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Head of Housing Building Safety and Compliance

Employer
Ealing Council
Location
Perceval House
Salary
£83,094 - 87,513 per annum
Closing date
23 Oct 2024
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Job Details

Working for Ealing Council’s Housing and Environment Directorate offers a unique opportunity to make a significant impact on our communities. The council owns and manages around 18,000 properties, oversees a capital programme of £40m, and administers a £150m programme to acquire affordable housing for customers affected by homelessness and a £15m repairs budget. The council is dedicated to providing safe, secure, and sustainable housing, aligning with the council’s strategic priorities. You’ll be part of a team that focuses on supporting people to live well in the community and improving the quality of housing.

Ealing Council’s housing strategies, such as the Homelessness Reduction Strategy and the Rough Sleeping Strategy, demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing housing challenges and ensuring that all residents have access to decent and affordable housing. By joining the Directorate, you’ll contribute to these impactful initiatives and help shape a better future for Ealing’s residents

Recruitment practices to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and/or vulnerable adults apply to this post in addition to the requirement to obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Purpose of role 

  • The Head of Housing Building Safety and Compliance ensures all housing property operations adhere to health and safety regulations, including the Building and Fire Safety Acts, gas servicing, and electrical management, by delivering inspection and remedial programs, conducting compliance audits, and managing compliance-related risks.
  • To lead the council housing team in matters related to the Building Safety Act, providing senior advisory support and ensuring adherence to the standards required by customers, the Building Safety Regulator, and the London Fire Brigade, while acting as the Accountable Person under the Building Safety Act 2022.
  • To oversee the procurement and implementation of compliance inspection, testing, and remedial works programmes, ensuring timely and high-quality completion, optimising contractor performance, and maintaining rigorous data and transparent reporting.
  •  To conduct regular testing and audits of compliance data, examining housing operations for adherence to regulations, identifying areas for improvement, preparing comprehensive assurance reports, and implementing corrective actions promptly.
  • To proactively manage compliance-related risks by maintaining up-to-date knowledge of regulatory changes and industry best practices, ensuring all housing operations consistently adhere to current legislation, and mitigating potential risks.
  •  To develop and implement robust compliance policies and procedures, provide thorough training and ongoing support to staff, and foster a culture of compliance and accountability within the organisation.

Key accountabilities

1. Ensure that service policies, procedures, and processes are continuously developed to reflect legislative changes, regulations, guidance, and best practices, with a strong emphasis on adhering to legislation affecting the service, and ensure all working practices are compliant and efficient.

2. Establish a culture of continuous improvement and innovation by developing and implementing key changes, including clearly communicating goals and expectations to enhance service delivery, processes, and outcomes, ensuring alignment with the organisation and directorate's overall objectives and industry trends and best practice.

3. To be responsible for leading and inspiring the workforce, ensuring effective team management, professional development, and fostering a positive and productive work environment in line the council’s employment policies, procedures and practices.

4. Engage with residents, community groups, stakeholders, and partners to ensure the team’s building safety work meets their needs and expectations, foster positive relationships through consultations and feedback, and integrate community collaboration into service planning and delivery. 5. To be responsible and accountable for managing the budget, involving finance teams early, ensuring compliance with financial and procurement procedure rules, policies and processes, and proactively managing risks and overspends, and maximising income, funding opportunities and efficiencies.

6. Foster effective communication with all service staff, ensuring they are well informed and actively involved. Clearly articulate service objectives, provide comprehensive briefings on Council-wide issues, and ensure that corporate messages are effectively cascaded.

7. Draft comprehensive reports, briefing notes, and presentations, support audits and committee meetings with detailed information and analysis and collaborate with the Assistant Director to ensure all documentation meets organisational standards and aids decision-making. 8. To identify, assess, and manage risks per the council’s risk management policy, escalating issues to the Assistant Director as needed, while liaising with regulatory bodies and external auditors to meet statutory obligations, facilitate audits, provide documentation, and address findings promptly.

9. Support the Assistant Director in managing relationships with members concerning service delivery and politically sensitive issues by providing accurate and timely information and reporting within your area of responsibility, while representing the service and the council at meetings and events as required. 10.Develop and implement a business continuity strategy for critical service delivery functions, ensuring effective planning and communication, and collaborating with the council’s emergency planning team, emergency and health services, partner agencies, and government organisations to establish robust contingency plans and procedures for managing emergencies.

11.Ensure continuous professional development and mandatory training for yourself and your team, fostering a culture of ongoing learning and compliance.

12.To have responsibility for ensuring robust arrangements to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of staff and others in line with the council’s policies, procedures and guidance.

