Housing Needs and Homelessness Manager
Temporary Contract
Job Details
Isle of Wight Council
Service Area: Adult Social Care & Housing / Housing and Homelessness
Hours: 37 hours per week
Working Pattern:
Hybrid working
Minimum 3 days on site
Maximum 2 days remote
Start Date: 21 September 2026
Duration: 12 weeks
Number of Roles: 1
Office Base:
County Hall
High Street
Newport
Isle of Wight
PO30 1UD
PAYE Rate: £19.68 per hour
Job Overview
Isle of Wight Council is seeking an experienced Housing Needs and Homelessness Manager to lead and manage the delivery of the Council’s Housing Needs and Homelessness service.
The role will ensure the authority meets its statutory duties under homelessness and housing legislation, prevents homelessness wherever possible, and provides timely, lawful, customer-focused and accessible services to vulnerable households.
The successful candidate will lead and manage a public-facing team, ensure high-quality homelessness assessments and decisions, oversee placements and temporary accommodation, support homelessness prevention work, manage service performance and ensure services are compliant, financially sustainable and aligned with wider housing and corporate priorities.
Important – Please Read Carefully
This is a Housing Needs and Homelessness Manager role.
Candidates must have strong homelessness, housing needs, statutory housing, temporary accommodation and team management experience.
The role requires extensive knowledge of housing legislation, homelessness law, case law, Code of Guidance and best practice, as well as experience leading a public-facing housing service in a political local authority environment.
Candidates must be able to manage quality, legality and timeliness of homelessness assessments, decisions and placements, oversee temporary accommodation suitability and health and safety, respond to legal challenges, complaints and Ombudsman enquiries, and work with partners across housing, health, registered providers and voluntary/community organisations.
Candidates must hold a full current driving licence, have use of a car and be able to travel to external appointments or training.
The successful candidate will also be required to take part in the out-of-hours standby duty rota when requested by management.
Candidates without homelessness management, statutory housing, temporary accommodation, housing legislation or local authority/public sector housing leadership experience are unlikely to be considered.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and manage the Housing Needs and Homelessness service
- Ensure the Council meets statutory homelessness and housing duties
- Deliver timely, lawful and customer-focused housing services
- Prevent homelessness wherever possible
- Ensure services are compliant, outcomes-focused and financially sustainable
- Promote accessible, fair and responsive services for vulnerable households
- Promote safeguarding, equality and trauma-informed practice
- Lead, develop and manage the housing team
- Ensure high performance and continuous improvement
- Ensure quality decision-making across the service
- Ensure quality, legality and timeliness of homelessness assessments
- Ensure quality, legality and timeliness of homelessness decisions
- Oversee housing placements and temporary accommodation decisions
- Deliver homelessness prevention initiatives
- Support early intervention and effective partnership working
- Oversee quality and health and safety of temporary accommodation
- Ensure suitability and safeguarding considerations are applied to temporary accommodation
- Support responses to legal challenges
- Support responses to complaints and Ombudsman enquiries
- Work with internal services and registered providers
- Work with voluntary and community organisations
- Work with health partners and neighbouring authorities
- Represent the Council at multi-agency forums
- Represent the Council at strategic housing and homelessness partnerships
- Support emergency planning where required
- Ensure the out-of-hours emergency homelessness service is provided
- Participate in the out-of-hours managers standby rota when required
- Communicate with customers, legal representatives, advocates and senior managers
- Communicate with elected members and stakeholders on complex and sensitive issues
- Monitor contractual liabilities relating to accommodation management
- Support financial processing and budget monitoring where required
Essential Experience & Skills
- Housing needs and homelessness management experience
- Experience leading and managing a public-facing housing team
- Experience managing homelessness assessments, decisions and placements
- Strong knowledge of homelessness legislation
- Strong knowledge of housing legislation
- Strong knowledge of case law, Code of Guidance and best practice
- Knowledge of security of tenure, homelessness, landlord and tenant law
- Experience delivering homelessness prevention initiatives
- Experience overseeing temporary accommodation services
- Experience managing accommodation projects for homeless households
- Experience ensuring suitability, safeguarding and health and safety in accommodation
- Experience working in a political local authority environment
- Understanding of public policy issues affecting local government, social housing and social landlords
- Ability to lead high performance and continuous improvement
- Ability to ensure lawful and timely decision-making
- Ability to respond to legal challenges, complaints and Ombudsman enquiries
- Ability to communicate complex legal or technical issues clearly
- Ability to communicate with customers, advocates, legal representatives and senior stakeholders
- Strong negotiation, persuasion and influencing skills
- Good planning and organisational skills
- Ability to prioritise and coordinate workload under pressure
- Research, investigation and analysis skills
- Good ICT skills including Microsoft applications and specialist systems
- Experience using housing CRM systems
- Knowledge of financial processes or budget monitoring
- Commitment to high standards of customer care
- Ability to work with vulnerable households sensitively
- Safeguarding awareness
- Equality and trauma-informed practice awareness
- Full current driving licence
- Use of a car and ability to travel to external appointments or training
- Ability to participate in the out-of-hours standby duty rota when required
Desirable
- Professional qualification in Housing
- Full or part qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Housing
- Educated to A level standard or equivalent experience
- Relevant vocational or professional qualification
- Experience working with registered providers
- Experience working with health partners
- Experience working with neighbouring authorities
- Experience representing a council at multi-agency forums
- Experience supporting emergency planning
- Experience managing Ombudsman enquiries in housing or homelessness services
- Experience monitoring temporary accommodation contracts and liabilities
Additional Information
Interview will be held online.
Candidate submission deadline is 11 September 2026.
The successful candidate will be required to take part in the out-of-hours standby duty rota as and when requested by management. Standby and call-out duties are paid in accordance with Isle of Wight Council terms and conditions.
Disclaimer
On applying for this vacancy, you agree that your personal details will be passed onto our client for their consideration of your suitability for the role.
I acknowledge that it is my responsibility to notify Fix Space Recruitment Limited of any hirer who I do not want my details to be passed onto.
Job Reference
OR112254
Pay: £19.68 per hour
Application question(s):
- Do you have experience leading or managing a Housing Needs, Homelessness, Housing Options or statutory housing service within a local authority or similar public sector environment?
- Do you have extensive knowledge of homelessness legislation, housing legislation, case law, Code of Guidance and best practice, including lawful homelessness assessments, decisions and placements?
- Have you managed temporary accommodation services, including suitability, health and safety, safeguarding, accommodation projects, contractual liabilities or placements for homeless households?
- Have you led a public-facing team, managed performance, improved service standards, supported quality decision-making and worked within a political local government environment?
- Can you respond to complex complaints, legal challenges, Ombudsman enquiries and communicate effectively with customers, advocates, legal representatives, senior managers, elected members and partners?
- Do you hold a full current driving licence, have use of a car, work at least 3 days on site at County Hall, Newport, and participate in the out-of-hours standby duty rota when required?
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Newport PO30
