Assistant Director: Housing & Communities

Assistant Director: Housing and Communities 
£88,679 - £103,255 plus a market supplement of £8,607

This is a great opportunity for a talented and ambitious individual who can offer a breadth of experience across the full spectrum of Housing. You’ll be the lead Housing professional within the Council, so your expertise will be vital in ensuring high quality strategic and operational insight and advice at all levels. 

The Council owns and manages around 7,000 properties and has committed £110m to a five-year new build programme. Ensuring good quality, affordable housing is a political priority, so this is a role which comes with considerable member attention and scrutiny. Recent tenant satisfaction surveys tell us that our customers are positive about the landlord services we deliver, and a number of our initiatives have been recognised thorough industry awards – so there is an excellent platform to build on.

Reading is a complex and rewarding place to work. A diverse array of social and economic demographics means that affluence and deprivation are often close neighbours. Issues of homelessness persist, and as a major urban centre in our region, people will always gravitate towards Reading. The town has a high number of asylum seekers, which means greater demands on our temporary accommodation supply. Innovative thinking and a collaborative approach across our Housing, Adult Social Care and Public Health functions are essential to meet these complex issues.

This is an opportunity that will suit someone with operational and strategic housing management experience. You’ll be working across the full professional remit: housing management, quality assurance and safety, housing development and new build (with an emphasis on net zero targets), and homelessness. Community Safety is also within the role’s portfolio. It’s important that you have the breadth of strategic perspective and collaborative approach that sees how this portfolio intersects with other aspects of our work and that of our partners. 

Few Housing roles match the professional breadth and complexity on offer at Reading. It’s an opportunity you won’t want to miss.