into areas where services are not working together well and helping people improve how work is coordinated and delivered.
The role
You will provide practical support that helps teams understand cross-service problems and develop workable solutions. Through structured workshops, small-group discussions and one-to-one support, you will help people understand problems, reflect on their part in them, share perspectives and agree clear actions.
You will support teams to take joint ownership of issues, strengthen collaboration between services and ensure the experience of residents is considered when solutions are developed. You will promote pragmatic improvement, including 80/20 problem-solving and co-creation with customers, so teams can deliver short-term value while identifying where wider change or leadership decisions are needed.
Your key priorities will include
- Facilitating collaboration across Housing teams through structured workshops, small-group discussions and one-to-one support, helping people consider problems in the round and agree practical solutions.
- Clarifying ownership, responsibilities, decision points and hand-offs where work crosses service boundaries, and helping teams turn discussion into clear actions and follow-through.
- Using customer insight, complaints, case studies and lived experience to focus improvement activity on issues that matter to residents and neighbourhoods.
- Encouraging pragmatic 80/20 problem-solving, helping teams deliver short-term customer value while making longer-term dependencies and decisions visible.
- Promoting co-creation with customers and frontline staff so affected people have a meaningful role in understanding problems, testing options and shaping improvements.
- Developing practical collaboration tools, guidance and reusable methods that managers and teams can apply independently.
- Providing feedback and assurance to senior leaders on recurring barriers to collaboration, unresolved cross-service risks and systemic issues requiring wider intervention.
About you
- You will bring experience of working in operational services where collaboration between teams is essential to solving complex problems. You will be confident working directly with managers and frontline teams, listening carefully, bringing different perspectives together and helping people move from discussion to practical solutions.
- We are particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate:
- Experience working in operational services where collaboration between teams is essential to solving complex problems.
- Strong facilitation skills, with the ability to bring groups together, guide discussions and help teams reach practical solutions.
- The ability to work confidently with managers and frontline teams, building trust and encouraging constructive problem-solving.
- Experience supporting workshops, team sessions or improvement activity that helps teams understand problems and improve how they work together.
- Strong communication and listening skills, able to bring together different perspectives and help teams focus on solutions.
- A practical and organised approach, able to support teams to turn discussions into clear actions.
It would also be helpful if you have experience using customer insight, service design, systems thinking, continuous improvement or co-creation methods, or developing reusable tools and guidance for teams.
You do not need to come from a traditional housing career route. We welcome applicants who can bring relevant facilitation, service improvement, transformation or operational experience from another complex service environment, together with a clear commitment to improving outcomes for residents.
What we can offer you
Salary: The Grade 10 salary band is £47,181 – £51,357 per annum. The starting salary is £47,181, with annual progression through the salary band.
Here at SCC we have a range of different benefits, a few examples can be found below.
- Excellent local government pension with 15.2% employer contribution
- Death in service benefit of x3 salary, and optional salary sacrifice shared cost AVC (additional voluntary contribution)
- Generous holiday 25–31 days, based on role and service
- Flexible working options (role-dependent)
- Family-friendly policies - Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared/Unpaid Parental Leave, Time off for Dependents
- Training and development, including coaching and mentoring
- Health and wellbeing support - Employee Assistance Programme, Menopause Pledge, Mental Health First Aiders and access to a variety of staff networks
- Veteran-friendly employer with the Armed Forces Covenant
- Retail discounts and savings through the Southampton City Council benefits platform
- Discounted memberships at local sports and fitness centres
- Sustainable travel benefits - low emission car scheme, cycle to work, season ticket loans
- Employee volunteering scheme with 2 paid days leave to volunteer
For further information on our benefits package please visit: Employee benefits (southampton.gov.uk)
How to apply
Please complete the supporting statement section of the application form and clearly explain how your experience meets the essential requirements set out in the job description. Applications will be shortlisted against the published criteria, so a CV alone may not provide sufficient evidence.
Contact details for informal discussion:
For an informal conversation about the role, please contact Robert Ahmadi, Head of Housing Strategy, Insight and Performance, at [email protected]
Recruitment contact details:
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 023 8083 4033
For more information about SCC please visit Southampton City Council
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