Dudley Council are the largest provider of social housing in the borough and are responsible for c21,000 homes. We have a workforce of over 850 staff in the Directorate, including our Direct Labour Organisation which provides the majority of property maintenance services within our homes.  Our Housing services sit within the Council’s Housing and Communities Directorate, recognising that homes and communities are intrinsically connected. 

The Housing and Communities Directorate incorporates all housing related services, including allocations and lettings, housing and neighbourhood management, income collection, repairs and maintenance and asset management and development, as well as delivering services to fulfil our statutory duties working in partnership with the Safe and Sound Board, Dudley’s Community Safety Partnership.  

Our priorities are:

• Investing in our existing housing stock to improve the condition, safety and efficiency of our homes
• Reconnecting with our customers and communities
• Keeping our residents, staff and communities safe
• Listening to our customers’ voice
• Embedding strong governance

In October 2019 our ten-year Housing Asset Management Strategy was developed to tackle challenges such as void properties whilst taking opportunities to invest in ensuring we provide quality affordable housing to help regenerate communities and meet our diverse and growing housing needs. However much has changed since the strategy was approved, and we need to continuously review and improve our services and strategies to meet the evolving changes in both legislative and regulatory frameworks, and to target investment in our homes and estates to meet housing need, improve our housing offer and to create sustainable communities.

Engaging with our communities is vital and we use a variety of face to face and digital channels to keep our customers informed and involved, including Tenants and Residents Associations (TRAs), customer surveys, and High Rise Living events.

However we have much more to do to ensure the voice of our customers informs and shapes our strategic priorities and investment and we have co-produced our refreshed approach to customer engagement with our involved residents.

Critical to all of this is our Housing Assurance Board who work alongside the Directorate Management Team to shape our housing services, embedding a culture of continuous improvement which places our customers at the heart of everything we do.   Our Board play a key and wide-ranging role in shaping our housing strategies with a focus on the development and delivery of high quality, efficient and safe services that meet housing need and demand and support sustainable communities.

This is a dynamic time to be providing housing as a council, with the Social Housing (Regulation) Act coming into force and increased regulation of council housing services that is more closely aligned to that of registered housing providers.  We have approached this change with proactive energy and commitment and see these changes as an opportunity to demonstrate good corporate governance which will ensure our residents live in safe and suitable homes for the long term. As a Directorate, we have already responded proactively to sector-wide concerns around housing condition and are have undertaken stock condition surveys of all our homes.   We have identified room for improvement on data quality, and proactively self-referred to the Regulator of Social Housing on this. This referral has started us on a positive relationship with the regulator and gives us confidence that our forward-looking approach is the right approach.

Our Housing Assurance Board has been created to guide, challenge, and assure Dudley Council that we are upholding all our responsibilities to customers, the regulator, and our staff. The board will be responsible for shaping our future asset management and investment strategy for our homes and communities, which is no small task with a large and diverse housing portfolio. The recovery programme that has been developed following engagement with the regulator reports into this board while this process is still live. But the remit of the board is far wider than asset management, ensuring that we put our customers back at the forefront of all conversations around housing. We want this board to constantly be asking us how our customers shape our vision and strategies. 

The board is made up of the executive team of Housing and Communities, Cabinet members, the Chair of the newly formed Customer Assurance Board, and two independent members, one of whom is the Chair of the board. Independence in these posts is key for us to learn and challenge how we view a good governance structure for housing. 

As a council we aspire to provide homes and services that we are proud of, and we want our customers and communities to have confidence in the council as their landlord.  This board is a key part of providing that confidence.

We are seeking a second independent board member with executive experience from a registered provider as well as strong experience as a non-executive on a housing board outside of the organisation one has worked in- it is the breadth of experience that will give us assurance that we are not only meeting but raising the bar for our customers. 

Key dates and the selection process 

Closing date: Tuesday 22^nd October 2024 

Interview Date: Tuesday 29^th October 2024 

The interview panel will comprise of Karen Harper, the Chair of the Housing Assurance Board and Iain Newman, the Director of Finance and Legal Services, who is the Council’s section 151 Officer and member of the Housing Assurance Board.

Interviews will be held in person at Dudley Council House, Priory Road, DY1 1HF

So that we can demonstrate Dudley’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and to improve bias in the recruitment process that could create barriers for candidates. Your personal data will be anonymised when you apply, to ensure that you comply with our anonymisation process, please ensure you have removed your name and date of birth from any attachments prior to uploading them to your application.  

Online application forms will only be accepted for this vacancy, online facilities for jobs are available at public libraries within the Dudley Borough.  

If you require support completing an online or paper application form and or interview techniques, please contact Dudley Adult and Community Learning on 01384 818 143 or acl@dudley.gov.uk  who can support with Digital Skills and Job Applications.  

If you have a disability and require assistance in making an application please contact the HR Resourcing Team via HR.Resourcing@dudley.gov.uk  

If you are experiencing a problem whilst applying for a position, please follow the link below to the WM Jobs Help Page in the first instance https://help.wmjobs.co.uk/    

If the WM Jobs Help Page does not resolve your issue then please contact the HR Resourcing Team via HR.Resourcing@dudley.gov.uk 

Dudley Council will check the information that you have provided against any details already held for accuracy and completeness. The Council will check, share and cross match your information both internally within the council and with external organisations to protect public funds and prevent or detect crime, only where the law allows us to do so.  

The Council’s full Privacy and Disclaimer Statement can be accessed on the website at http://www.dudley.gov.uk/  

N.B. We reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the advertised date should we receive a large number of applications

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Attached documents
Housing Assurance Board Member role profile.docx
Benefits List