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 leading transformation, improving services and delivering measurable outcomes for residents.
- The ability to translate strategic vision into effective operational delivery.
- Experience leading large, complex teams and creating inclusive cultures where people can perform at their best.
- Strong financial leadership skills, with experience managing substantial budgets and delivering sustainable services.
- The confidence and credibility to operate at executive level, influencing elected Members, senior leaders and external partners within a politically sensitive environment.
- A strong understanding of housing legislation, safeguarding, regulation and governance.
- The ability to build trusted relationships and collaborate across organisations to achieve shared outcomes.
Above all, you will share our commitment to creating a fairer future - ensuring every resident has access to safe accommodation, meaningful support and the opportunity to live a healthy, independent and fulfilling life.
For detailed qualifications and requirements, please review the job description and person specification located at the bottom of the advert.
Contact Information:
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Candida Thompson via email at [email protected]
Additional Information
- Contract Type: Permanent
- Working Hours: 36 hours per week, Monday - Friday
- Location: 160 Tooley St London SE1 2QH
- Enhanced DBS check
Benefits and more information:
https://jobs.southwark.gov.uk/why-us/
Recruitment Timeline:
- Advert close date: 11:59pm on Monday 31st August 2026
- Shortlisting date/s: Week commencing 31st August 2026
- Interview date/s: Week commencing 7th September 2026
The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative. We particularly welcome applications from members of the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.
Guaranteed Interview Scheme:
As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:
- Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
- Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
- If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition
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Job Reference: SC08347
