The Well Communities CIC
Head of Housing - Cumbria based, with travel across localities and partner sites as required - 37.5 hours per week - Permanent - £39,000 per annum
The Well Communities (TWC) is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, led by people in recovery from substance misuse. Our aim is to build networks, connections and activities that help address many of the problems that drive substance misuse and the offending behaviours that can result. We believe in the inherent capacity and potential of people to bring about positive change for themselves and the communities in which they live.
We know it takes courage and hard work to change. Being committed at TWC means demonstrating our values of:
Safety: Creating an environment of safety in everything we do, providing the foundation for recovery and wellbeing.
Integrity: Acting with transparency and honesty to build trust and strong relationships.
Resilience: Recognising recovery as a journey that requires strength and perseverance, and fostering resilience in staff, those we work with, and the wider recovery community.
Empowerment: Supporting people to choose their own path in recovery, promoting autonomy and collaboration in finding solutions.
Love: Working with compassion, ensuring people feel valued and supported, and extending care until they can love themselves.
The Head of Housing will play a key leadership role in ensuring our supported housing services are safe, high quality and recovery-focused, aligned to our values and strategic commitment to community-based change. The role combines operational leadership, partnership working, accommodation oversight, performance management and financial accountability.
Purpose of the Role
The Head of Housing will provide strategic and operational leadership for TWC supported housing services across all localities. Reporting to the Assistant Director, the postholder will lead Housing Managers in each area and ensure that accommodation is safe, well managed, recovery-focused and responsive to local need. The role will be responsible for ensuring high standards of accommodation, safety, performance and compliance across all supported housing services.
The postholder will work closely with local authorities, commissioners, housing providers and other partners to ensure effective referral routes, move-on pathways, contract delivery and local system relationships. The role will also have responsibility for housing service budgets, including oversight of housing benefit income, rent-related systems and financial performance, helping to ensure services are sustainable, accountable and deliver value for money.
Key Responsibilities
1. Strategic Leadership and Service Development
- Provide visible and effective leadership for our supported housing services, ensuring delivery is aligned to organisational strategy, recovery principles and our values.
- Translate organisational priorities into high-quality operational delivery across all housing services and localities.
- Lead the development, improvement and consistency of supported housing services, ensuring they are safe, person-centred and outcomes focused.
- Identify opportunities for innovation, service improvement, growth and sustainability within the housing portfolio.
- Contribute to wider organisational planning, service development and growth activity as part of the senior leadership structure under the Assistant Director.
2. Operational Leadership of Supported Housing Services
- Lead the day-to-day operational oversight of all TWC supported housing services, ensuring effective local management, clear standards and strong accountability.
- Line manage Housing Managers in each area, providing regular supervision, support, challenge, coaching and development.
- Ensure services are appropriately staffed, well-coordinated and delivered in line with TWC’s recovery model and service expectations.
- Maintain oversight of referrals, assessments, occupancy, move-on arrangements, voids and service user progression through supported housing pathways.
- Ensure housing services support residents to move towards increased independence, improved wellbeing and sustained recovery.
3. Local Authority, Commissioner and Partnership Working
- Build and maintain strong and constructive relationships with local authorities, commissioners, housing providers, treatment services, safeguarding leads and other relevant stakeholders.
- Work collaboratively with local authorities to support effective referrals, placements, risk management, move-on planning and local problem solving.
- Represent TWC at contract meetings, operational forums, partnership boards and wider external meetings relevant to housing and recovery services.
- Act as a trusted lead for housing within local systems, helping to strengthen pathways and improve outcomes for people affected by addiction.
- Support effective partnership working with communities, advocacy services, mutual aid, employers, families and wider recovery networks where appropriate.
4. Accommodation Standards, Customer Safety and Safeguarding
- Ensure all supported accommodation is safe, suitable, well-managed and conducive to recovery.
- Lead on customer safety across supported housing services, ensuring robust arrangements are in place for risk assessment, risk management, safeguarding, incident reporting and learning from events.
- Maintain high standards of accommodation quality, cleanliness, safety, repairs oversight and service environment, taking prompt action where standards fall below expectation.
· Ensure compliance with relevant health and safety requirements, safeguarding processes, security procedures and internal policies across all housing services.
