Job Details
Job title: Programme Manager (Housing Improvement)
Salary/Grade: SMG1 (12 month Fixed Term contract)
Service: Programme Management & Delivery Team (PMDT)
Reports to: Senior Programme Manager
Manages / Supervises: None directly (matrix leadership across programme workstreams)
Job purpose
To programme manage a transformation programme of improvement focused on homelessness prevention, reducing reliance on Temporary Accommodation, improving customer access, strengthening service resilience, aligning resources to demand and supporting readiness for Local Government Reorganisation.
To be responsible for the mobilisation, planning and delivery of the Housing Improvement Programme, ensuring effective coordination across Housing Services and corporate support functions.
To lead on establishing robust programme governance, managing risks and dependencies, monitoring benefits realisation and ensuring that programme outcomes are delivered within agreed timescales.
Principal Accountabilities
- Lead and coordinate the delivery of a complex transformation programme comprising multiple interdependent projects and workstreams.
- Establish and maintain effective programme governance arrangements, reporting mechanisms and decision-making processes.
- Manage programme-level risks, issues, dependencies and resource requirements, ensuring appropriate mitigation and escalation where required.
- Develop and implement benefits realisation plans to ensure programme outcomes and improvements are measurable and sustainable.
- Drive delivery momentum across multiple workstreams, ensuring progress is maintained against ambitious timescales and competing priorities.
- Influence and coordinate delivery through senior leaders, managers and project teams within a matrix management environment.
- Build and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, securing commitment and engagement to support programme objectives.
- Provide strategic advice and challenge to senior management and governance boards regarding programme performance, risks and delivery strategies.
- Navigate complex organisational and service environments, balancing regulatory requirements, service demand pressures, operational priorities and transformational change.
Corporate Accountabilities
- To take responsibility for maintaining own health and attendance.
- To support, contribute and comply with quality and governance procedures as directed by management.
- To apply and actively promote the principles of the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy in all areas of employment and service delivery.
- To apply and actively promote the principles of the Council’s Safeguarding Procedure in all areas of employment and service delivery.
- Any other duties as required to support the business, including maintaining business continuity and during civil emergencies. All staff may on occasions be called upon to support the Council to deal with emergency situations affecting the community we serve. In the event of an emergency or a rehearsal for such an event, you may be required to attend at times and at locations outside of the normal hours and duties of the post and to adopt duties directed by the Chief Executive or their nominated representative for the duration of the emergency.
- Any other associated duties detailed by Head of Service or their representative.
- To advise Line manager if, at any time, the above duties and responsibilities cannot be performed.
Skills, Knowledge and Experience
(Tested at application and interview stage)
Experience and Qualifications
- Degree level qualification or equivalent relevant experience.
- Recognised programme or project management qualification (e.g. MSP, PRINCE2 Practitioner, APM PMQ or equivalent).
- Significant experience leading or project/programme managing complex transformation, improvement or change programmes.
- Experience working within local government, housing, public sector or similarly complex environments.
- Experience of governance, business case development and benefits realisation.
- Experience working with senior leaders, Members and governance boards.
- Demonstrable experience of managing cross-service programme delivery.
- Experience of service improvement, organisational change or operating model development.
- Experience of housing, homelessness, customer-facing service transformation, demand-led services or related public sector improvement programmes is desirable.
Skills and Knowledge
- Significant experience of leading and delivering large-scale transformation programmes comprising multiple interdependent projects and workstreams.
- Demonstrable experience of programme governance, benefits realisation, risk and dependency management within complex organisational environments.
- Proven track record of successfully delivering complex organisational change and service improvement programmes.
- Experience of managing delivery within a matrix environment, influencing colleagues and stakeholders without direct line management responsibility.
- Experience of working with senior leaders, boards and governance structures to drive programme delivery and secure organisational change.
- Experience of operating in complex, fast-paced environments with competing priorities and significant stakeholder demands.
- Strong programme leadership skills with the ability to maintain pace, momentum and focus on delivery.
- Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, including the ability to challenge constructively and gain commitment from others.
