May 2012

Recruitment of Head of Housing

Candidate pack

Oxford City Council Recruitment of Head of Housing

May 2012 Page 2 of 16

May 2012 Dear Applicant Oxford City Council – Head of Housing Thank you for your interest in this position. Enclosed is the information you will require to assist you in completing your application. To apply please can you:

Complete the attached Oxford City Council application form (also available at www.oxford.gov.uk/jobs)

Please note that CVs are not acceptable.

Indicate if you cannot attend any of the interview dates. We will notify candidates who have been shortlisted by telephone or e-mail within one week of the closing date. At interview applicants will be required to provide documentary evidence that they have the necessary qualifications required for the position. Once complete, please send your application, preferably in MS Word format, by email to oxfordcc@campbelltickell.com or by post to: Campbell Tickell Recruitment, Olympic Office Centre, 8 Fulton Road, Wembley, HA9 0NU. Due to postal unreliability we recommend you e-mail your application to us wherever possible to avoid missing the deadline. Applications must be received by Monday 11th June 2012, at 12 noon. It is your responsibility to ensure that we have received your application. If you do not receive confirmation of receipt of your application from us within 24 hours of sending, please call 020 3434 0990 to ensure it has arrived. You should also ensure that you use a secure email address from which to send your application, as our system will filter out emails if it believes them to have been sent from unsecured sites that are often used to send spam emails. In order to avoid last-minute IT issues, we also ask that you allow yourself ample time to submit your application in advance of the deadline. A list of the interview dates and key selection stages is detailed at page 15. Do contact me if you would like to discuss the role or have any questions on 07801 579964 or oxford@campbelltickell.com.

Oxford City Council Recruitment of Head of Housing

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We look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely

Clare Roberts Associate Senior Consultant

Additional information – please note

Oxford City Council does not pay interview expenses.

Oxford City Council is not currently licensed as a sponsor and cannot employ migrant workers outside of the European Economic Area and Switzerland under the Point Based System rules issued by the UK Border Agency.

Equality of opportunity

Oxford City Council is committed to the development of policies and procedures to promote equal opportunities in employment regardless of employees’ gender, race, disability, religious or political belief, sexuality, age, nationality, pregnancy, membership or non-membership of a trade union, gender reassignment or HIV status.

A copy of the Council’s Corporate Equality Standard is available on the Council’s website; www.oxford.gov.uk.

Applicants with a disability

Oxford City Council is a Two Ticks accredited employer and applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria on the Person Specification will be invited to interview.

Employment of people with criminal records

When a person applies for a position with Oxford City Council, the Council will not take into account previous time-expired convictions as laid down in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA 74), except when a person is being appointed to any position exempted under the ROA 74.

The disclosure of a criminal record or other information will not necessarily bar a person from appointment. The Council will take into account the nature of the offence, the relevance to the post the person has applied for, how long ago the offence took place and the age of the person when the offence was committed.

This information will be treated in confidence and will only be taken into account in relation to an application where the exemption applies.

Oxford City Council Recruitment of Head of Housing

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Contents

Page

Welcome letter from Executive Director 5

Job description and person specification 7

Organisation chart 11

Principal terms and conditions of service 12

Key dates 15

The media advertisement 16

The following supplementary information can also be downloaded from www.campbelltickell.com:

- Application form (includes diversity monitoring section)

Further information on Oxford City Council can be found at http://www.oxford.gov.uk/housing

Oxford City Council Recruitment of Head of Housing

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We are pleased that you are considering the post of Head of Housing with us and

thought it would be helpful if we provided you with some background information and

our hopes for this post.

Housing is a key priority for Oxford and the City Council has taken a leading role in

developing more homes and more affordable homes, both through its own

development programmes and working with partners.

As Head of Housing you will be responsible for providing an excellent service to over

8,000 tenants and leaseholders, and continuing our drive for effectiveness, efficiency

and value for money. The Council has borrowed £200m to finance the HRA

settlement and for investment in new and existing housing, as well as funding its

HCA affordable homes programme.

The vacancy has occurred following the impending retirement of the current post

holder. We have carried out a major restructuring to ensure that all the housing

services are delivered through this post (including responsibility for commissioning

and performance in repairs and maintenance, delivered by the Council’s Direct

Services) with a strong emphasis on achieving high customer satisfaction and

excellent KPIs. We also see this as the key role to further improve our resident

engagement.

You will report to me and I will give you the support and space to make a major

impact upon the service we provide to our residents. You will be part of a small

management team and will have an impact across the directorate.