- Oversee serious incidents, accidents, complaints, neighbourhood concerns and safeguarding matters, ensuring these are managed promptly, appropriately and in line with policy and procedure.
- Promote a strong culture of safety, accountability and continuous improvement for residents, staff, volunteers and visitors.
5. Performance, Quality and Compliance
- Set and monitor key performance measures for supported housing services, ensuring consistent standards and accurate reporting across localities.
- Ensure service performance data is recorded, monitored and reported accurately and on time.
- Use data, feedback, audits, complaints and other insight to drive service improvement and demonstrate impact.
- Ensure supported housing services operate in line with contract requirements, safeguarding expectations, data protection standards, organisational governance processes and other relevant compliance requirements.
- Prepare clear reports, updates and assurance information for the Assistant Director and other governance forums as required.
6. People Leadership and Culture
- Lead Housing Managers and wider housing teams using a supportive, high-performance and values-led approach.
- Create a culture of accountability, learning, reflective practice, wellbeing and development across supported housing services.
- Ensure appropriate arrangements are in place for supervision, induction, training, development and performance management.
- Support recruitment, retention and workforce planning to ensure the right staffing levels and skills mix are maintained.
- Model our values in day-to-day leadership.
7. Community Engagement and Recovery-Focused Practice
- Ensure supported housing services reflect a recovery-oriented, strengths-based and community-connected approach.
· Promote meaningful involvement of people with lived experience in service delivery, development and improvement, reflecting TWC’s commitment to community-shaped services.
- Support neighbourhood and community-based approaches that strengthen resilience, connection and participation.
- Help raise the profile of TWC’s supported housing offer and share examples of good practice with wider audiences where appropriate.
8. Financial Management and Budget Responsibility
· Hold responsibility for housing service budgets, ensuring effective financial planning, monitoring and control across supported housing services. Work with senior leaders to develop annual budgets and maintain robust financial oversight.
- Monitor and report on expenditure, staffing costs, occupancy levels and overall financial performance of housing services.
- Oversee housing-related income streams, including housing benefit income, rent collection processes, arrears monitoring and associated financial controls.
- Work with finance colleagues and the Assistant Director to ensure robust systems are in place for income monitoring, reconciliation, forecasting and financial reporting.
Person Specification
Essential
· Significant experience of leading or managing supported housing, homelessness, accommodation-based support or related services.
· Strong understanding of the needs of people affected by substance misuse, multiple disadvantage, trauma and social exclusion.
· Experience of leading operational service delivery across multiple sites, teams or localities, with clear accountability for standards and outcomes.
· Experience of line management, staff supervision, development, performance management and workforce leadership.
· Experience of working effectively with local authorities, commissioners, housing providers and external partners to deliver strong local pathways and outcomes.
· Experience of customer safety, safeguarding, risk management, incident oversight and promoting safe practice within accommodation-based services.
· Experience of performance management, service monitoring, quality assurance and the use of data to improve delivery and demonstrate impact.
· Experience of budget management and financial accountability, including oversight of housing-related income and expenditure.
· Strong communication, relationship-building and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively across organisational and system boundaries.
· Degree-level qualification or equivalent experience demonstrating the ability to operate effectively at this level.
· A values-led approach aligned to safety, integrity, resilience, empowerment, love and recovery-focused practice.
Desirable
- Lived experience of addiction and/or recovery.
- Experience of housing or tenancy-related support and recovery-focused interventions.
- Experience of service mobilisation, redesign, innovation or growth.
· CIH qualification (Levels 3–6); Supported Housing, Homelessness or Social Care qualification (Levels 3–5); Leadership or Management qualification (ILM Level 5).
· Experience of contributing to tenders, grant applications or wider business development activity.
- Knowledge of local housing pathways, supported housing systems and move-on arrangements.
- Coaching, counselling, leadership or other relevant professional qualification.
Additional Information
This post will require flexibility to meet service need and may evolve in line with organisational priorities.
To Apply
Please email a copy of your CV including details of two references, to recruitment@wearepeoplefirst.co.uk
All applications should be clearly marked:
Confidential – Head of Housing
To arrive no later than 5pm on 7th July 2026
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: £39,000.00-£44,500.00 per year
Benefits:
Work Location: In person
