Team: Housing Initiatives – Tenant Voice and Engagement Manager

Job Family: Advising – CBG12 (M)
Salary: £41,496 - £46,549 per annum pro rata
Hours: Full-time, 37 hours per week.

Base Location: Hybrid - Working from home and any Council offices, including Priory House, Shefford. You will be expected to attend an office location on a monthly basis, and as needed to carry out your role.

Contract Type: Hybrid - Permanent
Closing Date: 29th May 2023
Interview Date: 9th June 2023 - this will take place via Microsoft Teams. This software is free for users.  If there is an issue with accessing this technology, we are happy to discuss alternative arrangements prior to the interview.

About Us :

Central Bedfordshire is an ambitious authority, determined to be an exemplary one. Our strategic location and high quality of life mean we are one of the fastest growing areas in the country.  

As a council we face the same challenges every business does - investing in the right places and delivering great results. Except for us, it’s all about our 289,000 residents. We’re totally focussed on helping to improve their lives and making Central Bedfordshire a great place to live and work.  

We have set values and principles to represent the way we work and how we operate as an organisation. You can view a list of these in detail on our website. 

This is a great time to join us on our journey. 

More about the role:

Central Bedfordshire Council manages 5,500+ homes and is on track to manage 10,000 homes by 2040. We are well under-way with our transformation journey, building upon solid foundations in performance and workforce development. Yet there are areas where we still need to improve, and we are stepping up to challenges around sustainability, decarbonisation, and regeneration. We are committed to providing excellent housing services, keeping people safe in their homes, and putting customers at the heart of our service.

Our Housing Initiatives Team have a fantastic opportunity for someone to join us as Tenant Voice and Engagement Manager. We are looking for someone who believes in working together as part of a team, who shares our values and who is positive and friendly. The role focuses on customer engagement and complaints resolution, in particular the tenant experience, keeping our tenants engaged with us and ensuring any feedback or complaints are well handled.

You will manage a small team of officers who will support in our customer engagement activities and complaints resolution. As Tenant Voice and Engagement Manager you will:

• Lead, manage and champion resident involvement activity and support changes in the way we work so that customer involvement is an intrinsic part of all our roles, and not the specialist activity of one team.
• Drive forward our resident involvement menu including scrutiny and improvement projects.
• Maintain an up-to-date understanding of resident engagement issues, understanding how to deliver services across all tenures.
• Oversight of Housing Feedback, including complaints – ensuring high-quality responses and the learning from complaints is turned into improvements to the way services are designed and delivered, with the needs of residents firmly at the heart of what we do.
• Work closely with residents, external stakeholders and other departments within the council to deliver the corporate plan and operational targets, as well as maximise social value.
• Lead in work to deliver against the changes in consumer regulation and the Social Housing Regulations Bill.
• Experience of leading and developing a team.

What you will need:

You will have the autonomy to create a great working environment and deliver excellent service for our customers. You’ll be able to use, interpret and understand customer insight and feedback, to really build customer relationships. We’re looking for someone who has:

• Previous experience of working in a regulated sector such as housing.
• Experience of complaint handling with excellent communication skills and the ability to influence others in delivering positive change.
• Experience of leading resident involvement activity and working directly with Resident Panels and Groups.
• In depth knowledge and experience of engagement methods and the ability to deliver training and support to teams across the Housing Service.
• Good understanding of the change in regulation and how to deliver against this, whilst developing meaningful involvement and scrutiny opportunities.
• A level 5 qualification standard, or equivalent relevant skills and experience within the Housing Sector.

What we can offer you:

As well as joining a friendly, dedicated, and hardworking team you will have access to numerous benefits, including: 

• A hybrid working arrangement giving you the option to work from home and access any CBC office location. We recognise and value the importance of supporting our employees to balance their home and work life and to be able to work in the most efficient way. 

• A £250 one-off hybrid worker payment to help you adapt your home for safe and suitable working conditions 

• A comprehensive IT package to support you to work safely and effectively 

• The ability to work abroad for up to a month a year 

• Generous family friendly policies and practices 

• A welcoming and inclusive environment that empowers differences 

• Friendly and supportive staff networks  

• Annual leave allowance 24 days + statutory holidays rising to 31 days with length of service. 

• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). This is a valuable part of our rewards package for employees and includes Life Assurance. You can find out more on the Bedfordshire Pension Fund website. 

• An exceptional Employee Assistance Programme which helps support employees with workplace changes as well as other work, family and personal issues 

• A huge variety of courses and role-specific training and learning to help you succeed and develop 

• Access to discounts on top UK retailers and local retailers 

Central Bedfordshire Council has its own vision and values that are integral to everything we do. Our area vision is to make Central Bedfordshire 'A great place to live and work’. 

Sustainability matters to us. We aim to lead by example in tackling climate change. Read more about the action we’re taking on our website: Climate change – tackling it and our strategy 

Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer.  We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process. 

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You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies detailed within this Tenant Voice & Engagement Manager Recruitment Pack

For an informal discussion about this position, please contact: Ru Begum at ruhelly.begum@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 5388
For queries related to the recruitment of this vacancy, please contact: The Recruitment Team at recruitment@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk  

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Central Bedfordshire Council is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to improving the diversity of our workforce to better reflect the communities we serve.  Therefore, we welcome applications from everyone. In addition, we are a  Disability Confident employer, we are working to become a Disability Confident leader in our community. 

To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline. 

If you require assistance to apply for our roles, help with writing your CV, interview techniques or careers advice please contact our team of careers advisors at ncs@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk Our service is confidential, impartial and free for all.