Corporate Heads of Service

Royal Borough of Kingston - Corporate Head of Service

The Council is focused on progressing its thinking to deliver the best possible outcomes for its communities. To do this the Council needs Corporate Heads of Service who thrive in a networked organisation and who can work corporately, across complex networks and systems and provide strong operational leadership within a strategic context.


● A corporate leadership focus, working as part of a wider organisational network that supports the council's ongoing transformation

● A functional focus, with leadership responsibility for services, resources and people

● A locality focus as part of the Council's Neighbourhoods model.


The role reports directly to the Assistant Director, Commissioning and Transformation and is directly responsible for the Housing Options, private sector schemes, welfare reform, temporary accommodation and resettlement teams.


Key activities

Leadership

● As a member of the Corporate Leadership Group, plays a key role in the collective leadership of the Council, providing the constructive leadership needed to create the conditions for success and working across organisational boundaries

● Provides effective project leadership to ensure that cross-cutting and service-related projects achieve desired outcomes

● Provides inspirational and constructive leadership to the Community Housing Service to ensure high performance within a networked operating model

● Facilitates change and innovation, building a working culture that encourages innovative, smart and collaborative working

Commissioning and Performance Management

● Commissions services and activities to secure the best outcomes for service users and deliver optimum value for money, in line with the Council's commissioning and contract management frameworks

● Translates internal and external intelligence in order to continually adapt and improve the service in line with demand

● Manages the performance of the service, working with colleagues to define outcomes, set targets and monitor performance, within a culture of continual improvement

● Develops operational plans that align to strategy, ensuring that the resources within the team are used to best effect and impact

● Ensures that the best use is made of the Council's resources to secure the best outcomes for residents within the resources available

● Ensures that the best use is made of financial resources and achieves balanced budgets and income and savings targets, as required.


Customers, Partners and Community

● Builds strong working partnerships across the public, private and voluntary sectors to enable the service to be delivered in an outcome-focused and efficient way

● Promotes community cohesion and Kingston's commitment to valuing diversity, ensuring the development and implementation of effective social inclusion

● Works in partnership with Members to improve and develop engagement with residents, helping councillors navigate the organisation and signposting them to the right place to resolve issues.


Delivery

● Leadership of Community Housing functions:

○ Housing Options

○ Accommodation Services

○ Housing Support

● Effectively manages growth in demand for short and long term housing and support

● Effective strategic management of the market to ensure costs reflect fair value

● Developing innovative solutions to ensure adequate supply to meet demand

● Develops prevention focused approach in collaboration with partners

● Leads on effective safeguarding in collaboration with partners

● Leads on sub regional and Pan London Housing issues

● Ensures that systems have effective controls to focus on high priority cases

● Ensures effective quality assurance systems are in place


Corporate responsibilities:

● Data Protection

● Election duties

● Engagement & Collaboration

● Health and Safety

● Safeguarding - protection of vulnerable adults and children


The person

In order to successfully deliver the responsibilities of the role, you will need to:

● Understand and demonstrate that you are able to adapt the Council's transformational and leadership approach and contribute to the collective leadership required to continually develop this

● Have exceptional leadership skills, modelling a strong performance culture and constructively building achievement, confidence and skills in others

● Question and challenge conventional thinking, with a continual eye on the bigger picture in terms of the corporate context and external environment

Leadership

● Inspire a sense of purpose and direction to achieve the successful delivery of outcomes for the Kingston community

● Track record of leading a team, functions, services and programmes of comparable scope, size and complexity

● Ability to demonstrate successful leadership experience and positive outcomes at a senior strategic level within an organisation of similar complexity

● Ability to build a strong and capable team, confidently setting the direction and clearly articulating the measures of success.

Morgan Hunt is a multi-award-winning recruitment business for interim, contract and temporary recruitment and acts as an Employment Agency in relation to permanent vacancies. Morgan Hunt is an equal opportunities employer. Job suitability is assessed on merit in accordance with the individual's skills, qualifications and abilities to perform the relevant duties required in a particular role.