Homelessness Prevention & Assessments Service Manager

Job Description

Discover yourself in Lewisham where what you do makes a difference to our vibrant and culturally diverse communities!

We have a rich history of welcoming people from all over the world and are proud to be recognised as the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, for our work in championing the rights of refugees and migrants.

Introduction

Are you an experienced housing leader with a passion for preventing homelessness, driving service excellence, and shaping strategic change? Lewisham Council is seeking a dynamic Homelessness Prevention & Assessments Service Manager to lead it's frontline homelessness services.

This is a rare opportunity to influence the direction of homelessness prevention, strengthen partnerships across sectors, and ensure our most vulnerable residents receive high‑quality, person‑centred support.

What’s the role?

You will Lead, develop, motivate and manage a large multidisciplinary workforce including housing advice, early intervention, statutory homelessness assessments, supported housing pathways, rough sleeping services, refugee services and homelessness reviews. Driving a prevention‑focused, customer‑centred approach, ensuring residents receive timely, effective support to achieve and maintain settled accommodation. Lead the operational delivery of the Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Strategy, translating strategic priorities into measurable outcomes.

What’s in it for you?

Excellent training and development opportunities, plus a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday allowance
• Local Government Pension scheme
• Flexible working and family friendly policies
• Season ticket and bicycle loans
• A range of staff discounts including local subsidised gym memberships
• Supportive staff networks

What we’re looking for

A leader who can combine strategic vision with operational excellence. You will have:

• Extensive understanding of the national policy context, homelessness legislation (including the Housing Act 1996), and the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to influence, persuade, and present complex issues clearly.
• Proven success in leading high‑performing teams in a demanding frontline environment.
• Experience delivering service improvement, organisational change, and customer satisfaction gains.
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and experience embedding these principles in service delivery.

Location

The job is primarily based in Lawrence House, but we operate a hybrid approach where you will be required to work both in the office and from home on a regular basis.

The recruitment process is anonymous and we don’t accept CV’s.

Applicant handbook - please read the guidance in this handbook when applying. It is essential that you complete the application fully and that your supporting statement covers how you meet each of the person specification criteria listed.

For an informal discussion about this job, please contact Claire Oldham Claire.Oldham@lewisham.gov.uk

Please click here to view the Job Description and Person Specification

Salary

£64,938 - £69,660 per annum (SMG1)

N.B: All appointments will be offered at the minimum spinal column point (SCP) for the grade of the role. The only exception to this will be when matching current salary (up to the maximum of the scale), which is subject to evidential proof.

Diversity

Lewisham Council is a Disability Confident employer. We welcome and encourage job applications of all abilities. If you require any reasonable adjustments in the application or interview, please contact the lead contact on this advert. We will make reasonable adjustments to make sure our disabled applicants and those with health conditions are supported throughout our recruitment process. We support the access to work scheme, further details are available at www.gov.uk/access-to-work/apply

The Council has a dedicated employment support service, Lewisham Works, which offers Lewisham residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you want to join Lewisham Works, please email JobsAndSkills@lewisham.gov.uk and an advisor will be in touch with you.

The Council reserves the right to close adverts early if there is a large response.

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