Portfolio Management Officer

We are recruiting for a Transformation Portfolio Manager, to lead the Housing Options and Homelessness Division (HOH) transformation programme.

About Tower Hamlets and the Housing Options and Homelessness Division

Tower Hamlets is diverse and vibrant borough in the heart of London. Tower Hamlets Council has big ambitions to improve the lives of the 332,000 residents that call our borough home.

The Housing Options and Homelessness Division (HOH) aims to prevention homelessness and rough sleeping and secure suitable homes for residents with housing needs. We are responsible for homelessness prevention, rough sleeping, temporary accommodation (TA), housing options and advice, the housing register for social homes and a range of related support services.

Last year, we supported nearly 2,500 residents who applied as homeless and currently house over 3,000 homeless households in temporary accommodation. But demand for our homelessness service and social housing register is rising, driving increasing pressure on the council’s finances. Without urgent change, these pressures will lead to significant risk to the council’s financial sustainability.

About the HOH Transformation Programme

Tower Hamlets has embarked on an ambitious transformation programme for the Housing Option and Homelessness (HOH) division and we’re looking for people to help make this change happen.

This transformation programme is moving the service from managing crisis to preventing homelessness, which will include redesigning how we work so residents get the right help when they need it. We are building a prevention focused, data driven and trauma informed service to improve outcomes for residents and build a more joined-up and rewarding working environment.

We have just finished Phase 1 of the programme and looking to expand the team for Phase 2 of the programme. Alongside a restructure we are redesigning services, improving the resident experience, strengthening the leadership and culture, using insights and data intelligence to support better monitoring and decision making and embed new ways of working across the service.

If you want to work on complex and high impact challenges in the public sector that have real life benefits to residents and staff, we’d love you to apply.

About the role

This role will support all aspects of the transformation programme. This could include organising and delivering Blitz days for things like getting on top of Member’s Enquiries, supporting the Project Manager with training logistics or working with the Resident Experience lead on user research and resident voice.

The role will also deliver a supporting role on the overall management of the transformation programme, including keep RAID logs up to date, organising meetings and agendas and offering support where needed.

For this role we are looking for a doer! Someone who is willing to get stuck in with a variety of jobs and being one step ahead on what needs to be done next.

About you

• We are looking for an organised and proactive doer, who can help a complex transformation programme run smoothly and achieve project goals
• You will have experience of project management and be a confident user of key programmes, including PowerPoint and Excel
• You will be great at building relationships with a range of key stakeholders, from residents to senior leaders
• Experience of Housing Options and Homelessness would be a real plus
• This role is hybrid, with an expectation that you will be in our Whitechapel office three days a week.

Our Benefits

• Competitive salary £50,175 - £53,319
• Local Government Pension Scheme membership
• Generous annual leave: 29 days, rising to 33 with 5+ years’ service, plus bank holidays and 3 additional days at Christmas
• Flexible and agile working to support work–life balance
• Staff money-saving schemes (e.g., rent deposit loans, season ticket loans).