- Highly developed strategic planning, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
- Ability to manage ambiguity, complexity and competing priorities while maintaining delivery focus.
- Resilient, adaptable and able to work effectively within a changing organisational and political environment.
Competencies
(Tested at interview stage)
Communicating Effectively
Demonstrate the effective use of the range of communication methods available: written, spoken, electronic, and use these methods in appropriate ways suitable to the context and situation:
- Present spoken communication in a polite, friendly and respectful manner seeking to ensure mutual understanding
- Listen well and seek clarification and understanding, avoiding jumping to conclusions or making assumptions
- Present information and ideas in a clear and understandable way which avoids jargon
- Seek to understand the communication needs of colleagues and customers, being mindful of equality issues and the diverse needs of the range of people we work with
- Choose the most appropriate method of communication for the situation, seeking to avoid using one fixed style or approach
Performing efficiently and effectively
Promote good performance, developing clear, structured and efficient ways of managing workload and delivering results. Staff should challenge themselves and others to perform well, and to adhere to the Council’s performance management systems:
- Ensure that all work carried out by you is in line with business and service plans and supports the overall aims and ambition of the Council
- Plan your workload effectively, reporting achievements and problems to appropriate managers and project leaders
- See tasks and objectives through to completion
- Approach challenges with drive and enthusiasm
- Strive for continuous improvement in your work and manage your learning and development to enable you to perform to the best of your ability
- Create novel solutions to improve services and ways of working and challenge conventional practices
- Seek out income generating opportunities and efficiencies and aim to provide more for less to achieve the best possible value and high standards of service delivery
- Be enthusiastic about the Council’s services and look for opportunities to promote and sell them
Using and managing resources efficiently and effectively
Demonstrate the effective and efficient use of the full range of resources used in and by the Council including time, finances, staffing, equipment, information, materials, buildings, etc
- Take responsibility for managing your time, seeking efficient ways to carry out your work, maximising your output and minimising wastage
- Use and acquire materials effectively and efficiently minimising wastage, recycling where possible, and striving for cost effectiveness
- Seek out ways to improve the use of resources
Engaging with the customer
Understand the needs and requirements of their customers, to provide excellent customer service, and to involve customers in the improvement of services
- Provide a helpful and friendly service to customers, both internally and externally
- Take responsibility for following up on enquiries and solving customer issues
- Make efforts to fully understand the customer’s needs and avoid assuming that “we know best”
- Ensure that you have a full understanding of the needs and requirements of the customer
- Seek feedback from internal and external customers on the effectiveness and efficiency of the service you provide
Working well together
Actively foster good working relationships with colleagues and customers in order to collectively achieve the Council’s direction and ambition
- Co-operate and work well with colleagues at all levels of the organisation, seeking collective responsibility for the achievement of goals
- Demonstrate consideration and respect for other’s feelings and opinions and avoid judging and making assumptions
- Maintain positive working relationships with external contacts in order to maintain the reputation of the Council
- Seek to actively solve problems and avoid passing the issue on to others or leaving the problem unresolved
- Demonstrate self-awareness of your style of working and develop flexibility and adaptability in order to work well with others
Other conditions
- This post doesn't require a DBS check
- This post is politically restricted
Job profile updated
September 2026
Values and behaviours
Our values and behaviours are an integral part of who we are; they are the guiding principles that should inform how we work together, support each other and make decisions.
Our organisation thrives on the dedication and passion of its people and it’s important that we embody these values and behaviours and they become a part of our organisational DNA.
Our vision
We will be ambitious, support each other and work together in new ways to achieve outstanding results
Our core values
We value everyone
- We respect, recognise and support our people, residents and businesses
- We listen to each other, understand and treat everyone fairly
- We care about our people and appreciate the unique qualities in us all
We work together
- We respect, recognise and support our people, residents and businesses
- We work as one team, recognising everyone's contribution
- We build strong relationships and partnerships to deliver better outcomes
We are flexible
- We embrace change and new ways of working
- We are adaptable, open to new ideas and focus on solutions
- We aim to constantly improve, and we are not afraid to challenge the status quo