Welcome to Oxford City Council

Oxford City Council Recruitment of Head of Housing

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This is an opportunity for an outstanding housing professional to lead a key service

in a world class city. You will have the vision and the ability to lead and develop a

first class service which sees new opportunities in changing policy and economic

circumstances to raise the quality of services, and be adaptable and innovative. You

will need first class partnership skills working across the Council and with residents,

voluntary and other organisations. You will be joining a team which is committed to

raising our services from good to great and making a real positive difference for our

residents.

If you believe that you have the experience, ability and enthusiasm for the task, we

very much look forward to receiving your application.

David Edwards

Executive Director – City Regeneration

Oxford City Council Recruitment of Head of Housing

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Job description and person specification

JOB INFORMATION

JOB TITLE Head of Housing POST NUMBER 03328

SERVICE AREA Housing LOCATION St Aldates Chambers

GRADE Service Head 2 GRADE RANGE £66,660 - £77,770

HOURS 37 TYPE Permanent

ACCOUNTABILITIES

RESPONSIBLE TO

Executive Director City Regeneration

NO. OF EMPLOYEES

Approx 80

BUDGET (£) £45m ASSETS

JOB PURPOSE

To be an active part of the Corporate Management Team, driving the Council’s Organisational Development Strategy which is dedicated to achieving greater outcomes through leaner delivery (GOLD)

To lead the Housing service and to develop the Council’s strategic approach to Housing, including Housing Landlord function, Strategy & Enabling, and Housing Needs

Candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of demonstrating that they fulfil the following criteria in their application form and should include clear examples of how they meet these criteria.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

BEHAVIOURAL SKILLS

ESSENTIAL

- A track record of delivering excellence in Housing and high levels of residents’ satisfaction

- A track record of delivering improved value for money

- Experience of leading and delivering significant change and business improvement initiatives, including people and

- Effective financial planning and Budget management skills

- Risk management skills

- Managing high performance through people

- Workforce planning

- Sound knowledge of business process reengineering, project,

- Strong leadership skills, including:

Inspirational and highly motivated - and can motivate others

Able to mentor & coach senior managers

Demonstrable partnership & collaboration skills

Accomplished analytical & decision making skills

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cultural change

- Experience of developing strategies and policies in Housing

- Demonstrable record of successful innovation in housing services and delivery, including Local Offers, welfare and financial inclusion

- Experience in leading & managing Housing services

- Experience of effectively performance managing a diverse workforce & responding to diverse communities

- Experience of programme & project management

- Experience of effective budget management and delivering cost reductions whilst improving services

- Experience of partnership working both internally and externally, and of quickly establishing trust and credibility with tenants and residents in a co-regulation context

- Effective management of repairs and maintenance contracts (DLO or private contractor) and the delivery of operational efficiencies and change management

- Professional qualification in Housing

- Evidence of extensive continued professional development

programme and change management methodologies and their application

- Understanding of appropriate professional standards and what best practice looks like

Verbal & written communication, including report writing

- Promotes equality & diversity

- Sets ambitious targets, drives change & inspires people to deliver on both

- Seeks external challenge & best practice

- Ability to balance managerial leadership with political leadership from Elected Members

- Ability to translate national policy direction and strategic objectives into practical local plans and action

- Ability to think strategically and be proactive in developing and implementing continuous improvement in service delivery

- Has a high level of personal credibility

- Well developed interpersonal and facilitation skills, able to build effective relationships and manage conflict resolution

- Excellent analytical, project planning and management skills

- Ability to manage conflicting and competing priorities effectively, and with the resilience, energy and organisational abilities to keep management performance on track during periods of uncertainty and change.

- Ability to develop and promote customer focused solutions

Oxford City Council Recruitment of Head of Housing

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DESIRABLE

- Contributing to corporate / organisation senior leadership

- Management qualification

- Prince II (or equivalent)

- Programme management qualification

- Coaching & mentoring

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

a. To be a member of the Council’s Corporate Management Team with collective responsibility for the managerial leadership of the Council

b. To engage with corporate programme boards which develop strategy and policy, implement programmes and projects and monitor performance

c. Ensuring Members of the Council are supported in their leadership & community roles

d. Contribute to developing the Council’s Corporate Plan & other strategies and delivering the key targets set within them. Specifically:

- Housing Strategy, and related sub-strategies (BME/Elderly/Young People, etc)

- Homelessness Strategy

- Empty Homes Strategy

- Allocations Policy

- Local Offer/Resident Involvement Strategy

- HRA Business Plan

e. To be accountable to an Executive Director for Housing (including housing landlord, strategy & enabling and housing needs) developing and supporting operational managers within the service.

f. Ensure the Council and the service area achieves great outcomes for the City and develop lean delivery models.

g. To ensure that a system of continuous review and improvement is embedded within the Service so that ‘traditional thinking’ is challenged and innovation pursued.

h. To be accountable for those budgets related to the Service, ensuring compliance with the Council’s Constitution and Standing Orders and that the Council receives value for money from its expenditure

GENERIC RESPONSIBILITIES

To provide the service in accordance with the Council’s Vision, Corporate Plan and Service Plan objectives.