13.Ensure adherence to the council’s equality, diversity, and inclusion strategies, policies, frameworks, and legislative requirements, actively promoting these principles in all areas of service delivery, including conducting equality analysis assessments and fostering inclusive interactions with service users, partners, and the workforce.

14.Responsible for delivering accurate insights, establishing and monitoring metrics, and ensuring KPI targets are met, and collaborating with the council’s corporate performance team to align with broader organisational goals and regulatory reporting requirements.

15.Ensure the safeguarding of vulnerable adults by implementing and adhering to local authority policies, promptly addressing concerns, collaborating with relevant agencies, and providing training and guidance to the housing solutions team.

16.Undertake any duties commensurate with the role, including deputising for the Assistant Director and Heads of Services as needed, to ensure the effective delivery of the department’s services.

Key performance indicators

  •  Delivery of statutory and local performance indicators
  • Delivery of improvement projects within agreed timeframes and budgets
  •  Compliance rate for housing units to meet safety standards
  • Audit outcomes
  • Staff and contractors trained Key relationships (internal and external)
  • Assistant Director of Housing Asset Management
  •  Housing Compliance Management team 
  • Housing Asset Management Departmental staff i.e. Building Safety Managers, Repairs and Maintenance teams
  •  Housing & Environment Directorate colleagues
  • Council wide senior managers and heads of service e.g. Children’s Adults and Public Health, Housing Benefits
  • Corporate colleagues e.g., Finance, Corporate Health & Safety, HR, ICT, Legal, Audit, Commercial hub, and Comms
  • External stakeholders e.g., Regulatory bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive and Fire and Rescue Service, external auditors, contractors and service providers, local government departments, professional bodies, and industry groups

Authority level

  •  Resource allocation and salaries budget
  • Policy development
  •  Regulatory compliance
  •  Financial sign off up to 100k
  •  Budgets up to £3m

Person specification

Recruitment practices to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and/or vulnerable adults apply to this post in addition to the requirement to obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Essential knowledge, skills, and experience

1. Extensive knowledge and expertise of Health and Safety Regulations and including in gas servicing, asbestos management, and fire safety for compliance.

2. In-depth understanding of the Building Safety Act, Fire Safety Act, mechanical and electrical compliance requirements, and other relevant regulations and standards within housing portfolios.

3. Proven ability to conduct regular compliance audits and examine housing operations for adherence to regulations and prepare comprehensive assurance reports.

4. High level proficiency in managing compliance-related risks by staying updated on regulatory changes and industry best practices.

5. Strong experience in developing and implementing robust compliance policies and procedures that align with regulatory requirements and organisational goals.

6. Ability to provide thorough training and ongoing support to staff to ensure understanding and adherence to compliance policies to foster a culture of compliance and accountability.

7. Experience in undertaking detailed performance monitoring on key compliance metrics, analysing data to identify trends, strengths, and areas for improvement.

8. Strong analytical skills to provide actionable insights and recommendations to senior management, driving continuous improvement in compliance practices.

9. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with experience in liaising effectively with regulatory bodies and external auditors.

10.Ability to facilitate audits and inspections, provide necessary documentation and information, and promptly address any findings or recommendations. 11.Proven leadership skills to manage compliance operations, ensuring the safety and well-being of residents.

12.Ability to implement corrective actions promptly to address non-compliance issues and prevent future occurrences.

Essential qualification(s) and professional memberships

1. Educated to degree in a related field such as Housing, Construction Management, Civil Engineering, Environmental Health.

2. Relevant certifications such as Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) membership, NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) Certificate, or equivalent.

3. Membership in a relevant professional body, such Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Association for Project Management (APM).

4. Evidence of Continuous Professional Development, for example,

  • Formal management training and development programmes such as ILM Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management
  •  Project Management training such as Prince2 or Project Management Professional certification.
  • Health and Safety training 

Company

<p>Working for Ealing Council’s Housing and Environment Directorate offers a unique opportunity to make a significant impact on our communities. The council owns and manages around 18,000 properties, oversees a capital programme of £40m, and administers a £150m programme to acquire affordable housing for customers affected by homelessness and a £15m repairs budget. The council is dedicated to providing safe, secure, and sustainable housing, aligning with the council’s strategic priorities. You’ll be part of a team that focuses on supporting people to live well in the community and improving the quality of housing.</p> <p>Ealing Council’s housing strategies, such as the Homelessness Reduction Strategy and the Rough Sleeping Strategy, demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing housing challenges and ensuring that all residents have access to decent and affordable housing. By joining the Directorate, you’ll contribute to these impactful initiatives and help shape a better future for Ealing’s residents</p>

Company info
Website
Telephone
020 8825 5468
Location
Perceval House
Ealing
London
W5 2HL
United Kingdom

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