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.
The role
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.
Your key priorities will include
- 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.
About you
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 understanding of how organisational structures and workforce planning affect service performance.
- The ability to work with senior leaders to clarify roles, responsibilities, interfaces and organisational arrangements across complex services.
- Strong analytical capability, including the ability to understand how organisational design, service demand, workforce capacity and affordability interact.
- The ability to work confidently with HR and Finance colleagues so workforce decisions align with organisational policies and financial constraints.
- Credibility with operational leaders and the ability to influence organisational decisions across a large and diverse service.
- Experience coordinating workforce planning, organisational change, recruitment, capability development or learning programmes.
- Relevant professional development or practical experience in organisational design, change, leadership, organisational development, workforce planning or learning and development is desirable.
You do not need to come from a traditional housing career route. We welcome applicants who can bring relevant organisational design, workforce planning, organisational development, change, HR, finance or operational leadership experience from other large and complex environments, together with a clear commitment to improving services for residents.
What we can offer you:
Salary: The salary band for this role is £52,413 - £58,865 per annum. The starting salary is £52,413 with annual progression through the salary bands.
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.
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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