To work in the spirit of the employee / manager charter.

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To demonstrate and promote ethical behaviour appropriate to that which would be expected by our customers.

To participate in the adoption and promotion of the Council equalities and carbon management initiative.

To work in a flexible manner and to be willing to undertake other duties as reasonably requested including outside of office hours.

Candidate screening

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974: Applies

Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure: Not required

Politically Sensitive Post

Yes

This job description is written at a specific time and is subject to change as the demands of the business and the role develops. The role requires flexibility and adaptability and the employees of the Council need to be aware that they may be asked to perform tasks and be given responsibilities not detailed on this job description.

Oxford City Council Recruitment of Head of Housing

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Senior management structure chart

Oxford City Council Recruitment of Head of Housing

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Principal terms and conditions (For information purposes only)

1. Position

Head of Housing

2. Salary

£66,660 – 77,770

3, Pension Scheme

All employees who have a contract for three months or more will automatically

become members of the Local Government Pension Scheme unless they

specifically ‘opt out’ of membership. This is a contributory pension scheme.

The level of an employee’s contributions is based upon salary and ranges

from 5.5% to 7.5%. The Local Government Scheme is a ‘final salary’ scheme.

Oxford City Council makes significant employer contributions to the funding of

this scheme, currently (2012) in excess of 20% of the employee’s salary.

Many employers have closed their ‘final salary’ schemes in recent times. Full

details will be provided to new employees.

4. Leave

Oxford City Council values the contributions made by its employees and as

such wishes to ensure a good work-life balance. Part of this includes up to 32

days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays.

5. Commitment to Reducing Carbon Emissions

Oxford City Council encourages all staff to consider alternatives to car

journeys, both for travel to and during work, such as walking, cycling and

public transport where possible.

6. Childcare Voucher Scheme

The Council has a salary sacrifice childcare voucher scheme. Employees who

pay a registered childcare provider may be able to join the scheme and

benefit from tax and national insurance savings on all or some of their

childcare costs.

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7. Conditions of Service

Conditions of Service such as rates of pay, hours of work and holiday

entitlements are in accordance with the arrangements made by the National

Joint Council for Local Authorities’ Services (or the appropriate Joint

Negotiating Committee for Craft employees) as supplemented by the

Council’s locally agreed conditions.

8. Hours of Work

Full time employees normally work a 37 hour, five day week. Details of

working hours will be in the job description and will be explained more fully at

interview.

9. Pay

Salary is paid monthly on the 28th day of every month by credit transfer

directly into a nominated account. When the 28th falls on a Bank Holiday or

weekend, salaries are paid on the last working day before the Bank Holiday or

weekend.

10. Probationary Period

All new employees are subject to the satisfactory completion of a six month

probationary period.

11 Restricted Posts

Under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 certain local government

employees have restraints placed on their political activity. Employees whose

posts are identified as politically sensitive cannot:

a. Write or speak publicly in a way which appears to affect public support for

a political party.

b. Canvass on behalf of a political party at any election for Councillors, MPs

or MEPs.

c. Hold office in a political party.

d. Publicly declare themselves a candidate for Councillor, MP or MEP.

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The Job Description will specify whether or not the post is politically restricted

and further information about the Council’s Policy on Politically Restricted

Posts can be obtained from Human Resources on 01865 252848.

12 National Fraud Initiative

The Council is under duty to protect the public funds it administers, and to this

end may use the information you provide on your application form for the

prevention and detection of fraud. It may also share this information with other

bodies responsible for auditing or administering funds for these purposes.

Further information is available on the Council’s website;

www.oxford.gov.uk/privacy, or on request from Human Resources.

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Key dates

Closing date for completed applications Monday 11th June 2012, at noon

First interviews Tuesday 19th June 2012 (in Oxford)

Final interview Wednesday 20th June or Friday 22nd June – TBC (in Oxford)

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