About Us

Are you passionate about making a difference to residents and maximising affordable housing delivery to households in housing need? 

Would you describe yourself as proactive, an effective leader and good at building and maintaining positive relationships?

Do you have a genuine interest and experience in enabling the delivery of affordable housing, including knowledge of development, financial appraisals and Section 106 Legal Agreements.  

If yes, we have the perfect role for you.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an adaptable, enthusiastic individual to lead our Enabling Team.  

As part of the Shared Staffing Arrangement, you will have the opportunity to work in a unique environment where we provide services for both a large stock holding inner city local authority and a non-stock holding authority in outer London.

As Head of Enabling and Special Projects you will help deliver the policies of a new administration in Wandsworth and explore all opportunities to deliver affordable housing in Richmond. Working in close partnership with other Council departments and key external partners, you will identify new opportunities to develop and deliver affordable housing, access external funding resources, identify areas of best practice, and ensure continued high performance within the Department.

Our goals and vision

Our goal is to not only maximise affordable housing delivery across both boroughs but to also ensure it is constructed to the highest design and sustainability standards and is inclusive and accessible. We also want to ensure that housing managed by our housing provider partners is properly managed and maintained by them. 

About the Department

The Department is responsible for housing advice and homelessness and housing management of our 33,000 council properties, including dealing with anti-social behaviour and tenancy matters, building safety, improving the energy efficiency of our stock, development of affordable housing, regeneration of estates and the delivery of housing strategies and policies. 

About the role

You will lead on ensuring the delivery of affordable housing across both LB Wandsworth and LB Richmond Upon Thames, working closely with lead Members, senior officers, other Council departments, developers and key external organisations to deliver the Councils objectives.

You will also be the link between the Council and the Council’s main housing association developers and stakeholders, leading on the affordable housing strategies of each Council and a range of other projects and programmes. You will also provide line management support for four officers within the team.

Rewards and Benefits

At Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, we care more about how you work and what you achieve, rather than where you work on any given day. The difference you can make to our local communities is what really matters most to us, service delivery must always come first. We have carefully considered agile ways of working to provide the best experience for residents, stakeholders and our staff. Our agile working strategy actively supports and encourages a dynamic work environment and daily working experience. Agile working helps put the needs of our staff at the centre of everything we do, so if specific flexible working arrangements helps you with this, feel free to let us know. 

Your wellbeing and the flexible way in which you can work is and will remain a key priority for Richmond and Wandsworth Councils. We want you to thrive and feel empowered in your work.

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working including, working from home, compressed hours and other arrangements. 

Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore. We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 40 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities. 

In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments. 

Indicative Recruitment Timeline

Closing Date: 26^th November 2023

Shortlisting Date: W/C 27^th November 2023

Interview Date: W/C 11^th December 2023 (TBC)  

Useful Information:

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 particularly welcome applications from sections of the community who are currently underrepresented within our teams, including (eg. females, BAME).   

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important Information:

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils